# how do you set this up?



## nandeyanen (Jul 22, 2014)




----------



## somebody (May 13, 2014)

From the picture it looks like a hob overflow box maybe also a refugium....
Hang it on the back of your tank, run plumbing to a sump and from the sump to the tank, start a siphon in the u tube, and plug in a return pump in your sump.

I'm gonna need more details and pictures to help out, but maybe someone on here can recognize the equipment and decipher your request.


----------



## nandeyanen (Jul 22, 2014)




----------



## nandeyanen (Jul 22, 2014)

Anyone?


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

It does look like a hang on back style overflow. The clear box goes in the aquarium and the black box hangs on the outside of the aquarium. The clear J-tube appears to be in the correct position. The fitting in the bottom of the smaller exterior box looks like it is supposed to accept a piece of PVC pipe, the length of that pipe will determine the correct height of the water in the OF box. The fitting that comes out of the bottom of the OF box is the one that returns the water to the sump. The clear window allows you to see what the height of the water is in the OF box.

I have never used one of these so this is just a best guess. You will need to know what sizes the fittings are to determine the appropriate drain hose to use and to figure out what size pump to use.

Did you get any other equipment with this setup, such as a sump, pump, hoses, etc.?


----------



## nandeyanen (Jul 22, 2014)

Thanks, I'm just confused about the section on the right. Isn't the baffle supposed start around the middle and go all the way down and the water just overflow from that?


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

There are variations on the styles of these units and I don't know if this was a store bought or home made one. Some have baffles and some don't. Yours appears to have 2 compartments and may just be the style of the box. The only thing I notice is that you are only able to use 1 J-tube due to the placement of the clear toothed box.


----------



## nandeyanen (Jul 22, 2014)

So the left side I put a pipe for the water level I want and do I put a pipe in the right side chamber also?


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I don't know why I said you could only use 1 J-tube in my previous statement.

What I meant to say is that the clear, toothed overflow box position seems to only allow 1 J-tube to fit in the right hand compartment (in your picture). The right hand compartment appears to have a slip x MPT bulkhead fitting installed in the bottom that looks like it will accept a piece of PVC pipe. The height of this piece of PVC pipe will determine how much water is drained out of your aquarium, in other words, it sets the height of the water level in the aquarium.

The fitting in the left hand compartment (in your picture) has threads on it and I don't know whether they are pipe threads or SAE machine threads, the only way to know is to check them, which means you would need to remove the fitting from the box. Does this fitting also have female threads in the end that is outside the compartment?

What I see looking at the white PVC fittings you have, it appears someone made their own bulkhead fittings using standard PVC fittings and a gray plastic nut. It also appears they used teflon tape to seal any leaks. It's not the best way to go because it can be difficult to get water tight seals.

What size aquarium were you planning on using this overflow box on? The reason I ask is that it appears from the pictures that fittings are for 1/2" PVC pipe. If this is correct, I think you will have issues on how much water it can flow.


----------



## nandeyanen (Jul 22, 2014)

First of all thanks for such a detailed reply. The fitting on the left hand side is the same as the one on the right just upside down, I can easily flip it over if I needed and I think I do? I got this with a 55 gallon tank from some dude. I currently have a sunsun 304b but I wanted to use this as a skimmer? And maybe grow some pothos and lucky bamboo in it. I'm gonna draw out a set up I was thinking might work and post it here to see if you guys would think it would work or not.


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Are you going to be connecting this overflow box to a sump?


----------

