Need Advice About My Overflow

[travie]

I could be minutes away from connecting my tanks, but I've run into a problem. I have my overflow box in the tank(the part that's suppose to be in the tank, but the notches are too big. Like if I were to run it in its current state, the water level will be way lower then I want it to be esp. since I'm running an AC70 filter. I have aquarium sealant. But I'm not sure what to seal over part of the notches on the overflow.

SUMMARY OF QUESTION: What should I use to reduce notches in overflow box so water level is higher in the tank? Thanks for the help.

 

[Peterpiper]

Is the overflow made of glass or acrilic? I ask because silicone don't work to good on acrilic.
Can you not look at lifting the overflow?

 

[travie]

I'm pretty sure its plastic. I can't lift it anymore then what is it, because of the hood.

 

[Peterpiper]

Can you post a pic?

Where the overflow box ( the one that goes into the tank ) is joined to the black plastic, is that bolted? if it is then raise it at this point and trim the syphon back the same amount as you raise the box

 

[travie]

Where the overflow box ( the one that goes into the tank ) is joined to the black plastic, is that bolted?

Not bolted. Just hooks onto.

if it is then raise it at this point and trim the syphon back the same amount as you raise the box

I don't get what you mean by trimming the syphon back the same amount as the box is raised.

 

[Peterpiper]

If it hooks in, could you drill new holes higher for it to hook into? that would raise the box.
The syphon is the "U" shape pipe, and if you raise the box then the pipe may hit the bottom of the box.

 

[travie]

Gotcha... I'll make sure to raise the U-Tube. There is no more room to drill new holes. Its looking like I will need to raise both boxes as high as I can, and just block part of the notches with plastic and silicon.

 

[Peterpiper]

Just a thought, can you trim the hood so you can raise the overflow?
I don't know what type of hood you have.

 

[agsansoo]

The overflow box is adjustable. It has nylon screws to adjust the height of the box. This in turn will adjust the height of the water in the tank. Once set to the proper height, like peterpiper said you must notch out the hood.

 

[travie]

I'm not seeing any screws. I can't really notch anymore out of my hood, because I will start to cut into where my light sits. Side Question: Whats the best way to make sure no fish goes into my overflow?

I have it working... I just need to make sure everything is set the way I want it now.

 

[Peterpiper]

Side Question: Whats the best way to make sure no fish goes into my overflow?

Look for some small plastic netting in a hardware store. In Australia we have gutter guard, this fits into the roof gutters and stops leaf matter going into them, then use cable ties to fix it to the box.
Good to see you got it working

 

[travie]

I'll setup the mesh screen next weekend hopefully. My outflow from the pump and overflow were to strong for my fish and tanks. So I'm in the process of connecting both tubes to spare old HOB filters that I have.

 

[Peterpiper]

You could defuse the return from the pump.. spilt it so it has 4 outlets. What is your total flow you have in the tank?

 

[travie]

Water pump is rated at 356 gph, and the overflow, I think, is rated up to 500 gph. I will post pictures of the way I have the flow being reduced, but I don't feel completely comfortable with my DIY. Next weekend, I will setup the mesh and split the outflow into at least 4. Thanks for all the help. So hopefully by Monday night, I will have pictures uploaded of my crazy flow reducer.

 

[Peterpiper]

What size tank do you have? you should have 10 x volume = flow as a min. some will say more.. but 10 is the min ( unless you are keeping seahorses.. )

 

[travie]

I'm connecting a 29 gallon and 10g. I know its probably dumb to connect tanks that small, but once I finally get a house of my own, I will connect tanks that are bigger.

The first picture is the one that has the overflow connected to it. The current is still too strong with it, so I will be going with PVC pipe. The second picture is the one with the water pump connected to it, which doesn't have the actual HOB in the picture, but that is what the hood looks like.