Help :( Overflow on custom tank mounted too high

[dopey]

i was find a drill bit that fits the teeth sizing. I would place in a drill press and then jig up the box. Push the box into the side of the drill bit. Kinda like using a CC table but just by hand. Any thing done by hand will be hard to make look good. Other wise change flow or change the inside weir box. Your just making the flow-able area of inside box weir greater.

I actually have found a round file which fits perfectly -- 4mm round file, was shocked to find it. However given some of the feedback, perhaps I am completely misunderstanding this. Holding off on continuing with extending the slots until some resolution :-/

The last thing I want to be is an arrogant newbie doing the 'wrong thing first'. Appreciate any help confirming these should be extended, or how to get the water level right without modifying the overflow.

 

[dopey]

If changing the pump flow doesn't change the water height inside the tank then the weir isn't what is setting the water level and cutting it will do nothing.

What would be the behaviour if your overflow was oversized? As in the return pump is less than your primary pipe's flow rate?

 

[Silver14SS]

What would be the behaviour if your overflow was oversized? As in the return pump is less than your primary pipe's flow rate?

You wouldn’t be able to maintain a siphon. Think of a bathtub with the drain all the way open and the water supply being just a trickle.

Most people have a valve on the primary drain in an attempt to match the return rate to the drain rate.

 

[zalick]

Sending you a PM

 

[dopey]

You wouldn’t be able to maintain a siphon. Think of a bathtub with the drain all the way open and the water supply being just a trickle.

That is what i'm seeing.

What would dictate the water level in that case? The weir?

Thanks @zalick

 

[Silver14SS]

That is what i'm seeing.

What would dictate the water level in that case? The weir?

Thanks @zalick

do you have a gate valve on the drain?

 

[theMeat]

Judging by the hi flow and low flow pics it doesn’t seem the weir is the issue. But 3-5x tank volume is imo ideal, and run all my tanks that way. Could try that and see.
How much lower could you cut the openings on the weir? Take off the weir and post a pic.
Is it same water level in inside box and outside box? Take a pic of water level in outside and inside of overflow

 

[dopey]

do you have a gate valve on the drain?

I have one but not installed it. Was hoping to not need it.

 

[theMeat]

How many drain pipes exit the outside box?

 

[dopey]

Another bad video catching the 'startup':


There is three pipes in the exterior overflow. Primary that is very low in the box, secondary a bit higher, and middle one is emergency.

In the video the one nearest me is the primary, out of sight under the threaded tube. The middle is emergency, on the far end you can see the secondary. I think it's clear no water ever enters it.

On the interior box, water is falling over the slots and entering through the two drilled holes.

I just can't understand how anything in the exterior box can have any influence on the water level of the tank. Whichever is *higher* -- either the secondary pipe in the exterior box or the internal weir would dictate water height? In my case it's the internal slots?

I have a hard time seeing how watever level can ever be lower than the cut slots. Which those alone are higher than the water level we want to attain.

(Not trying to argue.)

 

[theMeat]

No worries, must be frustrating.
The primary overflow must have a valve for quiet operation, but we can get to that after you figure this out.
How much higher is glass than water level?

 

[dopey]

No worries, must be frustrating.
The primary overflow must have a valve for quiet operation, but we can get to that after you figure this out.
How much higher is glass than water level?

Less than 1cm

 

[theMeat]

Then even if you modify the weir it’s too high. IMO need at least 1 1/2 inches. Is weir removable?

 

[zalick]

You must use a valve on the primary drain. Without a valve you will not have silent flow and full siphon. You should also use a gate valve and not a ball valve. That is how you tune it properly.

Can you turn the pump to the lowest setting and take a video of the water entering the weir and the back of the overflow box .

Also remove the weir box and send a video of it operating with the pump on the lowest flow.

 

[zalick]

I have a hard time seeing how watever level can ever be lower than the cut slots. Which those alone are higher than the water level we want to attain.

(Not trying to argue.)

If the bottom of the slots is higher than you want the water line to be then you are correct nothing you do will fix the issue short of making the slots lower.

What is the distance between the bottom of the slots and the top of the bulkhead inside the weir.

also, regardless of the height of the water in your tank I would get this setup and plumbed properly operating as a bean animal setup so you understand how it works before making any changes.

if you end up needing to redo the plumbing from the overflow box to your sump it's no big deal and easy to do. but at least seen a properly running being animal set up and understanding how to tune it will help you in figuring out the whole system.

 

[dopey]

The bottom of the slots are 2.5-3cm above the top of the bulkhead. Difficult to accurately measure

I can't remove just the interior box. The interior box has threads going through the holes in the glass and into the exterior box with a nut.

Here is a startup with the pump on it's lowest setting.

I will add a valve to the primary drain. I haven't glued any of the overflow pipes, only the return lines.

I understand why increasing the pump should adjust the height in the display tank normally, but if the overflow is oversized.. I think you'd see what i'm experiencing. Until the primary drain is completely submerged constantly/second drain engaged the increase or decrease of the return pump will have no effect.

 

[fermentedhiker]

The bottom of the slots are 2.5-3cm above the top of the bulkhead. Difficult to accurately measure

I can't remove just the interior box. The interior box has threads going through the holes in the glass and into the exterior box with a nut.

Here is a startup with the pump on it's lowest setting.

I will add a valve to the primary drain. I haven't glued any of the overflow pipes, only the return lines.

I understand why increasing the pump should adjust the height in the display tank normally, but if the overflow is oversized.. I think you'd see what i'm experiencing. Until the primary drain is completely submerged constantly/second drain engaged the increase or decrease of the return pump will have no effect.

That is why you need a valve on the primary drain so you can adjust the flow down it until it achieves full siphon at the flow rate you choose as opposed to being fixed based on pipe size.

 

[zalick]

Regardless of the size of the overflow increasing the pump flow will increase the height in the tank to some extent.

as a side note, you will need to cut those bulkheads down to be just as long as the nut. under your current configuration or you will not be able to put the elbows on the primary and the backup drain and thus will not be able to run a silent & safe bean animal.

Is the internal weir adjustable up and down?

if you drained the tank and take the bulkheads off you can remove the internal we're and then put the bulkheads back on.

 

[zalick]

Read this thread. Its bean animals original thread discussing the concepts of his set up. It is called silent and safe. The safe part is if you have issues then the backup drain and the emergency drain can handle it. It's important to set it up exactly as he has designed it.

For example when I start up my system after it's been turned off the full siphon is not operating at full siphon due to air in the tube. So the backup drain kicks in which is also not operating at full siphon and then the emergency drain kicks in. All three drains operate on startup in my system.

Silent and Failsafe Overflow System - Reef Central Online Community

Silent and Failsafe Overflow System Do It Yourself

www.reefcentral.com

 

[zalick]

The bottom of the slots are 2.5-3cm above the top of the bulkhead. Difficult to accurately measure

I do think sanding or filing down the slots to be lower will help or solve your issue with water height.

However the entire overflow setup is not setup correctly. It will not operate silently or safely.

I think modular Marine makes an internal weir piece that is adjustable up and down on the bulkheads or is attachable directly to the glass not using the bulkheads. This could help solve your issue as well.