- I'm Thomas.
And I'm about to answer the top five
most frequently asked questions
about Eshopps, Eclipse Overflow Boxes.
Starting with what's the point of an overflow box.
The most simple explanation is that an overflow box
allows for the water in the display tank
to pass through the glass and travel down to the sump
where the filtration for the aquarium is housed.
So that it can be filtered and then
pumped back up to the display tank.
Sure. You couldn't get the same job done with just
a simple bulkhead,
but that would be pretty dangerous for the inhabitants
since they could travel into it
and then end up in the filtration.
It's also a pretty noisy solution
and doesn't provide very much surface extraction.
For those reasons overfill boxes are the standard.
They use an internal weir with a long series of slots
to allow water to enter over a longer surface area,
providing a skimming action that removes the oils
and dusty debris from the surface of the water.
While also keeping inhabitants like fish, snails,
and crabs out of the overflow.
They use multiple smaller bulkheads and standpipes
to keep things nice and quiet.
While also adding redundancy. So if one drain clogs,
there's another to take over the water.
So it doesn't spill over the edge and onto the floor.
Ultimately, they're also just much nicer to look at
and easier to hide, especially against a black background.
How big are the Eclipse Overflow Boxes?
There are three models of the Eclipse Overflow,
the S, the M, and the L rated for a maximum of 600,
800 and 1,000 gallons per hour of flow, respectively.
The S is six inches wide. The M is eight inches wide
and the L is 12 inches wide
and they all share the same six inch height
as well as one and a quarter inch depth
of the internal weir and three inch depth
of the external box.
How do you install an overflow box?
Installing an overflow is actually pretty simple.
You'll first need to decide where on the tank
you'd like the overflow box to go.
The back panel is really common. Often in the center,
but you can place it closer to the corners if you prefer,
or even place it on one of the side panels for a peninsula
style aquarium, like this 10 gallon that I've got here.
Eshopps includes a drill template
as well as a diamond holesaw for drilling the tank,
which makes things a lot easier.
And they give you an installation guide with great
instructions that you can follow along with.
Now, I'm going to step back and let past Thomas
walk you through the installation of the Prodigy
Overflow from Eshopps, which is very similar to this one.
So you get a pretty good idea of what that process
is going to look like.
You'll first need to remove the center bulkhead
to separate the two halves of the overflow system
to access that snazzy drill guide template.
Line it up on your tank with the arrow facing up
in your desired location
and use it as a stencil to mark the hole
or clamp it in place to use it as a drill guide.
Then use the included 60 millimeter diamond glass holesaw
to cut your hole. Once you have your hole,
place, one of the two included gaskets over the bulkhead
on the rear, slide it into the hole from inside
of the tank outwards, then place the second gasket over top
of the bulkhead on the outside of the tank.
Then slide the outer box over top of that
and tighten down the nut on the inside of the box.
You can also use a small level
to make sure the box is sitting perfectly straight
as you tighten everything down.
Then the Prodigy is ready to be plumbed to your system.
How do you start the Eshopps Overflow Box?
Well, unlike the siphon based overflow boxes
that need to draw the water up
and over the edge of the aquarium,
the Eclipse, Overflow Boxes do not need to be started
and will automatically start draining
once the water level reaches the weir
and starts to fill the overflow box.
The water will then travel through the drain bulkheads
inside of the overflow box, through the pipe,
and then down into the sump, no effort required.
Gravity does it all for you.
How do you silence the Eshopps overflow?
That's a great question.
Generally speaking, if you're using the Herbie
or bean animal method,
the boxes will be nearly silent without any changes.
Since both of those methods use a gate valve
to dial back the water flow through the drain pipe
until it creates a siphon.
So there is no air trapped in the pipe
and no chance of gurgling.
The gate valve can be adjusted until the water level
in the overflow box is also at the perfect height
so that it doesn't have any significant splashing
while still being below the back of drain,
which is the red pipe.
Now, if you aren't using either of those methods,
and you'd like to try to quiet down the amount of noise
that you're getting inside of the overflow box,
you can add some PVC pipe to the drain bulkhead to raise the
water level inside of the external box,
which will reduce the noise that's caused by the water
coming through that main bulkhead.
Just make sure that it's lower than the backup drain pipe.
If the noise is coming from the internal weir,
you can try reducing the speed of your return pump
or adding a cut to fit course foam pad.
Just be sure to clean it regularly.
So it doesn't get bogged up with debris
and impede the water flow.
If a quiet overflow box with a super slim internal weir
like these Eclipse Boxes from Eshopps matches your
unobtrusive reefing mantra.
You can pick one up for yourself by clicking right here.