Reef Savvy Ghost Overflow, Flow rate.

[IUfan]

Just looking at the 21" ghost Overflow from Reef Savvy.

This will be on a 225 Gallon tank. Using a Fluval SP4 (1822 GPH) as the return pump. It will be plumbed in the beananimal style.

The site says the Overflow can handle a flow of 2000 gph, but the drains look to be 1", I didn't think that flow would be possible with 1"?


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[mcgyvr]

1" bean can handle 2000GPH no problem..

[Breadman03]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

1" bean can handle 2000GPH no problem..

Yep. The difference between what an open channel pipe can flow vs. what a siphon can flow is huge.

[Lsufan]

To me it isn't about the gph with any of the ghost style overflows. They can all handle the flow in most people's systems. To me it is more about surface skimming & stability. I always recommend getting the longest one that will fit on the tank. It will give u the best surface skimming & will be more consistent. When I say stability I mean that if u have a small box with a bunch of flow it will be a little inconsistent to where u have to adjust on the valve more often to keep it quiet. The larger the box the more stable it will be. On both of my systems I have really long overflows, not quite c2c. I don't ever have to tweak on the valve, maybe once a year if that much.

[thejuggernaut]

That is allot of flow for a toothed overflow that size. I would be more worried about the capacity of the weir and not the plumbing. If it is around 20", the effective weir is less than 10". So you'll probably be operating at the top of that weir. If a fish dies and gets stuck to it, or a sheet of nori breaks off and covers it, the flow could overwhelm the weir. Then the water level would rise. Since those overflows have a top, there wouldn't be anywhere for the water to go but over the top on to your floor. You could always do some experimenting once you get it set up. Get it running, cover up a 3rd of the teeth. If it doesn't overflow, I would feel safe enough. If it is near the top of the box, turn your pump down a little with a ball valve. Also, you need to be religious about cleaning them. It doesn't take much growth to decrease it's ability to process water, and if it is already operating close to max.....Just keep in mind that the turn over rates are just a suggested ball park. You don't need to meet exactly 6x, 10x, or whatever rate you are planning for. Just tweak the pump until you feel comfortable.

[Reef908]

Originally Posted by thejuggernaut

That is allot of flow for a toothed overflow that size. I would be more worried about the capacity of the weir and not the plumbing. If it is around 20", the effective weir is less than 10". So you'll probably be operating at the top of that weir. If a fish dies and gets stuck to it, or a sheet of nori breaks off and covers it, the flow could overwhelm the weir. Then the water level would rise. Since those overflows have a top, there wouldn't be anywhere for the water to go but over the top on to your floor. You could always do some experimenting once you get it set up. Get it running, cover up a 3rd of the teeth. If it doesn't overflow, I would feel safe enough. If it is near the top of the box, turn your pump down a little with a ball valve. Also, you need to be religious about cleaning them. It doesn't take much growth to decrease it's ability to process water, and if it is already operating close to max.....Just keep in mind that the turn over rates are just a suggested ball park. You don't need to meet exactly 6x, 10x, or whatever rate you are planning for. Just tweak the pump until you feel comfortable.

Valid points. I am installing a 16" synergy reef shadow box on my 180 now and these are all great things to be aware of. After reading this, I am going to definitely test out covering part of the weir once I get the tank plumbed and wet! I'll be using a Sicce 5 for the return at 1300 gph so after accounting for head loss I should be no where near the suggested flow rate. However its more than likely an issue will arise if something blocks some of the teeth.

[IUfan]

As a fail safe I'm probably going to install a float switch so if water ever gets close to overflowing levels it will turn off the Return pump.


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[ca1ore]

I tend to discount the flow rates of any of these by half. On my new build I'm shooting for 1,500 gph through my sump so I bought the 36" modular marine model that claims 3,000 gph. I'm also mounting one of the apex optical level switches at the top of the skimmer box to alert me if the level in the tank rises unaccpetably.