Overflow Box?

[fender316]

i went nuts last night ripping out rocks from my 20G reef, in a vain attemp to catch a mysterious shrimp.  right now my 20 gal is back together but i have about 20 pounds of live rock sitting in a rubbermaid, and i really wouldnt mind hooking it up to my new 28G reef, but i have no clue how, i had no time or desire to drill the tank for a sump, i'll leave that for my 75G, but i now am considering an overflow box if someone can explain them to me, maybe someone's got one lying aoround?  PS never found the shrimp......CURSES!  the rock i assume he was in got pounded to pieces and there was nothing in it....now i hardly heard a sound all night, no snapping.  i think i gotta get some hermit crabs now cause i'm all out, then i'll know if he's still in the 20 or in the rubbermaid once he starts snapping again.

[mdugly]

I have no experience with overflow box, and plan to keep it this way.
Read too many posts of siphon failures causing flood.
(I am a big fan of learning the 'easy' way, from others 'hard' learned lessons...)

-mike

[xxis]

Never had a problem with mine in about 3 years.  I had a couple of floods, but none were caused by the overflow.  If you baffle your sump and isolate the pump you shouldn't have a problem.  What I did for some extra insurance as install a float switch in my sump.  If the siphon ever broke, the sump level would start to drop.  The float switch was set to shut down the pumps BEFORE the main tank overflowed.

[fender316]

Well here it is, if it floods ah well my guitar should be far enough away, here's my makeshift sump.  this overflow doesnt seem to be that bad a device......i just find it to be etremely bulky in my tank, a lot bigger than i expected.  a good learning experience for when i set up my 75

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[laffy]

watch out with that overflow box! if you don't have it setup perfectly and loose siphon, its name quickly changes from SOS to SOB! i had a few problems with it so i decided to drill a new tank instead. its alot safer and quiter and doesn't nearly take up as much room.

[fender316]

i noticed depending on the waves and current in the tank that it might get bubbles in the siphon (from water being splashed into the box). i repositioned a maxijet and theres no bubbles, been running good all night.  if i had known i'd be setting up a sump i would have drilled the tank but this was kinda last minute.  The box does its job but i dunno if i can trust it if i leave on a trip for an extended amount of time..

[bitterman]

Some overflow boxes have a place to hook up a powerhead (You need a powerhead that has the little pipe to draw air in. This pipe is attached at the top of the overflow to draw air out of the system). This will ensure you do not loose syphon. There are also some very easy to build PVC pipe overflows you can build. Some have been posted on www.cichlid-forum in the DIY section.

Hope this helps,
   Bruce