New tank design graphic ... Tell me what you think...

[Megalodon]

Version 5...


A - 3/4" PVC over-top return manifold
B - Strainer overflow w/ 1" drilled bulkhead
C - 1" Spaflex drain (left-side)
D - 3/4" Spaflex return
G - 10-gallon refuge
H - DIY stand (to hold refuge above sump)
I - Refuge overflow w/ 1" drilled bulkhead
J - Refuge main overflow drain tube
K - Drain output with filter bag
L - 20-gallon Sump
M - Baffles, first at 1.3" and the next at 1.5"
N - Eheim 1262 return pump
O - Refuge Light
Q - ½"Spaflex refuge feed
V - ½" Gate valve (teed off return)
W - Back-up refuge drain
X - AquaC EV-180 protein skimmer
Y - 1" Gate valve
Z- 1" Spaflex backup drain
1- Backup overflow w/ 1" drilled bulkhead

Changes...

- Most everything is Spaflex now.

- Y is now controlling both return flows.

- X, the protein skimmer, has been moved to the left.

- M, the baffles, have been moved over, and the wider baffle is one the other side now.

- There’s a backup overflow (Z and 1) now.

[Myka]

Did you check out the Herbie silent overflows? Your overflows are going to be VERY noisy.

[Megalodon]

Originally Posted by Myka

Did you check out the Herbie silent overflows? Your overflows are going to be VERY noisy.

I thought I was doing it Herbie-style.

Maybe I have a misconception of what that actually is.

[Megalodon]

OK, I just did more reading on Herbie. He calls for the drain bulkheads to be further down with the standpipe going up close to the surface. But again, he has an overflow box around that. What should I do any different here?

[Myka]

The Herbies have an overflow box with TWO drainlines on each overflow. Once drain line is just a bulkhead out the bottom of the box, call it drain A. Drain B is in the same box next to Drain A, and is also a bulkhead on the bottom of the box, but Drain B has a pipe on it so that it is several inches taller than Drain A. Drain A has a gate valve on it to constrict the flow so that the water in the box remains a couple inches above drain A's bulkhead, so there is NO air in Drain A drain line. Drain B doesn't have any valves on it. Now, eventually Drain A will clog or partially clog which will back the water up so it raises in the box. When it gets high enough the water will start going down Drain B along with a bunch of air as it "sucks". It will happily run this way until there is a point in which Drain B also gets clogged, but this won't happen because Drain B will be really noisy. This is your alert that Drain A has clogged, and needs maintenance.

Now, how's that for confusing?

Here's a pic of my tentative plumbing including the Herbie overflow. Drain A would be the green line on the right, and Drain B would be the green line on the left. On my line A there is a gate valve (the higher black thingy), and a union (the lower black thingy).


Here's a link to the original Herbie thread on Reef Central:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=344892

[Megalodon]

So does this mean I have to silicone a glass overflow box in my tank?

[Myka]

Yes, but outside of the tank...external overflow box.