JayWho Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 (edited) I've been making a DIY overflow the past week when I have time here and there. Tonight I finally cemented the pvc together, and think it's hilarious to look at the two overflows side-by-side. You can see how crooked the first one I did is (right side), compared to the second (left side), before I figured out how to do it properly, lol.The first one I followed some advice I heard about doing the elbow joints first, and using a flat surface to press the bottoms onto to make sure they are level - which when then adding the pipe parts, realized they weren't straight at all... hahaThe second one I got it figured...Once they're cured I'll cement the rest of the plumbing. Hopefully the crooked one still works ok! Edited September 20, 2013 by JayWho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted September 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 (edited) Plumbed the overflows in today. Once the pvc cement is all cured I'll hook it all up and start testing. Edited September 21, 2013 by JayWho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted September 21, 2013 Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 It's all about learning...once we know...we teach! LOL. Good on ya for doin' it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted September 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 Yep. You can't see it very well but there's 3 rubbermaid containers there; smallest/top one is my drip-tray with quilt batting, which drips into the second largest, which holds several gallons of plastic dish scrubbies from the dollarstore, has a few holes drilled in one side to drain into the largest rubbermaid and will get pumped back up to the tank.It has been a great little project to work on! And once it's finished and running, I'll be able to properly stock my Tanganyikan tank, cause it'll be over-filtered nicely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted September 22, 2013 Report Share Posted September 22, 2013 Just a thought, is that direct window sunlight you are getting in that pic? If that is you final tank placement, you might be battling algae for as long as you have the tank there. If you have a choice, an alternate location that doesn't get direct sunlight would be easier to manage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted September 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2013 It might get direct sunlight for half an hour right at sunrise, but otherwise the angle of the sun will never catch it. Either way, I have floor-to-cieling curtains that can be drawn at night so the sun is kept out the next morning.The water looks so "bright" because of the fine particulate floating around from me rearranging the rocks so the overflows would have space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted September 22, 2013 Report Share Posted September 22, 2013 Fun fun. 30 minutes won't be anything to worry about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted October 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 So, I seem to be having issues with both overflows operating to their capacity at the same time. Usually one seems to operate fine, and the other barely flows. I am wondering if it's my crooked cementing job (I would tend to doubt it though), or because they are plumbed in together to a "T" of the same size - and maybe it should have been larger, to accommodate the flow from both overflows? I can't see through the PVC obviously, but I have clear vinyl tubing for the last portion of the plumbing after the "T" and it seems to be coming out in spurts, with air pockets in between. I'm not sure if that's normal, or if it's because of my plumbing; or something else that I'm unaware of...Anyone know what my possible issues could be?Either way, I think I am just going to separate them, and plumb them into my wet/dry independently. Go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 They probably both flow just fine, I'm willing to bet you'll have something similar when you separated them. If they aren't built exactly the same and set to the same height in the tank you are going to have differences. Especially in the in-tank portion; if they aren't exactly the same, the lower one will probably be running full syphon and the taller one doing... Nothing. If they are very close but not same I can see the taller one sometimes getting some action. So what was your goal with the dual? Was it redundancy, which you lose with it being T'd together, or for even flow or something else completely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted October 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 (edited) Just redundancy, and since having made them, am glad for two as I will be looking to push the flow rate to the maximum for filtration as well. I'm going to try my best to make the standpipes in the tank the same height, so they both run.T'ing them together was just a mistake. I thought it was a good idea at the time, and would look good, but realized fairly quickly after that I shouldn't have. Edited October 18, 2013 by JayWho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted October 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 I'm likely going to have to change the height again anyway, as I'm pretty sure I'll have to modify the standpipes to Durso's at some point for quietness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 (edited) Good luck with the current setup... I did that for a while and gave up on it and went with an overflow box. If you are already thinking about durso... I suggest that you also look at the herbie. In the end I went with the herbie with a coast-to-coast overflow box and I'm very happy with it. It is very easy to tune and pretty hard to mess up. http://gmacreef.com/herbie-overflow-reef-tank-plumbing-method-basics/ Check it out Edit: also lookup Beananimal overflow. It is similar to the Herbie style Edited October 18, 2013 by cainechow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 I'm likely going to have to change the height again anyway, as I'm pretty sure I'll have to modify the standpipes to Durso's at some point for quietness. If you do decide to stick with just a standpipe overflow instead of going with a box (ie. Herbie - I agree, they're awesome!), look at a reverse Durso. All the extra pipe is in the sump and it's just as quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted October 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 Ya know, more and more I'm realizing I just need to build my own plywood tank and pre-drill bulkheads and be done with it... haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayba Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Just thought of this: If both of the pipes go to the same t, the volume of how much water flows will be determined by that bottleneck. The first pipe to start a siphon would claim it's stake percentage to the 100% of the flow. That being said the other pipe would take whatever of the 100% it can steal away. So if you plug one pipe, the other should dramatically speed up. If I understand it properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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