Pump size for PVC overflow

Fishboy15 · 08/04/2016, 01:31 AM

I am making a DIY PVC overflow(joeys overflow) wondering if I have a .75 pipe with a 1.5 inch weir, what size size should I get? Can anyone recommend a good, not expensive, submersible pump for my sump? My tank is 29 gallons. I believe he says in his updated video that .75-1.5 inch pipe would handle 600 each.

Fishboy15 · 08/04/2016, 01:31 AM

I'm taking pipe not weir obviously

SFish · 08/04/2016, 05:59 AM

The pump sizes depends on If you use hose or PVC. How high it is from the sump to the top of the tank. If you use PVC the diameter of the pipe and the number of 90•s and or 45•s. Do want to run other stuff off the pump or is it for just the return? If you want to run other stuff as well then you need to over size the pump. Do you want an AC pump or a DC pump? What is the total volume of your system (sump+DT)? As for AC pumps Eheim or Syncra. As far as DC I couldn't tell you much in the way of whats good other then the Vectra

caldwell1217 · 08/04/2016, 03:19 PM

I tried the 3/4" one and it wouldn't keep up with my 600gph return for ****. so I made a 1" with 2" sleeving and it now keeps up with the return pump just fine

Fishboy15 · 08/06/2016, 09:17 PM

Gonna get a 350 gph pump, hopefully it's not too much for my 3/4 PVC

Fishboy15 · 08/08/2016, 12:31 AM

How do I make more water get sucked into the intake pipe? Right now my intake where the water goes into, to the sump, is not getting enough water through it. Right now it's just barely overflowing to the intake pipe and not enough water is going through the sunp

RWEngineer · 08/08/2016, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishboy15

How do I make more water get sucked into the intake pipe? Right now my intake where the water goes into, to the sump, is not getting enough water through it. Right now it's just barely overflowing to the intake pipe and not enough water is going through the sunp

Is this because there is not enough water flowing through the overflow or is there not enough flow pumped to the display tank?

Fishboy15 · 08/08/2016, 05:19 PM

I think my pump isn't pumping enough water to the display to make the overflow work harder and suck In more water. What pump should I get for my 3/4 overflow, it's a mix if PVC and hose.

SFish · 08/08/2016, 08:03 PM

You should be sizing the over flow to you pump not the pump to you over flow. You asked about the pump in your other post. I showed you how to look it up. You want about 220gph with head loss. You obviously have some crapy under power pump. Also it would have been easier and better to drill the tank and put an interal over flow in. They don't cost that much and you would have been done with it already.

See post

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2593458

The mag5 you asked about would work if your not using PVC on the return line. Mag pumps make a lot of noise FYI

See calculator

http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php...oss-calculator

Fishboy15 · 08/09/2016, 11:34 AM

Why would the mag drive work if I don't use pvc

mcgyvr · 08/09/2016, 12:23 PM

Good luck..
I wouldn't be caught dead with that "overflow" in my tank..
Its an accident waiting to happen..
Hope you have flood insurance..

SFish · 08/09/2016, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishboy15

Why would the mag drive work if I don't use pvc

Because other factors come into play then. Such as pipe size number of 45s and 90s. You would probably have to go bigger pump wise. I'm talking about PVC on the return pump not your over flow.

SFish · 08/09/2016, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Good luck..
I wouldn't be caught dead with that "overflow" in my tank..
Its an accident waiting to happen..
Hope you have flood insurance..

Agreed

Fishboy15 · 08/09/2016, 02:46 PM

If you watch the video of what I am doing, maybe you'll open up a little more. This guy knows what he is talking about. I guess I'm not being clear enough. http://youtu.be/UZytENJZtJw

SFish · 08/09/2016, 03:06 PM

Already seen the video long before your post. An in tank over flow is the safest to have. On top of that PVC in the tank like that is ugly but to each his own.

SFish · 08/09/2016, 07:31 PM

Just a few posts on your overflow

mfinn · 08/09/2016, 07:38 PM

When you get tired of the pos pvc overflow, look for a good overflow box made for use in aquariums.
Those have been tried for a couple decades and they really are prone to failure.

SFish · 08/09/2016, 09:05 PM

An overflow where your telling me I need a vacuum pump to make it reliable is a crap design to start with.

Fishboy15 · 08/09/2016, 09:35 PM

Lol I can find comments too where it says it works perfectly and 100% fail proof, which does nothing for me or you. You paint the PVC black with aquarium safe krylon paint, with an already painted black background. The output of the overflow is 1 inch below the waterline. So 1-3 gallons will drain into the sump, which would have 10+ extra gallons of room to help with this issue. The outlet is near the water like so draining the whole tank is impossible. The loud noises are easily avoidable and not that terrible to begin with. If you do it right and follow directions you won't have those issues. You need to cap the stand pipe(tallest pipe) to lower the noise. The one I tried doesn't have a loud noise. The restricted flow is probably because of not correct air tight sealed or wrong PVC diameters for your pump. The bubbles are from having too big PVC intake or weir that's causing bubbles. Joey made a video of this years and years back before having YouTube fame. He just upgraded his old version to this new version. He's not just putting out into for the money. Iv seen many people have these for years without trouble. It's easy to say hey just buy a premade fail proof one for $200. Just cause a big manufacture makes them doesn't make them 100% safe. Just cause you have the money to buy a brand new one, doesn't mean this DIY one doesn't work. I appreciate the input though to understand not to always listen to people because if you even haven't even tried it or even watched the video, your comment is irrelevant to just say it's a pos and just buy a new one. Yeah it's easy to buy one online but it's fun to save money and build my things DIY. Iv done a lot of research and I respect your comments but this will work, you have to do it right. It works 100% because I said so!! Haha

Fishboy15 · 08/09/2016, 09:41 PM

Came here to double check with other users and apparently none of the negative comments have tried them. Just gotta use your head a little more and I like to save money also rather than just over paying for a plastic box.

SFish · 08/09/2016, 10:15 PM

LOL

What ever. If you know so much then why even ask? What joke. If you think about it you would know it's safer to not siphon water over the top of the tank. A big ulgy 2" pipe in the tank going down to the bottom is going to stand out and then the noise from the pump would drive me nuts.

QuiQuog · 08/10/2016, 12:57 AM

I've monkeyed with the PVC overflow before and the noise was unbearable for me. If it's not an issue for you, then it's not for others to say it is. Same thing for the ugly factor. However, in the spirit of helping, what this site is for, I would also advise against the PVC overflow due to its unreliability. I understand that many people have had some measure of success with this project, but I think more have been less than thrilled with it.

But in keeping with your desire for a DIY project and keeping cost down, I would suggest that you buy a cheap box style shown above, or make your own. You can then drill the tank and install a Herbie style overflow at the least. You would then have the advantage of a truly silent overflow with a measure of blockage protection. It would cost a bit more than the PVC overflow, but not near as much as buying a prefab product. It would look about a bazillion times better, and you'd have still made it yourself. And you still get to use PVC!

This video shows an interesting way of doing it without a whole lot of piping.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x3Z_4HrM8WY
There are many other ways of doing it, but they all operate under the same principle. I would suggest that you research a bit about the Herbie and BeanAnimal overflows. When you understand why people have come up with ways to prevent disaster, you will start to understand why most experienced people balk at the idea of the PVC overflow.

As far as the pump goes,
https://www.amazon.com/Rio-Plus-1700...=rio+plus+1700
this Rio+ 1700 will pump about 350gph at 4 ft, but even after factoring in elbows and pipe length resistance that may be too much for you tank. You can look at the charts to find one that matches your desired output. Rio pumps are fairly quiet depending on what you think quiet is, but much quieter than the toilet flushing sound you get with a PVC overflow.

Good luck.

mfinn · 08/10/2016, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishboy15

Came here to double check with other users and apparently none of the negative comments have tried them. Just gotta use your head a little more

Wrong, wrong.

You are the one that needs to use your head a little more.
It's a design that's going to fail. I first saw this more than 20 years ago.
I even gave it a try and it only took a day to realize that it's not a good idea.

Time to upgrade.

We are only trying to give you advice based on what has been tried before.

Don't take it as a knock against you.

SFish · 08/10/2016, 12:01 PM

My point exactly. He's posted about the same thing a few times probably looking for someone to tell him these things work great. A few people have told him not to use this type of overflow.

If you want to DIY something DIY an overflow box.

QuiQuog · 08/10/2016, 01:48 PM

Things will work great. ...or not.

08/04/2016, 01:31 AM	#1
Fishboy15 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 50	Pump size for PVC overflow I am making a DIY PVC overflow(joeys overflow) wondering if I have a .75 pipe with a 1.5 inch weir, what size size should I get? Can anyone recommend a good, not expensive, submersible pump for my sump? My tank is 29 gallons. I believe he says in his updated video that .75-1.5 inch pipe would handle 600 each.

08/04/2016, 05:59 AM	#3
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	The pump sizes depends on If you use hose or PVC. How high it is from the sump to the top of the tank. If you use PVC the diameter of the pipe and the number of 90•s and or 45•s. Do want to run other stuff off the pump or is it for just the return? If you want to run other stuff as well then you need to over size the pump. Do you want an AC pump or a DC pump? What is the total volume of your system (sump+DT)? As for AC pumps Eheim or Syncra. As far as DC I couldn't tell you much in the way of whats good other then the Vectra Last edited by SFish; 08/04/2016 at 06:07 AM.

08/08/2016, 08:03 PM	#9
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	You should be sizing the over flow to you pump not the pump to you over flow. You asked about the pump in your other post. I showed you how to look it up. You want about 220gph with head loss. You obviously have some crapy under power pump. Also it would have been easier and better to drill the tank and put an interal over flow in. They don't cost that much and you would have been done with it already. See post http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2593458 The mag5 you asked about would work if your not using PVC on the return line. Mag pumps make a lot of noise FYI See calculator http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php...oss-calculator Last edited by SFish; 08/08/2016 at 08:28 PM.

08/09/2016, 12:23 PM	#11
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Good luck.. I wouldn't be caught dead with that "overflow" in my tank.. Its an accident waiting to happen.. Hope you have flood insurance.. __________________ Who me?

08/09/2016, 03:06 PM	#15
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	Already seen the video long before your post. An in tank over flow is the safest to have. On top of that PVC in the tank like that is ugly but to each his own. Last edited by SFish; 08/09/2016 at 03:14 PM.

08/04/2016, 03:19 PM	#4
caldwell1217 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Posts: 12	I tried the 3/4" one and it wouldn't keep up with my 600gph return for ****. so I made a 1" with 2" sleeving and it now keeps up with the return pump just fine

08/06/2016, 09:17 PM	#5
Fishboy15 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 50	Gonna get a 350 gph pump, hopefully it's not too much for my 3/4 PVC

08/08/2016, 12:31 AM	#6
Fishboy15 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 50	How do I make more water get sucked into the intake pipe? Right now my intake where the water goes into, to the sump, is not getting enough water through it. Right now it's just barely overflowing to the intake pipe and not enough water is going through the sunp

08/08/2016, 05:19 PM	#8
Fishboy15 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 50	I think my pump isn't pumping enough water to the display to make the overflow work harder and suck In more water. What pump should I get for my 3/4 overflow, it's a mix if PVC and hose.

08/09/2016, 11:34 AM	#10
Fishboy15 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 50	Why would the mag drive work if I don't use pvc

08/09/2016, 02:46 PM	#14
Fishboy15 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 50	If you watch the video of what I am doing, maybe you'll open up a little more. This guy knows what he is talking about. I guess I'm not being clear enough. http://youtu.be/UZytENJZtJw

08/09/2016, 07:31 PM	#16
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	Just a few posts on your overflow

08/09/2016, 07:38 PM	#17
mfinn Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Olympia. WA. Posts: 8,648	When you get tired of the pos pvc overflow, look for a good overflow box made for use in aquariums. Those have been tried for a couple decades and they really are prone to failure. __________________ 240 gallon soft coral tank 50 gallon lps tank

08/09/2016, 09:05 PM	#18
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	An overflow where your telling me I need a vacuum pump to make it reliable is a crap design to start with.

08/09/2016, 09:35 PM	#19
Fishboy15 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 50	Lol I can find comments too where it says it works perfectly and 100% fail proof, which does nothing for me or you. You paint the PVC black with aquarium safe krylon paint, with an already painted black background. The output of the overflow is 1 inch below the waterline. So 1-3 gallons will drain into the sump, which would have 10+ extra gallons of room to help with this issue. The outlet is near the water like so draining the whole tank is impossible. The loud noises are easily avoidable and not that terrible to begin with. If you do it right and follow directions you won't have those issues. You need to cap the stand pipe(tallest pipe) to lower the noise. The one I tried doesn't have a loud noise. The restricted flow is probably because of not correct air tight sealed or wrong PVC diameters for your pump. The bubbles are from having too big PVC intake or weir that's causing bubbles. Joey made a video of this years and years back before having YouTube fame. He just upgraded his old version to this new version. He's not just putting out into for the money. Iv seen many people have these for years without trouble. It's easy to say hey just buy a premade fail proof one for $200. Just cause a big manufacture makes them doesn't make them 100% safe. Just cause you have the money to buy a brand new one, doesn't mean this DIY one doesn't work. I appreciate the input though to understand not to always listen to people because if you even haven't even tried it or even watched the video, your comment is irrelevant to just say it's a pos and just buy a new one. Yeah it's easy to buy one online but it's fun to save money and build my things DIY. Iv done a lot of research and I respect your comments but this will work, you have to do it right. It works 100% because I said so!! Haha

08/09/2016, 09:41 PM	#20
Fishboy15 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 50	Came here to double check with other users and apparently none of the negative comments have tried them. Just gotta use your head a little more and I like to save money also rather than just over paying for a plastic box.

08/09/2016, 10:15 PM	#21
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	LOL What ever. If you know so much then why even ask? What joke. If you think about it you would know it's safer to not siphon water over the top of the tank. A big ulgy 2" pipe in the tank going down to the bottom is going to stand out and then the noise from the pump would drive me nuts. Last edited by SFish; 08/09/2016 at 10:41 PM.

08/10/2016, 12:57 AM	#22
QuiQuog Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 40	I've monkeyed with the PVC overflow before and the noise was unbearable for me. If it's not an issue for you, then it's not for others to say it is. Same thing for the ugly factor. However, in the spirit of helping, what this site is for, I would also advise against the PVC overflow due to its unreliability. I understand that many people have had some measure of success with this project, but I think more have been less than thrilled with it. But in keeping with your desire for a DIY project and keeping cost down, I would suggest that you buy a cheap box style shown above, or make your own. You can then drill the tank and install a Herbie style overflow at the least. You would then have the advantage of a truly silent overflow with a measure of blockage protection. It would cost a bit more than the PVC overflow, but not near as much as buying a prefab product. It would look about a bazillion times better, and you'd have still made it yourself. And you still get to use PVC! This video shows an interesting way of doing it without a whole lot of piping. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x3Z_4HrM8WY There are many other ways of doing it, but they all operate under the same principle. I would suggest that you research a bit about the Herbie and BeanAnimal overflows. When you understand why people have come up with ways to prevent disaster, you will start to understand why most experienced people balk at the idea of the PVC overflow. As far as the pump goes, https://www.amazon.com/Rio-Plus-1700...=rio+plus+1700 this Rio+ 1700 will pump about 350gph at 4 ft, but even after factoring in elbows and pipe length resistance that may be too much for you tank. You can look at the charts to find one that matches your desired output. Rio pumps are fairly quiet depending on what you think quiet is, but much quieter than the toilet flushing sound you get with a PVC overflow. Good luck.

08/10/2016, 12:01 PM	#24
SFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,062	My point exactly. He's posted about the same thing a few times probably looking for someone to tell him these things work great. A few people have told him not to use this type of overflow. If you want to DIY something DIY an overflow box. Last edited by SFish; 08/10/2016 at 12:13 PM.

08/10/2016, 01:48 PM	#25
QuiQuog Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 40	Things will work great. ...or not.