Have an issue? cant get it to work? HERE IS THE FIX: I have been answering questions on this project for years now.. and no longer will. Its the same answer again and again... the #1 answer that solves 99% of all issues is this: PAY ATTENTION TO THE VIDEO. 99% simply do not follow the instructions or build it the same way, yet expect it to still work. The other 1% have an air leak somewhere. Find it. Seal it. Sorry, but i simply do not have the time to keep answering the same questions, when they all result with this same solution. IF YOU MUST get help, POST A PHOTO to my fan page so i can at least SEE what the problem is. I will not be able to help otherwise. facebook.com/UaruJoey Original video ► goo.gl/4EU9ZX How it all works ► goo.gl/L1Fg7M The modified and upgraded version ► goo.gl/ZGRtXj
THE unanswered question(s): What happens if you adjust the Drain 'T' upwards to the water level in the tank? How does that affect the Flow Rate/Capacity? And Velocity through the Siphon Bend?
Very nice tutorials. I've just build my overflow and when trying to prime it I realized the solution to a problem that has been comment on. If you're sucking on the check valve as shown at 4:00 mins, you will never prime it without capping off the drain and putting some water in the standpipe, so you can suck water up into the loop under the check-valve. Alternatively (after you've capped the drainage) if your stand pipe is long enough it may self-prime just by filling the stand-pipe up above the loop under the check-valve. If that worked, you wouldn't need the check valve. Hope this helps.
Just wanted to say Thank You Joey for all the valuable information you've provided. I have been out of fish keeping since the early 1980's but have wanted another tank for a long time. Thanks to all your Video's I now have (in just a couple of months) a 55 gallon Hex Freshwater Artificial Reef aquarium (Gift from a friend, with the D.I.Y. Sump filter and Overflow), a 20 gallon long and the 2 1/2 gallon Bow Front for my Beta "Max". The tanks are amazingly clear and I've learned a lot from you!
One thing to note. The amount the overflow will handle will vary greatly depending on the elevation difference between the overflow inlet (tank level) and the outlet. placing the outlet near the bottom of the tank will maximize flow. Great vid!
+The king of DIY QUESTION: 1:55 Can the white pvc portion of the overflow that is outside the yellow line (indicating the aquarium) be inside another aquarium where the water level is only a few inches lower than the first aquarium, will it still function? Or, if that portion is kept between the two aquariums, can the output be raised to where it's only a few inches lower than the input? Or, can it be done with some sort of overflow box? Or will it just never get started again after a power outage? Is a drill-thru into both tanks the only way?
+The king of DIY Like this or that, would these not work??? i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp43/mef1975/jk_zps2sj44rnj.jpg i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp43/mef1975/jk%201_zpsx0syvcdh.jpg Or maybe, bringing the water level in the taller aquarium down to the same level as the shorter one, and using a U tube or bridge is the only way?
Thank you for your awesome videos. I think it's also important to mention the collection of "micro-bubbles" which can collect and eventually break the siphon at the primer point and defeat the entire purpose. I corrected this by running a 1/4" airtube from the primer point to the sump. After priming, air is continually lifted into the 1/4" tube and then back down. This seems to maintain the overflow after a power outage without the worry of air bubbles building up and breaking it overnight.
Hi, i watched your clip about 5 times and went out to buy materials to build an overflow and it works beautifully once set up. Instead of the usual white PVC piping and accessories, i used clear PVC piping and parts to reduce the visual impact in the tank and it looks very good, haha.
Joey, this is killing me. This design is clearly the best in terms of cost and effectiveness, so I've set my first one up with 3/4" piping, but the darn thing is not moving much water. Certainly not 220 gph. It's barely trickling into the sump, and I had to clamp the return valve because I can't turn my pump down low enough to be less than the overflow amount. Oh well, I'll have to trouble shoot, thanks for the easy how to video on it. You deserve more praise and less questions. haha
Thanks for the great vid! Ive built myself the 1" version and it works exactly as you said it would. However, i didn't install the check valve. Instead, i simply sucked air through the stand pipe to get it primed.
BTW - huge compliments on this series of videos.. I've been watching them for several hours today. This was the first one I wanted to comment about, to help improve the presentation.. The rest have been super.
Wow I love a lot of your videos. I couldn't find a video of how you made your 284 gallon tank! That would be awesome. I think your tank is easily the most professional looking.
Thanks for all the vids Joey, they help a lot. Three questions: (1) Will the overflows get noisier as the diameter increases? (2) As a unitized weir, could I cut or file small teeth around the overflow opening, or drill a ring of small holes just below it? (3) Can I plumb two complete overflow loops together (side by side) and connect them both to only a single tall pipe w/end cap?
I made an overflow just like this (got the idea from this video, Thank you Joey :) for a 20g tank that I am using as a second refugium on my system. I used 3/4 pvc for the overflow and a little powerhead for the return. I have valves on both so I can adjust , but found that wide open on both is working fine. I did not use the check valve and was able to prime from the hole in the air vent cap. I let it run a few , turned off the powerhead , then back on and it resumed overflow.
if you have a power outage and the return pump dies, the tank level will drop to just below the open pipe on the inside. if that tall outside standpipe isn't there, gravity to your sump will have a siphon effect-it will continue to pull all the water out of the whole PVC system until it's just a bunch of dry tubes. no problem, right? except when the power comes back and the return pump starts, you have to run over there really quick and slurpy-prime the siphon again before your tank overflows!
Thanks for the presentation. I created an overflow just exactly as you mentioned only difference is, I use a small suction pump to suck out the air instead of the check valve. I don't know where to get a small check valve, I don't want to keep using the pump, it needs to run all the time and it's noisey. So I prefer your method, if I could find a check valve.
Thanks this is great information and a pretty simple solution. Which kind of PVC glue can be used to join the different pipe sections? I am concerned about pvc glue being toxic to fish
I think your videos are the best, very good quality. Can you tell me why the overflow has to go to the bottom of the tank ? I saw one made that only went about half way down, the exit pipe was higher up the tank though. Is it better to go all the way down to the tank bottom ? Thanks, Nick
very nice job on the video, its a great solution to buying one of overflow boxes. i was thinking of building one for my 56 gal fowlr, but i have a couple questions about the return pump for it, lets say i use a 660 gph powerhead for the return, two of the 1 in pipes would be able to keep up with that right? the idea im getting is depending on the amount of water flowing back up into the tank from the sump will dictate the gph of the overflows as long as it doesnt exceed their flow rate.
I believe your explanation is inaccurate at 3:46. The water line would never go above the top of the outlet pipe at the bottom left of the picture unless it is flowing out slower than what's coming from the main tank or outlet is blocked. As the water line rises up to the bottom of the outlet pipe, it will spill out and down to the sump. But let's just assume that the outlet put was clogged, the water line would only rise up to the level of the water in the main tank and never higher.
Jay Eel I also think that if you were able to put a valve on the outlet and lock it off. Then you could just pour water in the tallest tube, the one on the outside of the aquarium, and that would prime the whole thing.
Ok - I capped off the drain and filled the standpipe, but still had some air in the loop, so the check-valve was needed. Wow - this works really well!!!! I'm using it in conjunction with the DIY Aquarium Auto Water Change at about 2 liters per hour for a 160 liter tank, rather than to a sump and pumping back up to the tank. Will drop this to 1 liter per hour when adjusting, so I get a complete water change every week. Thanks heaps King of DIY - no more manual water changes for me ever again!!!!
Hey Joey, I am new to the hobby but been using your videos for reviews on upgrading my tank's performance, and sex appeal. What is the purpose of an overflow. Is it to get rid of necessary equipment heater, filter, bubbles, ect from inside your aquarium, and put it into the sump. Can I actually hook my filter inside the sump with the setup. Also am I able to take out all equipment that made current inside the tank with this setup. Please get back to me you are very good at what you do.
I made the same overflow in this video just like Joey says, but did not use the check valve.I primed the unit by sucking on the air vent cap with the hole in it (yes I did get a mouthful of SW just don"t spit it into your tank :P) . After that I tested the overflow by turning on and off the return pump and the overflow resumed just fine, but I might add a float valve just to be on the safe side. $15 for all I needed in 3/4in along with some extra fittings = no brainer IMO.
Wow Joey, thanks a lot for the explanation I was waiting for. I dont want to drill a hole on my tank panel and I wasn't able to figure out how this works. For me at my place, drilling the panel after installing tank would be difficult.
In the video (the part about flow rates and matching to pump rates) it is mentioned to add two overflows, in case one gets clogged to prevent the tank from overflowing. This isn't mentioned anywhere else, but seems to be an important point. Is the second overflow vital? If not, how do you prevent the tank from overflowing in case of blockage? Thanks....your videos have given me way too many ideas!!!
Hopefully this will help some people. First and foremost, yes, this design works (I am using it myself). However, it is not actually an overflow, it's a siphon. Now, this is an extremely clever design and the way it's build allows the siphon to act like an overflow. It being a siphon is the reason so many people may have trouble with this. A siphon relies on suction, so it needs to be airtight. SEAL AND RESEAL. GET IT AIR TIGHT. If air leaks, it will either not work or slowly undo itself.
hey joey i like ur vids and im making a 3/4 pvc overflow with the pipes to the sump which is then connected by a hose....im using a 290 gallon pump....to the overflow i added a under-gravel cleaner simply by putting a T in the bottom inside part of the overflow....my question is if power goes out the top part will stop the siphon because water will go lower than the entry ...but what about the under-gravel...will it still siphon ? should i drill a small hole on the top of the inside pipe ?
Use powerheads pointed at the bottom to make sure you don't get crap sitting down there, they will blow it up and into the filter. Overflows are useually used with a sump as a biological filter, so just run something like a HOB or canister filter to polish the water at the same time. This also gives you redundancy, if you need to work on your sump or wait for a broken pump your fish will be ok for a while running just on the canister or HOB and the media in them will be cycled.
I really liked the idea and definitely going to use one at my 50 gallon tank, the question I have is why do we need the "Check Valve" as I see is once we suck the air out of this and make it working, we might never need this Valve and for creating the vaccum we can always suck at the longer pipe(Blocking the water outlet). Please confirm if I am thinking it right.
so the valve is needed at all times? i thought it was only needed for start up? I was thinking the same thing xreapingsx mentioned. If i cap the exit with my hand and suck the air out through the top end cap wouldn't that remove all the air from that loop? or is that check valve needed to continuously keep air out? thanks, btw your vids have really helped a lot in my build! keep up the good work!
Best info on the subject I've found! I did exactly as you said and it's running (in buckets) great! Can't wait to replace my 2 canister filters on my 125g turtle tank!
hey big fan... im a little confused. when u start sucking on the valve.. around 3:47.. and the outside pipe fills up, do you have to plug the bottom where the water exits. . thanks..
hi joey, i'm fairly new in aquarium stuff, please bear with me. Does the length/height of the tubes matter? i mean, does it really have to loop all the way down to the bottom of the tank (inside and outside)? i have seen other DIY's for overflow and some have the pipes just half way down, and some really short. I just want to know if there's a significant change in flow rate or any other effects that i should know about? Thanks in advance bro. btw, all your videos have been absolutely helpful!
for a 125 gallon, what diameter pvc would you recommend for the best most efficiente water flow and how many gallons should the pump be able to pump back into the tank? i have been watching your videos for a long time and i think i am finally going to build one of these for my 125 gallon.
This looks really Nice and easy to make, Marvelous Idea you have here, I know I asked the same question at one of your other videos too, just in case if you checks this one first. My question is, does it loose the syphon over time and if it does how would I prevent this? Please help
Thanks for the quick reply, wouldn't air bubbles travel with the water, just curious as you had been with the aquarium systems since a long time and I am real new to aquariums.
You are the exit to my headaches, may I change the length of the tubes based on your explaining? I mean what if I want the sucking side to be in the bottom of the tank, would that work if I drain all de air with the valve? or maybe if I have to adapt all the tube´s length to the height of the tank and my sump filter? please answer.. TY
THANKS, THE VIDS HELPED ALOT. I'm building a tank like the plywood one that u built. i was concerned with the cost involved esp for the filter setup but u made everything cheap and easy to do, like the filter cost. i am prob going to put the overflow lines in the tank but in this vid u say to use 2 overflows. would it cut the cost in half or so if u put a t at the inlet with 2 90s and a screen to prevent things from gettin sucked up? and do you think that would work on both overflow methods?
What up joey for the over flow you said you should have two running if the same diameter over flows wont that cause flooding if your return pump is inly returning half the amount of water ?
It's an easy way to build your own plumbing for a sump. I'm currently working on one so my filter, heater, and refugium can be underneath the tank out of sight. Plus it increases your overall water volume. I'm doing it for a freshwater planted tank, but it's common for saltwater tanks like coral tanks.
Joey, Question reg. flow rate. Tank is a Red Sea 250 (D). I will have a sump below with an Iwaki 40RLT as my return. I have a Tru union ball check valve and another ball valve connected. (both are right off the pump) 2nd ball valve will be to adjust flow. the return is going up roughly 5 ft (chiller will be in between). I was planning on doing a 1" overflow, but now I see It should be at least 1.25" if not 1.5". Uncertain what will be best. While I will have my skimmer down below, I am uncertain I want to undertake making two of these let alone one. I am excited to make this work, and with a Hofers gurgle device over the intake, I can't see why I should make two overflows. Believe me, I am someone who doesn't like to leave anything to chance. And I do get the idea of "better safe than sorry". But I thought if properly done, I should be OK. . If you do strongly recommend doing two overflows, should I then use 1": or 1.25?? I'm taking my time on this and really want to do it right before I put a single drop of RODI in this tank Thanks for any input you can give!
Joey, i've just built one but have not put it to use yet, but just wondering about the priming part when you suck on the check valve to remove any air. Question is., when i suck on the check valve air will continuously be sucked in from the stand pipe that has a hole in it plus not to mention the output where the "T" connection is. Question 2 is, how will i know that the pipe is full of trapped air and is time to suck it out? which no one has ever mention on all the videos.
@uarujoey, thanks for your reply, i did not realize that traped air can get into the top of the overflow where the check valve is. Is that a flaw to this type of setup? How often can you loose your flow because of trapped air? Im guessing it would be depend on your individual setup. But im just wondering if it is something i would have to constantly be worring about? last question sorry but does the trapped air come from the water intake, or from the extented air pipe outside the tank?
Nice collection of videos. Since you and other recommend two overflows to guard against clogs (etc.) what about a dual setup? I've seen other vids but want to keep any such twin overflows on one side so the return is on the other. Any suggestions as to how you'd couple two of your designs together. Ideally there would only be one pipe to sump, but perhaps that defeats the whole purpose. Thoughts?
Good video, I am building this using your video as the template but the only difference is the point where the water exits will be different for me. I will build the overflow exactly the same with an additional 90 pvc fitting right where the water exits and run it straight down to my refugium. Will this create a syphon since it drops down again or will it work the same if I build it exactly the same and put the 90 on the end of that piece you showed the water exiting out of?
The design needs modified - I'll try to explain here. I recommend a slight modification to the design due to the probability of air intake into the siphon tube using this configuration. The modification is this: The outflowing T should be placed half-way up the vent-stack pipe. The reason this should be done is to prevent the intake cascade inside the overflow chute from carrying bubbles past the first elbow: if water isn't moving fast enough could collect air by the check-valve and flow failure
I think your right mate! Mine is primed then it stops working as powerful I reckon it’s down to the bubbles from the air pump getting into it! Guna have to have a think about it
The tee piece is the critical piece, or rather the height of the tee piece above the bottom bends. The 'main' loop going over the tank side is a siphon with a 'head' equal the the height of the tee piece from bottom. Block the outlet and standpipe whilst sucking to get the water over the tank into the main loop.
great video I built one also. one problem one time it stopped taking in water and I had to once again bleed air from the oneway valve any idea how to correct? I used 1 1/4 pvc worked fine last two weeks but had to restrat siphon last night as it started to overflow
this is very helpful man.. thanks.. i already made my own overflow.. now my question is.. what type of pump should i used for my 15gal tank? thanks in advance!
Hi Joey, If the volume of water for a 0.5 inch overflow pipe is 90 gals, is that 90 gals entering the tank or is that 90 gals of water at the pump not allowing for the head height?
I wonder whats the cap for on the top of the outside part of the system ? Did u glu the cap on the tube or is it used to minimise the noise of the overflowing water ? Thanks
I had a quick question joey, i just do not understand the purpose of the check valve, why can you not just prime out of the air intake pipe? your thoughts on that would be awesome thanks
Thanks for the informative video. I made this using 1 1/2" PVC and its great. However I only made one and I'm worried that it may get clogged and my tabk will run over so I need to make that other one asap. But I love overflows simply because you get a height rate of water filtration and it skims the surface of the water at the same time.
how reliable is this overflow i keep tropheous and they are pretty touchy dont want to mess this up but would like to have a sump without drilling my tank thanks by the way love the acrilic build will be building my own soon too i am also from canada toronto scarborough
Hi joey, i tried this and it work as it should be. However, my concern is that with this setup, it seems that it is only cleaning dirt that are floating. How about the once at the bottom? What do you usually do with that aside from siphoning separately using a hose? hope to hear from you.
Hi Joe, I have a 55 gallon long and will be using mag drive 7 pump to send water back to my tank from my sump. What diameter PVC would you recommend me using??
Hey Joey, I have a question about this overflow. First off, I am a big fan of your videos and you do tremendous (and very innovative) work. My question concerns the the overflow shutting itself off. Every now and then, I'll walk into my room only to hear the sounds of pumps struggling to get water and ill also notice that the water level is not below the intake pipe, but above it and for some reason is just not pulling the water down. Any reason s for this? Thanks
Ok I'm a newbie to marine aquariums, so forgive me if this is a stupid question but: If the power goes out, what would cause the water to fill up in the aquarium? I mean if there's no power, then there's no pump filling the aquarium. How would the overflow happen? Thanks!
Quick question... How do you prime this system? Correct me if Im wrong, but air will take the travel of least resistance, the exhaust end... Sucking on the check valve will only pull air from the exhaust end of the system, and not the filled pipe inside the tank.... Should the exhaust pipe and breather pipe be plugged up to prime the system? Please explain... Thanks.
hi there, i have a couple questions..i hope you can answer them for me! first off, ill be using this meathod on my 115 gallon piranha tank, what size tubing should i be doing this with?? i was thinking 1" drain and 3/4" return, would that be too small?? second, ill be using the sump as a wet/ dry system, the bio balls (or nylon sponge) should be the firstfilter media right? and should be "dripped" on not submerged correct?? i cant find any good videos on how to properly set it up. 30 gal sump
Hi Joey, Thanks for all the great aquarium DIY. I just started a tank up after not having them for years and the tips, tricks, and advice from you have been great. I've run into a problem though, and cant figure it out. I built an overflow, but cant get it to flow. I only made one change and that is the direction of my exit pipe. It seems like I cant get the air out to create the suction to prime the overflow. Any thoughts as to why? Im totally stuck.
Does it need to be the entire height of the aquarium? Could the same effect be achieved if the whole thing was low enough to stay just under the water line?
This is extremely easy to make, buy parts and a tube of PVC cement, a couple meters of straight pipe and a fine saw, 1 hour later you're done. Just completed mine today and it was dead easy.
hey Joey, I used your tutorial to make a 1 inch overflow, the only paint i could find at homedepot is a "rustoleum" brand, do you think this paint is safe? should i sand off the "in tank section"? thanks , your videos are very very helpful!!
Accuracy check on video - While pumps are off, the water level inside the overflow tube will remain at the same height as the lower edge of the T connecter - The T connecter should be installed high enough on the vent stack so that bubbles will not form in the overflow intake chute (also makes the whole thing quieter).
Hi , nice video, I wanted to do the herbie method overflow but I cannot drill my tank so I think I going to use that method, it looks safe if it really work well, one question tho since all the water go through one pipe , I supose it cannot be as silent as the herbie, is there a way to keep it silent, other question would it be better to use half moon pipe instead of 90degree because of the air being stock in 90 ? Thanks
Sir Uarujoey, will the overflow work for a fibreglass tank that is on the floor? If I dont attatch the length of the pipe to the base of the tank. to like about halfway down the tank. Will the overflow work?
I can understand this is to remove the air from the trap/system, the question is if we can remove the air by dipping this, sealing and then installing it, there will not be any air to be removed so does not need the check valve, right?
Thankyou for this video, I built something a long time ago before check valves were readily available, but this beats that, for something so simple, I feel so stupid for not figuring this out myself lol
Joey, I have a built the same model overflow you have here using 1" PVC, I built it kinda flying by the seat of my pants before watching any videos....Now the siphon runs fine and will restart beacuse of my larger stand pipe, but I seem to have trouble if theres a disturbance over the outflow breaking the airstream where my siphon will restart but flow at a slower rate is this beacuse i did not install the check valve? thanks nick
This may be 10 years old but it’s the best explanation of this kind of overflow! Thanks
Have an issue? cant get it to work? HERE IS THE FIX: I have been answering questions on this project for years now.. and no longer will. Its the same answer again and again... the #1 answer that solves 99% of all issues is this: PAY ATTENTION TO THE VIDEO. 99% simply do not follow the instructions or build it the same way, yet expect it to still work. The other 1% have an air leak somewhere. Find it. Seal it. Sorry, but i simply do not have the time to keep answering the same questions, when they all result with this same solution. IF YOU MUST get help, POST A PHOTO to my fan page so i can at least SEE what the problem is. I will not be able to help otherwise. facebook.com/UaruJoey
Original video ► goo.gl/4EU9ZX
How it all works ► goo.gl/L1Fg7M
The modified and upgraded version ► goo.gl/ZGRtXj
Cool.
"Cool" xD
HAHAHAHA.... this does not Work...!!!
THE unanswered question(s): What happens if you adjust the Drain 'T' upwards to the water level in the tank? How does that affect the Flow Rate/Capacity? And Velocity through the Siphon Bend?
For more videos, pictures and updates: facebook.com/UaruJoey
Very nice tutorials. I've just build my overflow and when trying to prime it I realized the solution to a problem that has been comment on. If you're sucking on the check valve as shown at 4:00 mins, you will never prime it without capping off the drain and putting some water in the standpipe, so you can suck water up into the loop under the check-valve. Alternatively (after you've capped the drainage) if your stand pipe is long enough it may self-prime just by filling the stand-pipe up above the loop under the check-valve. If that worked, you wouldn't need the check valve. Hope this helps.
Just wanted to say Thank You Joey for all the valuable information you've provided. I have been out of fish keeping since the early 1980's but have wanted another tank for a long time. Thanks to all your Video's I now have (in just a couple of months) a 55 gallon Hex Freshwater Artificial Reef aquarium (Gift from a friend, with the D.I.Y. Sump filter and Overflow), a 20 gallon long and the 2 1/2 gallon Bow Front for my Beta "Max". The tanks are amazingly clear and I've learned a lot from you!
One thing to note. The amount the overflow will handle will vary greatly depending on the elevation difference between the overflow inlet (tank level) and the outlet. placing the outlet near the bottom of the tank will maximize flow.
Great vid!
If you liked this video, you will LOVE my book: thekingofdiy.com
+The king of DIY
QUESTION: 1:55 Can the white pvc portion of the overflow that is outside the yellow line (indicating the aquarium) be inside another aquarium where the water level is only a few inches lower than the first aquarium, will it still function? Or, if that portion is kept between the two aquariums, can the output be raised to where it's only a few inches lower than the input? Or, can it be done with some sort of overflow box? Or will it just never get started again after a power outage? Is a drill-thru into both tanks the only way?
+The king of DIY Like this or that, would these not work???
i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp43/mef1975/jk_zps2sj44rnj.jpg
i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp43/mef1975/jk%201_zpsx0syvcdh.jpg
Or maybe, bringing the water level in the taller aquarium down to the same level as the shorter one, and using a U tube or bridge is the only way?
Thank you for your awesome videos. I think it's also important to mention the collection of "micro-bubbles" which can collect and eventually break the siphon at the primer point and defeat the entire purpose. I corrected this by running a 1/4" airtube from the primer point to the sump. After priming, air is continually lifted into the 1/4" tube and then back down. This seems to maintain the overflow after a power outage without the worry of air bubbles building up and breaking it overnight.
Hi, i watched your clip about 5 times and went out to buy materials to build an overflow and it works beautifully once set up. Instead of the usual white PVC piping and accessories, i used clear PVC piping and parts to reduce the visual impact in the tank and it looks very good, haha.
So calm....Where's all the excitement that we've come to expect from the King of DIY?
This was filmed 10 years+ ago. Scripted Tutorials are not exciting 😂
Not only do you tell us how to build it, you explain how it works in great detail. You are the man. Thank you so much! A+
Joey, this is killing me. This design is clearly the best in terms of cost and effectiveness, so I've set my first one up with 3/4" piping, but the darn thing is not moving much water. Certainly not 220 gph. It's barely trickling into the sump, and I had to clamp the return valve because I can't turn my pump down low enough to be less than the overflow amount.
Oh well, I'll have to trouble shoot, thanks for the easy how to video on it. You deserve more praise and less questions. haha
This video answered every single question I didn't even know I was going to need to ask. Great stuff. Very well spoken. Thanksss.
Thanks for the great vid! Ive built myself the 1" version and it works exactly as you said it would. However, i didn't install the check valve. Instead, i simply sucked air through the stand pipe to get it primed.
BTW - huge compliments on this series of videos.. I've been watching them for several hours today. This was the first one I wanted to comment about, to help improve the presentation.. The rest have been super.
Wow I love a lot of your videos. I couldn't find a video of how you made your 284 gallon tank! That would be awesome. I think your tank is easily the most professional looking.
Wow how far the quality of your videos and they way they are delivered have changed lot less scripted never a less still fanatic footage 👍
One of your most useful and most informative videos. Simply explained so even I can build one!
thanks man. you make this hobby so much more fun! greetings from belgium
I did it for my tank and love it. Beautiful system and explanation!
You are the man! Thank you so much for the video. Now I'm working on silencing the noisy suction and air bubble, wish me luck. Thanks again.
I've never quite understood the priming part. This great video and explanation cleared that up. Thanks a bunch!
Thanks for all the vids Joey, they help a lot. Three questions:
(1) Will the overflows get noisier as the diameter increases?
(2) As a unitized weir, could I cut or file small teeth around the overflow opening, or drill a ring of small holes just below it?
(3) Can I plumb two complete overflow loops together (side by side) and connect them both to only a single tall pipe w/end cap?
Tried this out today worked like a charm the tricky part was getting it primed love your stuff man keep up the good work
Thank you so much for this upload! I'm learning something new from every single one of your videos.
Still think this is one of the best DIY overflow how to videos on the web!
I made an overflow just like this (got the idea from this video, Thank you Joey :) for a 20g tank that I am using as a second refugium on my system. I used 3/4 pvc for the overflow and a little powerhead for the return. I have valves on both so I can adjust , but found that wide open on both is working fine. I did not use the check valve and was able to prime from the hole in the air vent cap. I let it run a few , turned off the powerhead , then back on and it resumed overflow.
Hi there, thank you. I want to use an old aquarium in an aquaponics system with a sump. This was the part I was missing in my system. Thanks again.
if you have a power outage and the return pump dies, the tank level will drop to just below the open pipe on the inside. if that tall outside standpipe isn't there, gravity to your sump will have a siphon effect-it will continue to pull all the water out of the whole PVC system until it's just a bunch of dry tubes. no problem, right? except when the power comes back and the return pump starts, you have to run over there really quick and slurpy-prime the siphon again before your tank overflows!
Thanks for the presentation. I created an overflow just exactly as you mentioned only difference is, I use a small suction pump to suck out the air instead of the check valve. I don't know where to get a small check valve, I don't want to keep using the pump, it needs to run all the time and it's noisey. So I prefer your method, if I could find a check valve.
Thanks this is great information and a pretty simple solution. Which kind of PVC glue can be used to join the different pipe sections? I am concerned about pvc glue being toxic to fish
I think your videos are the best, very good quality.
Can you tell me why the overflow has to go to the
bottom of the tank ? I saw one made that only went about
half way down, the exit pipe was higher up the tank though.
Is it better to go all the way down to the tank bottom ?
Thanks, Nick
very nice job on the video, its a great solution to buying one of overflow boxes. i was thinking of building one for my 56 gal fowlr, but i have a couple questions about the return pump for it, lets say i use a 660 gph powerhead for the return, two of the 1 in pipes would be able to keep up with that right? the idea im getting is depending on the amount of water flowing back up into the tank from the sump will dictate the gph of the overflows as long as it doesnt exceed their flow rate.
I believe your explanation is inaccurate at 3:46. The water line would never go above the top of the outlet pipe at the bottom left of the picture unless it is flowing out slower than what's coming from the main tank or outlet is blocked. As the water line rises up to the bottom of the outlet pipe, it will spill out and down to the sump. But let's just assume that the outlet put was clogged, the water line would only rise up to the level of the water in the main tank and never higher.
Jay Eel I also think that if you were able to put a valve on the outlet and lock it off. Then you could just pour water in the tallest tube, the one on the outside of the aquarium, and that would prime the whole thing.
Ok - I capped off the drain and filled the standpipe, but still had some air in the loop, so the check-valve was needed. Wow - this works really well!!!! I'm using it in conjunction with the DIY Aquarium Auto Water Change at about 2 liters per hour for a 160 liter tank, rather than to a sump and pumping back up to the tank. Will drop this to 1 liter per hour when adjusting, so I get a complete water change every week. Thanks heaps King of DIY - no more manual water changes for me ever again!!!!
Hey Joey,
I am new to the hobby but been using your videos for reviews on upgrading my tank's performance, and sex appeal. What is the purpose of an overflow. Is it to get rid of necessary equipment heater, filter, bubbles, ect from inside your aquarium, and put it into the sump. Can I actually hook my filter inside the sump with the setup. Also am I able to take out all equipment that made current inside the tank with this setup. Please get back to me you are very good at what you do.
I made the same overflow in this video just like Joey says, but did not use the check valve.I primed the unit by sucking on the air vent cap with the hole in it (yes I did get a mouthful of SW just don"t spit it into your tank :P) . After that I tested the overflow by turning on and off the return pump and the overflow resumed just fine, but I might add a float valve just to be on the safe side. $15 for all I needed in 3/4in along with some extra fittings = no brainer IMO.
Wow Joey, thanks a lot for the explanation I was waiting for. I dont want to drill a hole on my tank panel and I wasn't able to figure out how this works.
For me at my place, drilling the panel after installing tank would be difficult.
In the video (the part about flow rates and matching to pump rates) it is mentioned to add two overflows, in case one gets clogged to prevent the tank from overflowing. This isn't mentioned anywhere else, but seems to be an important point. Is the second overflow vital? If not, how do you prevent the tank from overflowing in case of blockage? Thanks....your videos have given me way too many ideas!!!
Hopefully this will help some people.
First and foremost, yes, this design works (I am using it myself). However, it is not actually an overflow, it's a siphon. Now, this is an extremely clever design and the way it's build allows the siphon to act like an overflow. It being a siphon is the reason so many people may have trouble with this. A siphon relies on suction, so it needs to be airtight. SEAL AND RESEAL. GET IT AIR TIGHT. If air leaks, it will either not work or slowly undo itself.
hey joey i like ur vids and im making a 3/4 pvc overflow with the pipes to the sump which is then connected by a hose....im using a 290 gallon pump....to the overflow i added a under-gravel cleaner simply by putting a T in the bottom inside part of the overflow....my question is if power goes out the top part will stop the siphon because water will go lower than the entry ...but what about the under-gravel...will it still siphon ? should i drill a small hole on the top of the inside pipe ?
Use powerheads pointed at the bottom to make sure you don't get crap sitting down there, they will blow it up and into the filter. Overflows are useually used with a sump as a biological filter, so just run something like a HOB or canister filter to polish the water at the same time. This also gives you redundancy, if you need to work on your sump or wait for a broken pump your fish will be ok for a while running just on the canister or HOB and the media in them will be cycled.
I really liked the idea and definitely going to use one at my 50 gallon tank, the question I have is why do we need the "Check Valve" as I see is once we suck the air out of this and make it working, we might never need this Valve and for creating the vaccum we can always suck at the longer pipe(Blocking the water outlet). Please confirm if I am thinking it right.
I've been looking for a good explanation to this forever and this is absolutely the best. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!! liked and subbed!!!
so the valve is needed at all times? i thought it was only needed for start up? I was thinking the same thing xreapingsx mentioned. If i cap the exit with my hand and suck the air out through the top end cap wouldn't that remove all the air from that loop? or is that check valve needed to continuously keep air out?
thanks, btw your vids have really helped a lot in my build! keep up the good work!
Thank you this would be great if I set up a sump on my new tank. I was told that I would have to drill the glass but now I don't. Awesome
Hjj
Best info on the subject I've found! I did exactly as you said and it's running (in buckets) great! Can't wait to replace my 2 canister filters on my 125g turtle tank!
hey big fan... im a little confused. when u start sucking on the valve.. around 3:47.. and the outside pipe fills up, do you have to plug the bottom where the water exits. . thanks..
Very cool I am going to make one to replace my existing one It looks way better then what I made. Thank you for the instructions and explanation
hi joey, i'm fairly new in aquarium stuff, please bear with me. Does the length/height of the tubes matter? i mean, does it really have to loop all the way down to the bottom of the tank (inside and outside)? i have seen other DIY's for overflow and some have the pipes just half way down, and some really short. I just want to know if there's a significant change in flow rate or any other effects that i should know about? Thanks in advance bro. btw, all your videos have been absolutely helpful!
for a 125 gallon, what diameter pvc would you recommend for the best most efficiente water flow and how many gallons should the pump be able to pump back into the tank? i have been watching your videos for a long time and i think i am finally going to build one of these for my 125 gallon.
This is the one that started it all for me!
This looks really Nice and easy to make,
Marvelous Idea you have here,
I know I asked the same question at one of your other videos too, just in case if you checks this one first.
My question is, does it loose the syphon over time and if it does how would I prevent this? Please help
The only way for it to lose siphon is if it is leaking air... if properly built, it will never leak air.
Thanks for the quick reply, wouldn't air bubbles travel with the water, just curious as you had been with the aquarium systems since a long time and I am real new to aquariums.
You are the exit to my headaches, may I change the length of the tubes based on your explaining? I mean what if I want the sucking side to be in the bottom of the tank, would that work if I drain all de air with the valve? or maybe if I have to adapt all the tube´s length to the height of the tank and my sump filter? please answer.. TY
THANKS, THE VIDS HELPED ALOT. I'm building a tank like the plywood one that u built. i was concerned with the cost involved esp for the filter setup but u made everything cheap and easy to do, like the filter cost. i am prob going to put the overflow lines in the tank but in this vid u say to use 2 overflows. would it cut the cost in half or so if u put a t at the inlet with 2 90s and a screen to prevent things from gettin sucked up? and do you think that would work on both overflow methods?
What up joey for the over flow you said you should have two running if the same diameter over flows wont that cause flooding if your return pump is inly returning half the amount of water ?
It's an easy way to build your own plumbing for a sump. I'm currently working on one so my filter, heater, and refugium can be underneath the tank out of sight. Plus it increases your overall water volume.
I'm doing it for a freshwater planted tank, but it's common for saltwater tanks like coral tanks.
I ran one of these for years on my old setup. Thinking of making one for my current tank.
Joey, Question reg. flow rate.
Tank is a Red Sea 250 (D). I will have a sump below with an Iwaki 40RLT as my return. I have a Tru union ball check valve and another ball valve connected. (both are right off the pump) 2nd ball valve will be to adjust flow. the return is going up roughly 5 ft (chiller will be in between). I was planning on doing a 1" overflow, but now I see It should be at least 1.25" if not 1.5". Uncertain what will be best. While I will have my skimmer down below, I am uncertain I want to undertake making two of these let alone one. I am excited to make this work, and with a Hofers gurgle device over the intake, I can't see why I should make two overflows. Believe me, I am someone who doesn't like to leave anything to chance. And I do get the idea of "better safe than sorry". But I thought if properly done, I should be OK. . If you do strongly recommend doing two overflows, should I then use 1": or 1.25?? I'm taking my time on this and really want to do it right before I put a single drop of RODI in this tank
Thanks for any input you can give!
Joey, i've just built one but have not put it to use yet, but just wondering about the priming part when you suck on the check valve to remove any air. Question is., when i suck on the check valve air will continuously be sucked in from the stand pipe that has a hole in it plus not to mention the output where the "T" connection is. Question 2 is, how will i know that the pipe is full of trapped air and is time to suck it out? which no one has ever mention on all the videos.
Thank you. I keep seeing this type of overflow and could not figure out what keeps the siphon from breaking.
@uarujoey, thanks for your reply, i did not realize that traped air can get into the top of the overflow where the check valve is. Is that a flaw to this type of setup? How often can you loose your flow because of trapped air? Im guessing it would be depend on your individual setup. But im just wondering if it is something i would have to constantly be worring about? last question sorry but does the trapped air come from the water intake, or from the extented air pipe outside the tank?
Nice collection of videos. Since you and other recommend two overflows
to guard against clogs (etc.) what about a dual setup? I've seen other vids but want to keep any such twin overflows on one side so the return is on the other. Any suggestions as to how you'd couple two of your designs together. Ideally there would only be one pipe to sump, but perhaps that defeats the whole purpose. Thoughts?
Good video, I am building this using your video as the template but the only difference is the point where the water exits will be different for me. I will build the overflow exactly the same with an additional 90 pvc fitting right where the water exits and run it straight down to my refugium. Will this create a syphon since it drops down again or will it work the same if I build it exactly the same and put the 90 on the end of that piece you showed the water exiting out of?
I'm using this system from this vid my tank been running for 6 weeks thanks for the video
very good information from this guy
The design needs modified - I'll try to explain here. I recommend a slight modification to the design due to the probability of air intake into the siphon tube using this configuration. The modification is this: The outflowing T should be placed half-way up the vent-stack pipe. The reason this should be done is to prevent the intake cascade inside the overflow chute from carrying bubbles past the first elbow: if water isn't moving fast enough could collect air by the check-valve and flow failure
I think your right mate! Mine is primed then it stops working as powerful I reckon it’s down to the bubbles from the air pump getting into it! Guna have to have a think about it
The tee piece is the critical piece, or rather the height of the tee piece above the bottom bends. The 'main' loop going over the tank side is a siphon with a 'head' equal the the height of the tee piece from bottom.
Block the outlet and standpipe whilst sucking to get the water over the tank into the main loop.
great video I built one also. one problem one time it stopped taking in water and I had to once again bleed air from the oneway valve any idea how to correct? I used 1 1/4 pvc worked fine last two weeks but had to restrat siphon last night as it started to overflow
this is very helpful man.. thanks.. i already made my own overflow.. now my question is.. what type of pump should i used for my 15gal tank? thanks in advance!
Hi Joey,
If the volume of water for a 0.5 inch overflow pipe is 90 gals, is that 90 gals entering the tank or is that 90 gals of water at the pump not allowing for the head height?
I wonder whats the cap for on the top of the outside part of the system ?
Did u glu the cap on the tube or is it used to minimise the noise of the overflowing water ?
Thanks
I had a quick question joey, i just do not understand the purpose of the check valve, why can you not just prime out of the air intake pipe? your thoughts on that would be awesome thanks
Thanks for the informative video. I made this using 1 1/2" PVC and its great. However I only made one and I'm worried that it may get clogged and my tabk will run over so I need to make that other one asap. But I love overflows simply because you get a height rate of water filtration and it skims the surface of the water at the same time.
how reliable is this overflow i keep tropheous and they are pretty touchy dont want to mess this up but would like to have a sump without drilling my tank thanks by the way love the acrilic build will be building my own soon too i am also from canada toronto scarborough
Joey, would it be possible to prime it by sucking on the end cap and just avoid adding the suck thingy all together? Thanks!
Hi joey,
i tried this and it work as it should be. However, my concern is that with this setup, it seems that it is only cleaning dirt that are floating. How about the once at the bottom? What do you usually do with that aside from siphoning separately using a hose?
hope to hear from you.
Amazing video and so informative!!! You did an amazing job at explaining this!! What length of pipe are you using for the example? Very good video!!!
Hi Joe, I have a 55 gallon long and will be using mag drive 7 pump to send water back to my tank from my sump. What diameter PVC would you recommend me using??
Hey Joey, I have a question about this overflow. First off, I am a big fan of your videos and you do tremendous (and very innovative) work. My question concerns the the overflow shutting itself off. Every now and then, I'll walk into my room only to hear the sounds of pumps struggling to get water and ill also notice that the water level is not below the intake pipe, but above it and for some reason is just not pulling the water down. Any reason s for this? Thanks
Ok I'm a newbie to marine aquariums, so forgive me if this is a stupid question but:
If the power goes out, what would cause the water to fill up in the aquarium? I mean if there's no power, then there's no pump filling the aquarium. How would the overflow happen?
Thanks!
Quick question... How do you prime this system? Correct me if Im wrong, but air will take the travel of least resistance, the exhaust end... Sucking on the check valve will only pull air from the exhaust end of the system, and not the filled pipe inside the tank.... Should the exhaust pipe and breather pipe be plugged up to prime the system? Please explain... Thanks.
Could you have the overflow outlet be above the waterline if you also extended the long capped pipe or would it cause a problem?
hi there, i have a couple questions..i hope you can answer them for me!
first off, ill be using this meathod on my 115 gallon piranha tank, what size tubing should i be doing this with?? i was thinking 1" drain and 3/4" return, would that be too small??
second, ill be using the sump as a wet/ dry system, the bio balls (or nylon sponge) should be the firstfilter media right? and should be "dripped" on not submerged correct?? i cant find any good videos on how to properly set it up. 30 gal sump
Hello sir.
I want to buy it could you suggest me the website for this or link for purchase
Awesome video. Very informative. Thank you for the wisdom.
Hi Joey, Thanks for all the great aquarium DIY. I just started a tank up after not having them for years and the tips, tricks, and advice from you have been great. I've run into a problem though, and cant figure it out. I built an overflow, but cant get it to flow. I only made one change and that is the direction of my exit pipe. It seems like I cant get the air out to create the suction to prime the overflow. Any thoughts as to why? Im totally stuck.
Did you suck the air out of the check valve? I have mine hooked to a power head in the tank so it always self primes
Does it need to be the entire height of the aquarium? Could the same effect be achieved if the whole thing was low enough to stay just under the water line?
This is extremely easy to make, buy parts and a tube of PVC cement, a couple meters of straight pipe and a fine saw, 1 hour later you're done. Just completed mine today and it was dead easy.
hey Joey,
I used your tutorial to make a 1 inch overflow, the only paint i could find at homedepot is a "rustoleum" brand, do you think this paint is safe? should i sand off the "in tank section"?
thanks , your videos are very very helpful!!
How does it stay siphoned when power cuts out? Doesn't the half part where the water exit be empty too?
And by the way your videos are great I subscribed right away and watched a good portion of your videos.thanks again!
Accuracy check on video - While pumps are off, the water level inside the overflow tube will remain at the same height as the lower edge of the T connecter - The T connecter should be installed high enough on the vent stack so that bubbles will not form in the overflow intake chute (also makes the whole thing quieter).
Can you submerge the exit pipe into the sump or do you need an air gap to avoid any backflow?
Hi , nice video, I wanted to do the herbie method overflow but I cannot drill my tank so I think I going to use that method, it looks safe if it really work well, one question tho since all the water go through one pipe , I supose it cannot be as silent as the herbie, is there a way to keep it silent, other question would it be better to use half moon pipe instead of 90degree because of the air being stock in 90 ? Thanks
Sir Uarujoey, will the overflow work for a fibreglass tank that is on the floor? If I dont attatch the length of the pipe to the base of the tank. to like about halfway down the tank. Will the overflow work?
I can understand this is to remove the air from the trap/system, the question is if we can remove the air by dipping this, sealing and then installing it, there will not be any air to be removed so does not need the check valve, right?
I was wondering the same question. Like making the overflow pipe shorter and closer to the water level.
Thankyou for this video, I built something a long time ago before check valves were readily available, but this beats that, for something so simple, I feel so stupid for not figuring this out myself lol
Joey, are overflows as effective at getting substrate out of the tank vs designs that have the collection pipe in the water column
Joey, I have a built the same model overflow you have here using 1" PVC, I built it kinda flying by the seat of my pants before watching any videos....Now the siphon runs fine and will restart beacuse of my larger stand pipe, but I seem to have trouble if theres a disturbance over the outflow breaking the airstream where my siphon will restart but flow at a slower rate is this beacuse i did not install the check valve?
thanks nick