my attempt at a diy overflow box

brettb2020

brettb2020

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im building an overflow box because i got some really really cheap plexi glass. i dont think im gonna be using it anytime soon cos its way to big for my tank.

plexi glass is so awsome to work with, it bends easy, cuts easy and melts easy. i just used a mini blow torch to heat the lines to bend. i bent them on the corner of a square block of wood to get a perfect 90 degrees. used pratley ezee bond to stick the sides. worked really really well. super strong!

anyways, its looking like this sofar:


16094a02094525885.jpg


just gotta cut a grill like thing in the front and put the pipes and pipe fitting in, i put 2 downpipes incase 2 is needed:) its quite big!

should be done tomoro for a test
 
The top part "n" should have been black. Prevent algae and coraline growth in a place you can not get to.

Suggestion, if you have a powerhead with a venturi inlet.
drill 6 mm hole in middle of "n" piece. And put a black irrigation flex pipe between the "n" and venturi. Then automatically if any bubbles do enter this section, they will be sucked out. Will always keep your syphon and you do not have to worry about that.

If you worry about small bubbles in your display because of this, it then just show you that you would have lost your syphon and would have had a flooded tank...;)
 
Very nice job there Brett, well done :thumbup:
 
thanks guys :)

i just finished of building and testing it. and OMG! it works so well! i cannot believe the flow this thing handles. i had 2 1500l pumps for return which it handled fine. then i got my hose pipe to see if i could get the tank to overflow but i couldnt, the overflow box kept up!
then to see what this thing really had, i filled a big bucket of water and dumped it into the tank, looked something like this:

16094a03155e9e4ca.jpg


here is a pic holding its syphon:

16094a03177aaafb0.jpg


overall im really happy with it :)
 
Cool,
Question, what size return pump did you test with?

And the airline tube on top, got 2 options, either check the syphon for air regularly and then suck it out with your mouth, or else connect that to a powerhead that have a venturi.

Can you put a black piece of persplex over the syphon part. To prevent algae growth inside where you can not clean.

End last year I wanted a persplex company to build a small overflow like this, got a quote and it was crazy. The standard Tunze is too big. But it looks like your DIY route is the way to go.
 
thanks guys.:)

Riaan, look a few posts up. I described how i tested it. :)

I dont have a venturi pump yet but im gonna try make a venturi soon.:) so for now im just gonna use my mouth.:)

Im gonna stick black vinyl sticker on the syphon part:)

This box cost me just over 100 bucks to make and quite a bit of time. Much cheaper than 1000 bucks. I love diy:) lol
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