Hi all well I just got my sump yesterday from Hawiilipino and its all good. But after I set it up the pump seems to be faster than the overflow. I used the u tube and it was slow so I added another one and it still was slow. So I was wondering is I can use the front part of the overflow box ( the part in which is in the tank that takes in the water) and then use a utube attached with a tube directly to the sump to increase the flow?

And to aviod it from flooding. If I set the front overflow part to where I want it to and then the water lvl goes lower than it then the water would stop

This overflow is easy to make and all of the parts will be available at your local hardware store. The total price for the parts for this build is less than $15.00. they work as well as anything on the market



Parts List

(7 each) - 3/4"to1 1/2" PVC elbow fittings

(1 each) - 3/4" to 1 1/2" PVC tee fitting

(4 foot) - 3/4" to 1 1/2" PVC pipe

(1 each) - PVC slip barb adapter

(1 each) - 1/8"x1/8" Nylon threaded barb adapter

(1 each) - aquarium airline shot off valve

(1 can) PVC cement



Diagrams

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I guess we have three thousand words here.






pvc-overflow



PVC overflow



Overview

To make it a little easier to refer to specific parts of the overflow, I color coded them in the diagrams. The blue section is the intake section of the pvc overflow. The yellow section is considered the resevoir area. For a typical diy overflow, this is usually some kind of open container like a specimen container or a water pitcher. We are recreating the same effect in a much simpler way by using pvc pipe. The green section is where the water overflows into and drains into the sump. The red section is the only section of the pvc overflow that does not have water flowing through it. Instead, it server a few important purposes:



1 - It acts as a siphon break.

2 - It serves as a hanger to hang the pvc overflow on the back of the fish tank.

3 - Because the elbow on the inside of the tank is not glued, it can be turned up to allow the filling of the yellow/blue chamber.





Assembly



Step 1 - Cut the PVC pipe: Cut the PVC pipe into the appropriate lengths. You can customize the size of your overflow, but please make sure that the center of the yellow tee join is about even with the desired water level in the tank. A good average size for the long blue pipe and long green pipe is about 14 inches. You want to cut the top red and blue pieces to the shortest length possible to make the siphon hang on the tank as tightly as possible.



Step 2 - Dry fit the pieces: Once all of the pipes are cut to the appropriate length, assemble the overflow to make sure it hangs evenly on the tank. Also make sure that the yellow tee is even with the desired water level in the tank. This is a critical step and can cause serious problems such as overflow or low tank water level if you don't have it set right.



Step 3 - Glue the pieces: After you are certain that the overflow is level and the yellow tee is at the desired water level then you can go ahead and glue the pieces together. Do not glue the red elbow that will be inside the tank because this needs to be turned up to fill the center chamber of the overflow.



Step 4 - Install the 1/8" barb fitting: Drill a 1/8" hole in the top of the blue PVC pipe at the top of the overflow. Tap it out with a 1/8" tap to thread it. Screw in the 1/8" barb fitting. If you do not have a tap, you can drill the hole out a little extra and super glue the 1/8" barb fitting in place. Just make sure that it is not leaking air.





Installation



Step 1 - Hang the overflow on the back of your aquarium.



Step 2 - Attach a 3/4" hose to the 3/4" barb fitting at the bottom of the green pipe.



Step 3 - Attach the aquarium airline tubing to the 1/8" barb fitting on the top of the overflow.



Step 4 - Turn the red elbow so it faces up. Trickle water into the elbow to fill the middle chamber.



Step 5 - Once the middle chamber is filled, turn the red elbow back down so it faces the water inside the tank.



Step 6 (If you have a powerhead) - Attach the aquarium air hose to the inlet of the powerhead to create a vaccuum. This vaccuum will automatically prime the overflow and it will begin operating.



Step 6 (If you don't have a powerhead) - Attach the aquarium air hose to a on/off valve. Open the valve up and suck on the end of the valve until you see water in the air line hose. When you see water in the air line hose that means the overflow is fully primed and should be operating. While maintaining suction on the hose, close the valve.



Step 7 - Your overflow should be operating. Check for leaks and make sure everything is operating as planned.


Rick

Pictures dont work

The link below takes ya to a previous thread with an overflow design. From what i read from cooltow's post, I think it's a similar design.

Link

that it

Is this okay?(scotch)



Is this okay as well?The layers go scotch,bioball,sctoch, and 2 marine land 3 filters for hob filters.



botom right is ammo carbs and in the durag is active carbon, and the left is 2 12 by 3 media bag filled with ammo carbs



This pic I think explains itself I think. From left to right it goes bio max by fluva,my pump and then the 2 media bags