THE OVERFLOW
The big improvement with the new tank, aside from more room, is the drilled side with allows me to use a stand pipe as an overflow. Now I don't have to worry about the siphon breaking like it might do with the over-the-side overflow box.
Some plastic gutter guard mesh is used to keep snails and fish from falling into the standpipe. It is removeable for easy cleaning.
To keep the water from making slurping noises while it heads to the sump, I added a few elbows and a "T" to the pipe. The bend keeps the water level in the standpipe just a bit below the water level of the tank itself, and the T allows any air bubbles that do get sucked into the pipe to escape. It also prevents a siphon from forming.
I originally wanted to build an overflow box with a standpipe
inside it, but I realized that such an overflow would use up a lot of
space. The standpipe by itself works quite well and is totally silent
due to the riser and T. .
All PVC joints
between the bulkhead and the T are sealed permanently with PVC cement.
A union after the bulkhead allows me to remove the pipes if I have to.
Joints after the T are made watertight with Teflon tape and can be taken
apart if necessary.
