Knocking out the teeth on overflow?

[Son Of Skyline]

Does anybody have any experience knocking out the "teeth" on their overflow? I did a test run on my new tank today and found out that the top of my overflow doesn't even come close to being able to handle the flow of a Mag12. I'm wondering if I need to worry about animals getting sucked down into the sump or if it usually isn't a problem. I ask because I have seen someone run without any grill or teeth on their overflow but I never asked whether it was a good idea or not. I thought about using a dremel to deepen the slots, but judging by how quickly the water flowed over, I think I'd need VERY deep slots to make it work and I think it would just look strange. Thanks in advance!

One more thing...I noticed a slight leak in my overflow bulkhead. Do I need to seal it with silicone or should I just tighten it down a little more? Do bulkheads normally need to be siliconed?

[Aquattro]

Mason, I have had overflows with no teeth, but snails often made their way into the plumbing. This is bad. I then fashioned a grill inside the overflow box that worked fine.
My current overflow has slots 1/4" wide, 1/4" apart and 1-1/4" deep. It handles the flow of the MAG 12 fine. It is a 6x6 box. Are you sure it's the grill and not the plumbing? What size piping do you have?

[Canadian Man]

I wouldnt knock out the teeth unless they are quite thin. The dremmel would be a better option, just make all the slots a little wider and that should make alot of diffrence.

Some options that i have seen is to have the top of the overflow below the water level and then use egg crate as the teeth. It allows most thing to not get sucked down and lets alot of water flow through.

When I install my bulk head i usually put some silicone on the inside part just to be safe. If you did over tighten the bulk head the rubber ring can bind and kink which will cause the leak.

In your situation I would either remove the bulk head and re install if it is convenient or.
Go to HD or REVY and pick up some GOOP or MARINE GOOP and apply that where the leak is and it will be fixed. Great Stuff!

Hope this helps.

[Son Of Skyline]

Originally posted by Reef_Raf:
Mason, I have had overflows with no teeth, but snails often made their way into the plumbing. This is bad. I then fashioned a grill inside the overflow box that worked fine.
My current overflow has slots 1/4" wide, 1/4" apart and 1-1/4" deep. It handles the flow of the MAG 12 fine. It is a 6x6 box. Are you sure it's the grill and not the plumbing? What size piping do you have?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thanks for the info Brad. I'm 100% positive that it's the grill because I can see it clearly. The water fills up and flows over all the teeth. The water level rises right up to the edge of the tank before the water starts to go down! I think my overflow is about the same size as yours but the water just flows right over! It's not a box though, but a corner overflow with 1.5" piping.

Originally posted by Canadian Man:
Some options that i have seen is to have the top of the overflow below the water level and then use egg crate as the teeth. It allows most thing to not get sucked down and lets alot of water flow through.

In your situation I would either remove the bulk head and re install if it is convenient or.
Go to HD or REVY and pick up some GOOP or MARINE GOOP and apply that where the leak is and it will be fixed. Great Stuff!

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Great suggestions Jon! Is the GOOP or Marine GOOP reef safe if I use it on the inside of the overflow to seal the bulkhead?

[Canadian Man]

Mason,
Well the container says not to use it in aquariums.
Many! people use it for more than just sealing bulk heads in aquariums. eg. connecting corner overflows made of acrylic to glass tanks. used extensivly in DIY skimmers (including mine) and just about any other use you can think of.
I use it in quite a few places in my system and no problems have arisen.