Yo...Mr. Stockman - I think my wife wants to bear you some c

[Grumpy Vet]

Wowzers.......

I have been playing w/ the old Stockman method of quieting the overflow......My wife and I have had a "reef" 75G for 2 years in our living room w/ an overflow that sucks and slurps as noisily as a porn star on crack....

Well - that is done - we now have serenity....Ok - so there is a little burping every now and then as water flows into the sump - but conversations are possible now....Woohoooo....This is awesome. I am so thrilled...Thanks to Ron (from Columbia) for suggesting this...

The only drawback I see w/ this system currently is that the level of water in the overflow tube has dropped some and when the power goes out - the syphon is broken....That kinda sucks - but for the quietness - my two neighbors below can live w/ a little water....

Thanks Stockman - My wife will be in touch......did I mention she used to be a gymnast?

GV

 

[jaydse]

HEY hold on ! i got some good ideas to

not really

a gymnast a

 

[Jrsydevi1]

ROFLMAO.... porn star on crack... priceless analogy...

 

[JohnD]

I too thought the "porn star on crack" was a great analogy. I will have to remember that one.

Without trying to upstage Grumpy Vet, may I suggest another analogy? This one was from my Marine Corps Drill Instructor - "A raunchy red head who could suck start a B-52". Is that descriptive enough?

My $.02

 

[ronl]

GV,
Ron here. Can you explain in more detail what is happening when you unplug the pump. There are many little changes that can be made to adjust the level of water in the outside box. "Porn star on crack"...you're killing me.

Ron

[ July 25, 2001: Message edited by: ronl ]

 

[Grumpy Vet]

Wow....a B52? A Strato-Fortress? I need a phone number please......

Ok...dream over - back to fish...

Hiya Neighbor Ron...

Ok - what is happening is that as you saw when you come over - my system is held together w/ duct tape and staples.....The whole kit&kaboodle was bought used and I have had to adapt things on a case by case by case by case by case by case basis.....

My overflow box was pre-glued. This means I could not get the standpipe out to drill holes in it. I had to drill the PVC standpipe while it was attached to the outside overflow box. The bottom of the PVC tubing after the bulkhead is siliconed like a 44 Double F cupped Stripper named bubbles.

S0....when the flow is going - it is pretty good. It is fairly quiet - the flow rate is better than I have ever had before and all is well....The problem is when the power goes out - the water level in the outer overflow box falls below the holes in the standpipe inside the Stockman device and blammo - dead syphon.

I'll try a picture:

The way it is now - if my sump is a little overfilled - the pump comes back on - my overflow siphon is broken and my two downstairs neighbors get to see my tank's water up close....maybe only a gallon or so...I keep the water evened out pretty well so it won't overflow -

but still - trying to get the overflows to stay primed is my ultimate goal in life....

Thanks for caring Ron....

GV

 

[ronl]

GV,
I can't tell from your picture, but is there a wall dividing the outside box into two compartments? The U-tubes would be on one side of the wall and the standpipe is on the other side of the wall. If there is a wall and the U-tubes are in a separate compartment from the standpipe, then I don't know why the siphon is breaking because the water level in the compartment with the U-tubes would always be above the bottom of the U-tubes. If there is not a dividing wall and the outside box is one undivided compartment, then I see your problem. The water level is dropping to the bottom of the U-tube, which breaks the siphon. The only way to fix that would be to make the standpipe taller so that the water level remains well above the bottom of the U-tubes when the power is off. You could use a PVC slip coupling and slip it on top of your existing standpipe and then put another piece of PVC pipe into the top of the coupling and put the reducer fitting and cap on top of the new piece of pipe. That way you can drill the pipe easier than drlling the piece in the overflow box. This should work as long as the coupling covers all of the holes you drilled in the existing pipe. If it works, the water level in the box will be higher and the bottom of the U-tubes will remained submerged when the power is off. BTW, the water level can only go as low as the bottom of the lowest hole in the standpipe, so as long as the bottom of the lowest hole is an inch or so above the bottom of the U-tubes it will work. Good luck.

Ron

 

[npaden]

You could also use a regular pvc coupling to raise the height of the stand pipe.
You could use silicone to fill in the lowest holes that you drilled in the existing stand pipe after you raised it.
FWIW, Nathan

 

[M.E.Milz]

Another suggestion for those thinking about using Stockman set-up. You may want to try using a 1" perforated plastic pipe instead of drilling holes in the interior pipe (the portion that is nestled inside the larger, downwardly facing pipe). By perforated pipe, I am referring to the translucent plastic pipe that comes with the overflow kits sold with All-Glass and Oceanic reef ready tanks, and which holds the sponges.

The advantage is that it allows much more flow than a pipe with a bunch of holes drilled into it, and it is very unlikely to get clogged by snails, fish, etc. I plan to build a couple of these this weekend, and I will let everyone know how it works out.

By the way, if this catches on, do I get to call this the "Milz modification of the Stockman modification of the Durso stand-pipe"? Ah, fame and glory

 

[Anonymous]

RonL
How high does the divider go in the box?
I am having the same problem (and lots of others) with my DIY overflow.

TIA
b

 

[ronl]

Nathan - I specified a slip coupling to differentiate it from a threaded couplng (if they exist, I don't know if I've ever seen one because I have never looked for one). I think he would still need to add a short piece of pipe on top of the coupling because the reducer fitting and cap will not fit over the coupling. Good idea about filling the holes with silicone. Only problem is that he can't use the overflow until it dries. I guess if he has powerheads in the tank for circulation and adds an air pump he should be ok for a night while the silicone dries.

M.E.Milz - The only problem with using the perforated plastic pipe is that you can only use it for the portion of the standpipe that is higher than the bottom of the reducer fitting. The rest of the pipe needs to be solid in order to keep the water level higher than the bottom of the reducer fitting. I don't think this would work because you would need to use a coupling and, unless you can find the 2" to 1" reducer ftting (I used a 1 1/2" to 1" reducer), there would not be enough space (if any) between the outside of the coupling and the inside of the reducer fitting. Also, on that short of a piece of perforated pipe, there could be a problem with debris clogging it up. I think the best method is to cut out square holes in the pipe with a Dremel tool instead of drilling the pipe or using the perforated pipe. I have two square holes in mine (one on each side) so there is not much chance of it getting clogged by anything. And with the 1 1/2" to 1" reducer, no snails bigger than 1/4" inch tall can even get in there.

Bingo - The divider wall needs to be tall enough so that the end of the U-tube is well submerged when the power is off. On my Amiracle overflow the wall is about 3" from the top and the U-tube goes down about 6-7", so the bottom 3-4" of the U-tube is always submerged.

Here is a link to the Stockman site:
Stockman Overflow

HTH,
Ron

 

[M.E.Milz]

I understand what you are saying WRT to the height of the perforated pipe. My plan was to use a short piece of 2" pipe attached to the bottom of the 2"/1" reducing coupling to make sure the water level in the overflow chamber stays above the bottom of the perforated pipe.

Byt the way, what got me thinking about using the perforated pipe was the possibility of using the Stockman modification while still being able to use the pre-filter sponges. You can do this, but the outer/larger pipe will have to be at least 3" in diameter and long enough to completely enclose the pre-filter sponge. In other words, the outer sleeve must be designed to extend downwardly so as to completely enclose the sponge. This may be a good option for FO tanks.