questions...

[karazy]

okay, so i have a few questions. first off i'll just show some pics so the questions make sense:
front:

back:

with siphon tube:

okay, so these are my questions:

1.how do you start a siphon like that in the siphon tube to get that much water moving?

2.how do you do a water change and not stop the siphon?

3.the black spponge is on a pvc pipe that fits loosley into the whole with the bulkhead thing. should i silicone that in there?

4.ive heard you have to shut off your return pump when you are feeding so all the food doesnt get sucked into the sump. is this true?

[Fishfirst]

Originally Posted by karazy

okay, so i have a few questions. first off i'll just show some pics so the questions make sense:
front:

back:

with siphon tube:

okay, so these are my questions:

1.how do you start a siphon like that in the siphon tube to get that much water moving? I stuff an airline tube into the siphon and suck on the end till it fills with water (both sides of the overflow box must have H20)

2.how do you do a water change and not stop the siphon? it should continue siphoning once water overflows the box in the tank.

3.the black spponge is on a pvc pipe that fits loosley into the whole with the bulkhead thing. should i silicone that in there? no... you will definately want to rinse it frequently

4.ive heard you have to shut off your return pump when you are feeding so all the food doesnt get sucked into the sump. is this true?
sure, or not... your decision. either way not a lot of food will get sucked up unless your dumb about it and stick the food right next to the overflow.

are you hard or soft plumbing the overflow?

[karazy]

im thinking of going with bendable PVC but im not sure what would be better. do you have a preference?

[karazy]

okay, another question. if the power goes out, the siphon in the overflow will break, but then when it comes back on the tank will overflow :S

should i drill a hole into the top of the U tube and silicone airline tubing in and then put in one of those water lifting pumps?

[Fishfirst]

no... it will not overflow... and if you don't believe me, unplug your return pump to similate a power outage and turn it back on when the water level is at its lowest.

[Fishfirst]

I prefer flexable tubing if you have a HOB overflow.

[karazy]

okay, ill use flexible tubing then.
and once the tank is set up i will try that

[karazy]

but for water changes, the siphon is lost, so shud i turn off the return pump when im done my water change?

[CollegeReefer]

you won't loose a siphon when you do water changes either. Water will stay in the both sides of the box meaning the siphon will not break.

Go pvc if you don't plan on moving the tank. I switched all of my tanks from soft tubing to pvc and love it.

[karazy]

for pvc did you use 45 degree elbows?
and what addhesize do you use for PVC?
AND how do you get the PVC to stay on the hole in the overflow box?(im thinking glue then when you eventualy take it down get a new fitting)

[CollegeReefer]

I did not use any 45's. I just used 90's. The key to using pvc is to use union valves for easy disconnect. Just use your normal pvc cleaner and cement for connecting your pvc pipe.

[karazy]

and what exactly do these union valves do?

[Fishfirst]

My pvc was too heavy for my overflow and made the whole thing tip... thats why I used flex tubing... shouldn't be a problem if you plumb straight down though

[karazy]

hmm... well actualy my overflow doesseem a little tippable. okay, now im just confused bout what to do :P

CR, why do you like PVC more?

[CollegeReefer]

I had used flexible tubing for almost 2 years on my tanks but you might recall that I switched everything over to pvc on spring break. The reason I like it is because it is more permanent, secure, and clean. If anything bumps into the pipe I don’t have to worry about it moving. Theyway I had my flexible tubing before just made me nervous. I also had a problem with one of my connections which caused just a little water to leak. Not enough to actually drip to the ground but enough to create a lot of salt creep. The You can utilize get gate/ball valves which are always a nice thing to have. I do know that you can get some for flexible tubing but I didn’t like how they connected. You can also use a union valve which actually allows you to screw two parts together that way you can easily disconnect the pvc from your overflow and return pump. Look bellow to see a picture of union valve. With pvc you do not get all of the algae growth in the tubing like you get with flexible tubing. On the other side you could just go with flexible tubing and if you don’t like it change it over. It is a lot easier to change from flexible to pvc than from pvc to flexible.

[karazy]

okay, im pretty sure my desicion is PVC. i was planning on making my pipe straight down, then a 45 degree elbow, then just enough pipe to get over the sump, and another 45 degree elbow going the oposite way so it goes straight down into the sump, and likewise toget out of the tank.

can i see hoow you have yours gong into your sump?

edit: this is what i mean

[karazy]

so would this work? or is there a better alternitave

[Fishfirst]

looks like it'd work IF your overflow doesn't tip like mine

[karazy]

ill try putting some weight hanging off the back and see if it tips

[CollegeReefer]

Sorry for my deleyed response. I got side tracked the last time i was going to reply.

You can not see to much in these pictures. I might try to take some new ones.

This is from my 40 gallon


And these are from my 75 gallon