I have a Lifereef on my 70 gallon and an eshopps on my 180. Both are routinely stopped and started with no problems. If your not drilling then one of these HOB's would be a good choice. Much better than the ones that rely on a aqualifter to restart IMO.

I have a lifereef on my 110g. Been running for3 yrs without a problem. A bit pricey, but worth it if you don't want to drill.

I used a life reef for 2 years on a past tank and had absolutely no problems with it Highly recommend it

The main thing with HOB overflows is to ensure the flow rate through the u-tube is high enough to prevent a siphon break.

It is still always smart to simulate siphon breaks to ensure the tank won't flood. My fail safe was making the pump chamber of my sump small so that the display tank would not overflow if the siphon breaks.

Keep the flow rate high, and have a fail safe. If you do that, HOB overflows are just as good as a drilled overflow, IMO.

That is a BS advertising claim.

Lifereef makes a good product, I own one, but they are by no means fool proof. They are essentially the same design as the Eshopps PF series overflows, but are made of thicker acrylic.

They are also really pricey, especially for Canadians ($50+ shipping).

Well thanks for the posts guys. Are there any LFS' that carry the LifeReef HOB overflow box?? I might be takin the Viper into Edmonton on Friday for servicing so I could pick it up then. Also, gonna pick up some Radions, and put my Mazarra's in the sump for the fuge.. Gonna have LED's all over the place..lol

I like the idea of making the pump chamber small as well. One other thing I was thinking of was installing a low level cutoff on the pump chamber. This way I have a 3rd backup, if the level in the pump chamber drops too low, the switch will kick it off. Hmm, I like that one..lol

you must order direct from Lifereef. shoot Jeff an email and see what he can do for you.

If you order the nano overflow box / slimline design, make sure you get the black color as they advertise. I got the clear plastic one and when I asked why, I got a response from Jeff (the owner) "no matter black or clear, it will eventually cover with algae anyway" :cry: I didn't want to argue about it at that time, but I know the box should come as he has advertised. Also, I paid an extra $19 for the silencer and $10 for an extra U tube as he insisted, but I actually never needed them. The silencer, have it or not, it doesn't make very much difference with the noise. I had to pay $30 for the shipping as well, which cost a little too much for just an overflow box.
Anyway, I am happy with the quality of this overflow box. But if I had known there was the Eshopp box around that has the same design like Lifereef, I would have saved more than half of the money by not buying this overpriced overflow box from him.

If you're going to go through all the work of installing float switches, why not put a hi level switch in the tank to kill the return pump and stop flooding
The switch shouldn't ever gum up - it should always be dry if all is running properly
Then you can put an ATO system in the sump

Excellent point!! Thanks for the advice, I may have to go that route.

Honestly, I'm probably the biggest advocate of HOB overflows on this site.

The pros and cons of drilling versus HOB has been beaten to death on this site.

If you do a search for "HOB overflow" I'm sure a few heated discussions will come up that have very good, biased information from both sides of the fence.

I will say though I am now on year 2 with my home made HOB u tube overflow without break in spihon (flood).