Too much over flow

OysterGurth · 05/29/2013, 06:52 PM

Was wondering if you can have to much over flow not so much gph but in lineal space

hollister · 05/29/2013, 07:06 PM

Overflow from what a sump? If so then yes. You want the sweet spot for maximum efffect. That depends on display tank size and fuge size but i think around 20 times.

haze152 · 05/29/2013, 09:51 PM

10 times an hour for overturn is good

wireefman · 05/29/2013, 09:56 PM

ive had coast to coast overflows on tanks in the past... from one end of the tank to the other... bulk head size will determain the flow through it...

Railcar79 · 05/29/2013, 10:39 PM

to answer your question, yes. too big of an overflow looks like chit. other than looks, no you can have an overflow that surrounds your tank, and it woks. it all comes down to the key factor in everything salt, do what you like, cause you are the one living with it, not the people here on the forums.

Fizz71 · 05/30/2013, 09:04 AM

Technically you can't have too much overflow, but like railcar said it can look like "chit".

There's also the pump to factor in....

If you don't have a pump that can keep up with the overflow the tank water level will be lower..that may or may not look like "chit" as well.

If you DO have a pump to keep up with it you're probably spending more on electricity than you really need. Return pumps pull much more amperage and run your electric bill up faster than a power head when looking at GPH per watt.

A faster pump will also mean more water in suspension that will fill up your sump on a power outage/pump failure. That in turn means you may have less buffer space for your evaporation..which is irrelevant if you have an ATO, but if you don't you could be topping off more often because you'll need your last chamber to stay low to catch that suspended water on a power outage/pump failure.

I personally don't get too concerned with turnover from the sump because fast or slow IMO doesn't really matter. Hell...I'm running 600gph on a 240g DT (2.5x)...but I also have extra water movement IN the 100g sump so it's almost it's own tank that I exchange water with REALLY slow.

My water level is lower than it would have been with more turnover, but I don't mind it...I actually have a very small overflow so it evens out a little.

So again...technically you can't have too much linear overflow, but there is an effect on the system you need to accept or deal with whether it's visual or volume related.

darkiss · 05/30/2013, 12:08 PM

No,

The flow rate is dependent upon how much your pumping into it.

Basically, the overflow flows as fast as the water that you are pumping into it.

05/29/2013, 06:52 PM	#1
OysterGurth Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Tucson, Az Posts: 46	Too much over flow Was wondering if you can have to much over flow not so much gph but in lineal space

05/30/2013, 09:04 AM	#6
Fizz71 FragSwapper Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: West Lawn, PA Posts: 5,800	Technically you can't have too much overflow, but like railcar said it can look like "chit". There's also the pump to factor in.... If you don't have a pump that can keep up with the overflow the tank water level will be lower..that may or may not look like "chit" as well. If you DO have a pump to keep up with it you're probably spending more on electricity than you really need. Return pumps pull much more amperage and run your electric bill up faster than a power head when looking at GPH per watt. A faster pump will also mean more water in suspension that will fill up your sump on a power outage/pump failure. That in turn means you may have less buffer space for your evaporation..which is irrelevant if you have an ATO, but if you don't you could be topping off more often because you'll need your last chamber to stay low to catch that suspended water on a power outage/pump failure. I personally don't get too concerned with turnover from the sump because fast or slow IMO doesn't really matter. Hell...I'm running 600gph on a 240g DT (2.5x)...but I also have extra water movement IN the 100g sump so it's almost it's own tank that I exchange water with REALLY slow. My water level is lower than it would have been with more turnover, but I don't mind it...I actually have a very small overflow so it evens out a little. So again...technically you can't have too much linear overflow, but there is an effect on the system you need to accept or deal with whether it's visual or volume related. __________________ --Fizz Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).

05/29/2013, 07:06 PM	#2
hollister Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2,037	Overflow from what a sump? If so then yes. You want the sweet spot for maximum efffect. That depends on display tank size and fuge size but i think around 20 times.

05/29/2013, 09:51 PM	#3
haze152 Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 115	10 times an hour for overturn is good

05/29/2013, 09:56 PM	#4
wireefman reefin chef Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 650	ive had coast to coast overflows on tanks in the past... from one end of the tank to the other... bulk head size will determain the flow through it...

05/29/2013, 10:39 PM	#5
Railcar79 Moved On Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Colton South Dakota Posts: 229	to answer your question, yes. too big of an overflow looks like chit. other than looks, no you can have an overflow that surrounds your tank, and it woks. it all comes down to the key factor in everything salt, do what you like, cause you are the one living with it, not the people here on the forums.

05/30/2013, 12:08 PM	#7
darkiss Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 569	No, The flow rate is dependent upon how much your pumping into it. Basically, the overflow flows as fast as the water that you are pumping into it.