Hang on back overflow box

[csm41]

Looking at buying a hang on back overflow box and was wondering if the lifereef at $119.00 is that much better than the E-Shopps for $56.00. That is double the price for what looks to me like an almost identical product. I don't have a problem paying the money for the Lifereef as long as someone can give me a good reason for justifying the purchase.

[Sandia97]

I don't have any experience with Lifereef overflow box but I do have the Eshoppes one and am switching to a CPR overflow box.. I just purchased one for $115. Why did I switch? Because the CPR overflow came with a waterlifter pump that will restart the siphon in case of a power outage. With my Eshoppes if the power went out and then came back on when I'm not there to physically start the siphon into the sump the tank would overflow! This pump will start it for you.

[robn70]

I've had the Lifereef for a few years and so far haven't had any issues with it restarting after a power outage.

[InnerMonkey]

If I'm following correctly, couldn't you just add a nipple for an autolift pump to the J tube? I don't have a pic handy, but I have an autolift connected this way, and have been happy with it. It just dumps back into my overflow.

[10reefman]

get the lifereef it's worth it,I have one , no problems. I paid $50 on ebay.

[fishgate]

Originally Posted by Sandia97

I don't have any experience with Lifereef overflow box but I do have the Eshoppes one and am switching to a CPR overflow box.. I just purchased one for $115. Why did I switch? Because the CPR overflow came with a waterlifter pump that will restart the siphon in case of a power outage. With my Eshoppes if the power went out and then came back on when I'm not there to physically start the siphon into the sump the tank would overflow! This pump will start it for you.

Due to the design of the Eshopps, I don't think it is possible for it to lose siphon due to a power outage. Lack of water in the overflow box (in tank) nor lack of water in the part that hangs over the edge won't cause it to lose siphon.

I am not sure what happened to yours.

[ChrisL1976]

Originally Posted by fishgate

Due to the design of the Eshopps, I don't think it is possible for it to lose siphon due to a power outage. Lack of water in the overflow box (in tank) nor lack of water in the part that hangs over the edge won't cause it to lose siphon.

I am not sure what happened to yours.

I agree. I think most overflows are designed to specifically not lose siphon during a power outage. The only instance I have seen this was a defective unit a fellow reefer I know got which had a tiny air leak in the plastic seam. The lift pump is a really good back-up device though.

[demariners]

Be very careful with the CPR unit. I had one for a while and it flooded my room 3 times. The Aqualifter if is comes loose the siphon doesn't work and then the entire overflow box will not function. Just be careful to monitor it.

[FNDsalt]

Originally Posted by ChrisL1976

I agree. I think most overflows are designed to specifically not lose siphon during a power outage.

To start I would like to say that I haven't used the lifereef or Eshopps, I run the CPR. But as for the above quote, won't you always loose siphon with an overflow box if the power goes out? Water will always have to travel up and over the top of tank, and the water inside the box to help create the siphon has long drained down into your sump.
I don't think that the water returning to the internal box would have enough pressure to trigger the siphon once your return pump kicked back in. I would assume you would always need that help from a pump to get water moving agian.
I have been running the CPR CS100 for almost a year and have yet to have it malfunction. I have the pre-filter on and it gets a weekly cleaning along with the tubing. I occasionally use a toothpick to clean out the nozzle coming out of the siphon to keep everything open and running smoothly.

[buffalo123]

Drill it if you can; less worries. Or if you have the room go with gravity fed system above your display. Water pump from display to sump above the aquarium and gravity fed back to the display.

[fishgate]

Originally Posted by FNDsalt

To start I would like to say that I haven't used the lifereef or Eshopps, I run the CPR. But as for the above quote, won't you always loose siphon with an overflow box if the power goes out? Water will always have to travel up and over the top of tank, and the water inside the box to help create the siphon has long drained down into your sump.
I don't think that the water returning to the internal box would have enough pressure to trigger the siphon once your return pump kicked back in. I would assume you would always need that help from a pump to get water moving agian.
I have been running the CPR CS100 for almost a year and have yet to have it malfunction. I have the pre-filter on and it gets a weekly cleaning along with the tubing. I occasionally use a toothpick to clean out the nozzle coming out of the siphon to keep everything open and running smoothly.

No this isn't correct. As long as siphon is maintained, it will start up again once water levels are such that water can flow.

So power goes out, your HOB sump drains until the water level is below the sump teeth in the box and water stops flowing into the overflow from the tank. The water flows out of the overflow until the portion of the overflow that has the bulkhead is dry. Then it stays in this state until the power comes back on and the return pump is started again. Once the return pump pumps enough water into the tank that it starts to flow into the overflow again, the siphon that never broke once again works as designed.

The trick to the Eshopps is that the box that the bulkhead attaches to has 2 chambers. The chamber without the bulkhead where the u tube goes allows the tube to always be submerged under water. So water flows through the u tube into this first chamber where it then overflows again into the bulkhead chamber.

Now I have seen Eshopps overflows lose siphon due to not enough flow in the tubes which cause air to collect in them. Enough air in the tube will stop the siphon. With the water level kept constant this doesn't happen.

[demariners]

When the siphon tube came loose from my box the siphons would not pull and therefore go over the tank and flood. Just keep an eye on it and they work rather well.

[csm41]

Originally Posted by fishgate

Now I have seen Eshopps overflows lose siphon due to not enough flow in the tubes which cause air to collect in them. Enough air in the tube will stop the siphon. With the water level kept constant this doesn't happen.

This is usually due to a return pump that is not powerful enough. Always get a bigger pump than you need and use a valve to regulate flow.

[Sandia97]

Originally Posted by fishgate

Due to the design of the Eshopps, I don't think it is possible for it to lose siphon due to a power outage. Lack of water in the overflow box (in tank) nor lack of water in the part that hangs over the edge won't cause it to lose siphon.

I am not sure what happened to yours.

Hmm I'm not sure either lol All I know is if I turn my pump off the water drains into the sump until the level is below the overflow box teeth (no more water to drain into the sump, no water in tank side of overflow to be sucked over by Utube so air gets in there )then I turn the pump back on the tank overflows unless I physically siphon the water flow in Utube again once the tank side of the box is full

[Yellow Rocket]

I have an eshopps and when I do water changes I never lose siphon. That being said I'm also happy with the quality of the overflow box.

[Dapg8gt]

I agree I have Eshopps and it does not ever loose siphon. The u tube has seperate chambers it's in to hold water in the tube to prevent loss of siphon. Myself that was the key selling point on it. I don't have to rely on a pump to start siphon. It works great top notch craftsmanship I have not had to reprimand it since it went on the tank. JMO I have never had a litereef so I can't comment on it if it's worth it but I know my Eshopps is well worth the little money I paid for it.

[Dapg8gt]

My Eshopps has this divider in the back to not loose siphon. The box inside the tank will hold all the water below the teeth so no loss of suction. Sorry for crappy pic LOL.

[demariners]

Yea that eshopps is NICE. I would stay away from the CPR. Just based on past experiences I have had NO luck with them.