will this overflow work?

[vcruz17]

hi guys. i have a 36 X 36 X 25 acrylic tank made but havn't decided how to do the overflow. i have the following idea, but want some feedback on it before I actually have it done. don't want to find out that it will not work after having payed for it. I was wondering if a 6 X 6 inch overflow in the center of the tank would work fine. the overflow walls would be 25" high with 1/2 inch "teeth." the middle tube is 3/4 pvc pipe with 4 ways on top running of a MAG 18 pump (i know everyone keeps telling me they suck but i already have it!!!). this 3/4 inch tube will be 25.5 inches high so that the 4 PVC tubes that TEE off rest on the overflow, half an inch out of the water. . the 2 sand colored tubes are Stockman pipes, 1" tube to the bottom with 2" PVC on top. I don't know how high these should be but they are 18" high in the picture. the other 2 tubes on the sides are 1" tubes 25" high so that they are out of the water. I want to use these to pass the power cords of 4 tunze nano streams that will be used on each corner of the display. i plan to put a nano stream 6055 (controllable) on each corner of the tank, run the cable under the sand, into the overflow and pass it to the sump area into the controller. can this work? pictures attached.

also included is a diagram of the sump i proposed. the dimensions are included, the large area is to run a Bubblemaster 200 (15X9 footprint) , as suggested by you guys. the other area is a regufium that will be feed from the overflow and regulated with a ball valve. it will gravity feed into the return chamber. this chamber will house a MAG 18 pump. the other things are a bubble trap. these sheets are 1" appart and the middle one is one inch from the bottom. the rectangular container next to the sump is the top off reservoir. holds about 15 gallons.

any comments or suggestions will be appreciated, as I need to give the person making me this stuff the specs by this weekend! thanks in advance.
by the way, made the diagrams in a program called Sketchup 3D. i read an article on it in advanced reefer. there are even some simple instructions on how to make a tank with an overflow.

victor

 

[cali_reef]

You might want to buy four bulkheads and lay them out in the 6x6 space, I think they will fit but it does not leave you much space to work with. It may also make the area in the center of overflow very weak in a glass tank, it may not affect acrylic too much, I am not sure.

Another thing to check is the 1" dia PVC is big enough to pass all four cords thru (if it is even big enough to pass one plug thru).

As for the MAG18, get a new pump!! The 3/4" return plumbing you are planning will cut the pressure down so much that using the mag18 is a waste. An ehiem 1262 will work better.

I would lower the overflow box by at least 1/2", 1" would be better. You don't want the tank to overflow at the same time the water is overflowing into the overflow box if something were to get stuck on the overflow teeth. BTW, typical overflow teeth depth is 1", I seen some at 1.5"+, 1/2" is really short and will not allow much flow before all the water comes over the top.

Why do you want a center overflow? you planning to view the tank from all four sides?

 

[[JWS]wasabi]

Agree with lowering the overflow a little bit and the structural integrity of the base plate. I think there needs to be some type of reinforcement on the bottom. Wooden braces in a hash # pattern comes to mind... but im sure there are several ways to skin it.
It looks like it will be awesome tho! an exciting design and your obviously planning it well.
I just dont want to see the whole thing imploding down onto your sump once its full of rock and water!!
great job, take lots of pics!

 

[vcruz17]

the tank will be viewed on 4 sides. will lower the overflow by 1 inch and get "teeth" 1" instead of half. about passing the plugs through the 1" PVC, if it won't fit i was thinking about cutting the plugs, passing the wire through, and splicing the plug afterwards. also, i don't seem to grasp how the eheim can be better than the mag in a pressure application? the mag has twice the head and twice the flow. maybe i'm missing something.

here are the spec for the Eheim1262 Universal Pump (as per marinedepot.com)

• Pump Output: 900 gph
• Delivery Head: 11`6"
• Power Consumption: 80 W (115V)
• Hose Connection (Suction Side): 1"
• Hose Connection (Pressure Side): 3/4"
• Dimensions: 8.6" x 4.6" x 6.3"
• Weight: 5.7 lbs

Here are the specs for a MAG 18 (as per marinedepot.com)
Flow Rate: 1800 GPH maximum flow with a 21` shut-off
Power Consumption: 145 Watts
Pump Size (L x W x H): 6.4" x 4.5" x 4.6"
Outlet Size / Inlet Size:3/4" MPT / 3/4" FPT
10` grounded power cord
3 year manufacturer`s Limited Warranty

 

[vcruz17]

refugium circulation

one big question i forgot to ask was about the refugium circulation. as you can see, the fuge is almost 3 feet long and about 9 inches wide, so it's very long. i was thinking of using an eggcrate platform raised about an inch from the bottom, with about an inch thick layer of coarse crushed coral and some live rock on top. would a powerhead on each side of the fuge be about right for cirulation? i was thinking a hydor koralia on each side for high flow with a spread out pattern instead of 2 maxijets which would just blow in the middle. thoughts?

 

[cali_reef]

Cutting the cord will void your warranty, you won't be able to return them if you should have any problem with them.

Twice of the head and flow does not mean you will realize twice of water volume at the end of the 3/4" return. You need to check the head\flow graph of both, my experience with the mag's pressure curve is not very linear. It will use more power for sure but you will not gain much flow

 

[cali_reef]

the tank will be viewed on 4 sides.

I have a similar dimension tank (36x36x26) with an external overflow. I think it will be hard to aquascape the four 15" space with a overflow in the center, dividing up the space. Not much space for larger rock pieces.