OhNo's Algae scrubber/HOB Emp..overflow project

Take a look at the crap I made, trouble, can you say capital TROUBLE, again its just me and no talent for this kind of stuff, however its still working. I used an old powerhead to push water into the unit, then near the bottom back, I drilled a hole at the water level I wanted, connected a hose, caulked it, ran it to my sump and let gravity do the work.

asdiy.jpg
 
Ole Salty said:
I tried again, this time I just drilled a hole in the bottom of the tub for the return and it is now working, just finish letting it run 12 hours with no problem.
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I think it will be worth it....mine has only been in operation for just under 2 weeks and i've only done 1 cleaning and the tank just has a better look to it and my shrooms and other stuff look better.....in your pic ,what is your return line?

PringlesLFE said:
Hey Nemo, did you have any problems with the HOB overflow designed like that? I just finished putting together a scrubber thats housed in a small acrylic box I cut out to fit on top of my Emperor filter.... it's crap because my lights keep flooding into my main tank (This being a 20 gallon nano).

I've been trying to find more info about using a HOB as an overflow for a while...and this looks like it works!
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I have had 0 problems or trouble with it,and i'm pretty proud of it:mrgreen:,,it works/worked great....if i didn't just get an overflow box i'd still be using it....,but the overflow actually has more GPH,so my return is now open full....
 
Doing my first cleaning in the morning, screen is covered pretty much, I see a difference in the amount of brown algae covering the white PVC return from my sump. Very impressive.
 
For this type project and the fact that my unit is elevated on a stand, it equals the input rate. Both hoses are 1/2 in., and that might have a bearing on the flow. By the way the first cleaning took about three minutes and started the unit up again without a hitch.
 
Dana42078 said:
How good is the flow rate going back into the tank? Now im interested...
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Not sure what it is...all i do know is,after getting the overflow(thanks again PRC) i can now have my return pump open full bore(hagen ,950GPH)....but after head loss,i'm not sure what that would be...i love this scrubber though,,i would tell everyone to do one :Cheers:
 
OhNoNemo said:
Not sure what it is...all i do know is,after getting the overflow(thanks again PRC) i can now have my return pump open full bore(hagen ,950GPH)....but after head loss,i'm not sure what that would be...i love this scrubber though,,i would tell everyone to do one :Cheers:
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Jus seems more complicated than buying a HOB skimmer and plugging it in and thats it. lol

I do wanna do it kinda, but im pretty lame when it comes to plumbing.
 
Dana42078 said:
Jus seems more complicated than buying a HOB skimmer and plugging it in and thats it. lol

I do wanna do it kinda, but im pretty lame when it comes to plumbing.
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Saving $100+ on a skimmer is all good in my book. Just run the overflow over a piece of porous material and shine a light on it. Cake.

Awesome job Nemo.
 
Plus skimmers take out a lot of good stuff too....this is all natural filtration ,and it really isn't that hard....i'd help you as much as i could and i'm sure PRC would too...check out his build thread ,tons of vids and how to's ,go for it Dana,you won't regret it
 
I'd be willing to try. I guess ill try and tackle it after i get my light problem situated.

Im super lame to all this so i hope your willing to work with me.

I'd need a list of materials to buy. Most of you have bigger tanks than me so would the diameter of the pvc be smaller? How big of a tank would i need under my 46g?

If i ever were to lose power would all my water drain out?
 
Well,i guess the very first question to start with is "do you have an overflow box "?
The plumbing i think ,will be fine at 1 inch PVC like ours...i only have a 10 gallon sump,you really only need enough water in the bottom of it to cover the return pump..
Power outages can be tricky... .the only issue i currently have is my return line acting as a drain when the return pump loses power..this causes water from my DT to drain into my sump just until my return line is above water level,which then stops the siphon....to solve this i may actually up grade my sump to a 20 gallon and also move my return line as high as possible but still keeping it under water....hope some of this helps....again,it really isn't hard to build it,but getting the little adjustments and stuff is the hardest part
 
No overflow....like i said...ima noob to all this. My tank is basic as it gets. Now im trying to upgrade the equipment

Going from 4 T5HO lights to a G2 Maxspect 170 LED fixture, was going to upgrade my marineland HOB filter with a Reef Octopus BH 1000 Hang
on Back Protein Skimmer....now ive seen PRC do his kinda and seen yours and it looks good but like i said ima noob. After the 15th i'll tackle this head on but in the mean time i could pick up the random parts. Is there a cheap overflow box i could buy? I think only a 10g tank would fit under my tank. And still the power thing....jus scary....Wisconsin gets some nasty shyt storms.

Im subscribed to this thread already ill go watch PRC's vids again and subscribe to his.

Yet another project! Gez! What a hobby.
 
Dana42078 said:
No overflow....like i said...ima noob to all this. My tank is basic as it gets. Now im trying to upgrade the equipment

Going from 4 T5HO lights to a G2 Maxspect 170 LED fixture, was going to upgrade my marineland HOB filter with a Reef Octopus BH 1000 Hang
on Back Protein Skimmer....now ive seen PRC do his kinda and seen yours and it looks good but like i said ima noob. After the 15th i'll tackle this head on but in the mean time i could pick up the random parts. Is there a cheap overflow box i could buy? I think only a 10g tank would fit under my tank. And still the power thing....jus scary....Wisconsin gets some nasty shyt storms.

Im subscribed to this thread already ill go watch PRC's vids again and subscribe to his.

Yet another project! Gez! What a hobby.
Click to expand...

Never ending buddy:Cheers:

Well,you seen what i did with my HOB ,and it was very simple and worked great, i'd still be using it,but i did get an overflow which gives me more GPH ....you may want to keep an eye out for one on CL or E-bay.......first thing you'll need to do is get measurement .....you'll probably need 15 ft total of PVC and 6- 8 elbows and 1,but to be safe ,3 ball valves......do you have a miter saw or table saw???its the easiest way to cut the PVC.....
 
So i know yours worked but id rather just get something new that i dont have to mess with. Any link to a good overflow box for a 46g tank?

I have access to any cutting equipment i need.
 

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