Modding Overflow Box onto HOB Filter? (Marineland Penguin 350)

[wpeterson]

I have a cheap 30gal nano tank without an overflow or holes drilled. I've decided to make the most of this tank until we move and setup a more ambitious tank.

The Marineland Penguin 350 is a mechanical filter with outflows on the surface and a filtered intake pipe lower in the tank.

My goal is to improve the filtering and surface skimming by replacing the straight intake pipe with a small 400gph overflow box. Loose plans are to pick up an acrylic overflow, mount it off to the side from the filter, and plumb a soft hose into the existing filter intake.

Is this crazy? Has anyone here done something similar? What should I be aware of?

I have two Koralia Nano 425s, so I get strong flow through the tank in addition to the HOB filter outflow. Otherwise, I would be worried about getting enough flow up to the surface.

Any advice appreciated, otherwise I may try to prototype something with what I can find in the plumbing section at home depot.

 

[JohnK]

The concern that comes to mind for me is that this will be very sensitive to evaporation. Any evaporation will come out of the water level in the overflow box, and that level won't have to come down very much before the filter starts sucking air, and when that happens it's likely that there will be a risk that the siphon will break leading to the pump in the canister going dry and possibly cooking itself.

If you can rig up an ATO sensor in the overflow box, then I think this idea will work. If not, at the very least you would have to manually top off at least once every day if not twice.

 

[wpeterson]

Thanks for the advice.

I've been battling evaporation this winter and order a AutoAqua SmartATO last weekend. ATO arrives on Monday ::fingers crossed::

I'm hoping to put the ATO sensor in the overflow and have the ATO feed in the HOB filter reservoir.

Does this seem like it's worth doing?

 

[JohnK]

Only one way to find out

I think it'll work fine as long as the sensor is in the overflow.