Drain for my overflow (existing, durso, or gurgle buster)?

[georgec]

Hi all,

Still getting things together for the 65G AGA that I picked up earlier this fall. It has a corner overflow and I picked up a Mag 7 for my return from the sump. It's a tall 65. So, there's about 5 feet of head, which would put the flow around 420 GPH through the overflow.

Looking to see if anyone has experience with some overflow options I'm looking at. I'd like to minimize noise and also try to keep the amount of "tuning" down for the drain.

Basically, I'm considering the following options:

• 
  [li]Existing (described below with pictures)[/li]
  [li]Durso[/li]
  [li]Gurgle Buster[/li]

Existing Drain:The existing drain that comes with it is this funky looking thing:

There is a 1" OD pipe that comes up from the drain with a slip fitting:

There is a strainer which attached to the top of the drain pipe in the overflow, and bulb type thing that sits in the strainer:

Has anyone seen/used this standard drain fitting on their AGA megaflow overflow? There is bulb is hollow and there is an airhole in the top to allow air in through the bulb, and then down the stem which protrudes into the strainer.

Durso Overflow
My main concern with the durso - I'd like to not have to unscrew and refit the existing drain pipe if possible. I thought about just adding a stem, T fitting, cap, and elbow to make a durso top. However, I was reading that it is recommended that the Durso drain pipe be wider than 1" for best operation. And as mentioned, the existing drain pipe is 1" OD.

Any thoughts on potential issues here? and I've heard that the Durso pipes can be a little finicky?

Gurgle Buster
I read about this other type of drain attachment the "Gurgle Buster" (http://home.everestkc.net/jrobertson57268/HGB/HGB_construction.html)
It looks pretty easy to make, and the standard parts are a 1" diameter pipe. So, the pro is that is would fit with the existing drain pipe that is on the tank. Not sure if anyone has experience/comments on the Gurgle Buster?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Elite]

Cookiejar uses that funky looking thing. It's pretty quiet. I kinda like it. I believe he said that he has to keep that clean because when it dirty, it doesn't work too well.

 

[georgec]

Thanks. I'll have to try to send a PM and get any tips/quirks on the set-up. Any experience with either the Durso or Gurgle Buster?

 

[Dyngoe]

The way you minimize noise is two fold:
1. Distance water falls in the overflow
2. Gurgling from pipes

To fix the distance you need to raise the water level in the overflow. This can be done in many ways but it's all the same basic idea: put the entrance to the drain higher. We all knew this one.
To fix gurgling you want the water to enter the pipe under the water surface. It looks like that device should work from what I can see and so would a durso. Personally I like as well as a durso and a 1" durso will work fine. It's still a 1" drain, just now the water flows from under the water surface. The only thing with a durso is you NEED a strainer or holes in the side of the inlet tube. One big snail can cause a huge problem if he gets in and blocks the overflow.
If it were me I'd turn both tubes into drains. One would be the primary and one would be a reserve. I'd make the reserve a little higher that the primary just in case something blocked the main. Or, you could run both as drains. The overflow probably can handle more than what one drain will accept. In my tank I'm doing this right now and I just get better amounts of turnover in my tank than if I was running only one drain. The only difference is your returns will come over the back of the tank, which I also prefer to coming out of the overflow.