DIY and the electrical aisle

Bernie · 04-02-2006, 10:38 PM

Recently I built my sump and overflow using pics and diagrams from all over the net. The sump was the run of the mill and is working fine, but the overflow wasn't quite so great. I had originally made it out of two of those fish catching boxes from the LFS. Well the smaller one on the inside of the tank never did get enough flow so I ended up making it look like termites had been all over it and that gave me enough flow. BUT this looked real crappy and didn't skim the surface very well at all... SO what I did was head to the electrical aisle at my local big box hardware store, we all know the one... the one that bought and paid for the new GA aquarium... anyhoo... What I found on that aisle was a 4"x4"x5" grey pvc weather proof junction box type thingie. It has no holes on any of the sides and 4 screws to hold on the weather tight lid. I got that and a pack of 1/2" pvc straps, the kind you place around a pipe and screw to a stud or something like that.

So I brought that all home, dremeled out some teeth as straight as I could used a drilled hole at a point roughly 1" below the waterline as my starting point to cut out the teeth for the overflow, added 2 of the 1/2" straps to one side to hang over the wall of the tank, and blammo... a honest to goodness surface skimming overflow. I only had to make teeth on the front to supply enough water to keep up with the flow out of my tank.

SO... moral of the story is this, don't neglect the great little finds on aisles other than the plumbing aisle. The grey pvc looks great in the tank and the box was a great size for my 20 gal nano.

kj_yoda · 04-02-2006, 11:10 PM

awesome.. could you post some pictures when you get a chance

Bernie · 04-02-2006, 11:21 PM

Here ya go... i think... via the cell phone cam with just the actinics going, but it gives you an idea of what i'm talking about...

Bernie · 04-02-2006, 11:21 PM

sweet... i'm very happy with how easy that was to accomplish... bravo rob on developing such an easy site... :-)

***Rob*** · 04-03-2006, 01:32 AM

awesome.. it looks like a cool DIY, and looks pretty easy..
some additional shots of the back and drain might be helpful to others if you get time..

thanks for sharing..

kj_yoda · 04-03-2006, 10:12 AM

Pretty good pics from a cell phone camera! Nice DIY work Bernie.

DeviousDude · 04-03-2006, 04:25 PM

Bernie thats awesome!!!

I'm the "others" that Rob is talking about. I would like to see the drain side.

Thanks.

Bernie · 04-03-2006, 10:01 PM

Okay, I drug out the big camera... but didn't bother cleaning anything... so don't be all knocking on my crud build-up... poor tank has seen alot of action lately

We've got a better pic of the skimmer, then the overflow, just a large specimen box with a bulk head fitting from a washer/water heater overflow setup in the bottom, then the ball valve to cut off that, going down into the sump flowing from back to front with a mag 5 pushing everything back up via flex hose and another ball valve to the tank. Still very much a work in progress, but atleast I'm trying... oh, notice the fan... the Georgia heat done got to me as well... :-D

Lastly a shot of the whole tank as it would normally be seen. It is up in my loft that overlooks the livingroom and is right outside the master suite. It gets warm up here, but also gives me a reason to occupy the sitting area.

DeviousDude · 04-04-2006, 01:09 AM

Nice.

Thanks for the pics Bernie. I have 30 gallon in the works and your pics gave me some ideas.

Scott · 04-04-2006, 11:51 PM

Wow, that DIY overflow box looks awesome! Thanks for posting the description and the pics!

Bernie · 04-04-2006, 11:57 PM

Thanks for the kudos guys... makes me and the dog happier knowing that all that time spent getting high from pvc glue fumes turned into something presentable :-)

gwen_o_lyn · 04-04-2006, 11:58 PM

ha ha ha!!

Pics look great!

Scott · 04-05-2006, 12:02 AM

well it really does look good. and I'm sure it was much cheaper than my CPR overflow box.

Bernie · 04-05-2006, 12:18 AM

I think the most expensive parts of the overflow were the glue, ball valve, specimen box and the pvc cutter... I think I have less than $20 invested in the whole thing. If I had it to do over again I would have used 1" vs the 3/4" and probably leaned more toward the grey electrical pvc, just cause I like the way it "disappears" and there are some cool shapes already formed with it (like the step around that I had to make to clear the back of the stand)... not sure of the price difference in the standard white vs grey electrical though...

Scott · 04-05-2006, 12:47 AM

Yeah, less than $20 for the entire setup is cheaper than just my overflow box! Then I've got my tubing as well, of course I have a bit more than typical since my sump/fuge is off to the side and not directly underneath my tank.

One day I'll buy some pvc and have some nice plumbing... :-)

DeviousDude · 04-05-2006, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bernie

Thanks for the kudos guys... makes me and the dog happier knowing that all that time spent getting high from pvc glue fumes turned into something presentable :-)

Set up $20 bucks. Fumes? Priceless