The BeanAnimal Overflow

[zportell]

After several trips to Menards and multiple attempts to get the plumbing of my 100 gallon build sized accordingly, I decided to weed out the flex tubing and go with the BeanAnimal overflow. I have three bulkheads installed while using an acrylic overflow box rated at 1,800 gph. Meanwhile, I hope I can tune this thing where I can still use my DB Triton 4 return pump (1050 gph).

The return for this overflow is over the top Utube with spray valve which will be directed towards one of the sides of the tank. This prevents the water which as just returned from the sump to be pushed back into the overflow.

Now for this Beast of an Overflow.. With the three standpipes and three 90* elbows (two turned down and the emergency turned up), it is to my understanding that one of the down turned elbow standpipes is to be used as siphon and the other as a "catch everything else". And the third stand pipe to be used as an Emergency stand pipe. I also know (but not understand why) there is an air tube on the "catch everything else" stand pipe. So, with all of this said, I understand the construction of this overflow. However, I don't understand the mechanics of how this things works. Maybe someone can answer my questions to give me a better idea?!?!

How does the siphon stand pipe start when the tank is filled?

How does the "Catch everything else" stand pipe know when to "kick in"?

What happens when the power goes out, how does the siphon stand pipe start up again?

How do I know if the overflow is working properly?

Please help!!! I want to make sure I understand this fully before I fill with water for test run..

 

[lunacris]

Good choice this is what i chose as well. for what its worth i used three inch and a half pvc drains. at around 10ft head the main full siphon pipe was able to stay only about 30% open with a mag 24 as the return ive since changed to a 18 for other reasons. this is the only drain you want to restrict. leave the air siphon wide open. Ive noticed that when your tuning it close the full siphon all the way after it starts draing and open little by little until the emergency pipe no longer drains water and then the air siphon only lets outbsmall amount of water. Youll usually see this is done when everything gets quiet and the full sipon has no air bubbles coming out. in regards to the power outage thing most of the time it catches full siphon without you doing any adjustments. if it doesnt quiet down then start by closing the full siphon and opening to the point you found when originally setting it up. hint for me once i found the sweet spot i melted a small groove where the valve lines up so i know the tuning spot. nothing major for melting just a small line that i v
Cant miss. if your worried that if your not home to deal with the tuning dont be theres three pipes that will handle it. what size drains did you use. if i missed something lmk

 

[BADGUS]

View attachment 5815

How it Works
Both the Emergency (left) and Siphon (middle) standpipes are capped. During normal operation the valve on the Siphon (middle) standpipe is adjusted (as shown in the rendering above) until the water level in the overflow box rises high enough that air is not being sucked into its down-turned elbow. This means that the standpipe is running at full siphon with NO air being sucked in. This is DEAD SILENT. However, it also means that the standpipe is NOT handling all of the flow from the return pump. This is where the Open Channel (right) standpipe comes into play. The Open Channel (right) standpipe is open to the air via the airline attached to it. Because air is allowed in and the overall flow is fairly small (the siphon standpipe is handling the bulk of the flow), the standpipe will not siphon or gurgle. In other words, the small amount of excess flow that is not being handled by the Siphon (middle) standpipe quietly flows through the Open Channel (right) standpipe. Because the flow is very low, very little air makes its way to the sump.

This setup is absolutely set-and-forget! It is self tuning over a very wide range and does not need to be touched once set. It operates silently and introduces very little air into the sump (if any). The caps can be removed to clean the standpipes if the situation ever arises. The system is self tuning over a wide range because the siphon is not adjusted to the very edge of its operating capacity. As the average flow from the return pump rises and falls, the open channel standpipe will handle the varying flow.

 

[jrpark22000]

Here is a picture of my beananimal. Since mine is external and has a clear box it is easy to see how the 3 pipes work. (I have since added intake screens on the 3 pipes but they are not necessary)

The center pipe runs at full siphon and is controlled by the partially closed valve
The right most pipe is the backup “emergency”
The left most is the open channel overflow “catch everything else”
(ignore the 2 small pipes as they are return lines)

The center pipe takes about 90% of the total flow. I set it so just a small amount of water runs into the left most pipe. The backup pipe never gets used unless there is a problem.

I occasionally need to help kick start a siphon on the center pipe, but that is due to my sump plumbing not the beananimal design. When the center pipes is not working, the left most pipe takes 70-80% of the water and the excess goes down the backup pipe. If the 3 pipes are sized to your return flow, it is failsafe.

The catch everything else pipe (right most pipe)kicks in by the water level. It is set at the desired water level of the tank. Whatever does not go down the full siphon goes down this pipe.

All 3 of my pipes are closed or capped, there is no air breather hole on any pipe. My catch everything else elbow is also upturned. Both are deviations from the true beananimal but it works great. Without the air tube on the catch everything else it is always noisy when it is needed. It will also never run a full siphon. I negate the lack of this second full siphon by oversizing the pipes so they can handle the volume without a full siphon.

Hope it helps.

 

[Herbie]

Thanks to the OP on this one. Filed for later use for sure.

 

[saltymike]

Here is a picture of my beananimal. Since mine is external and has a clear box it is easy to see how the 3 pipes work. (I have since added intake screens on the 3 pipes but they are not necessary)

The center pipe runs at full siphon and is controlled by the partially closed valve
The right most pipe is the backup “emergency”
The left most is the open channel overflow “catch everything else”
(ignore the 2 small pipes as they are return lines)

The center pipe takes about 90% of the total flow. I set it so just a small amount of water runs into the left most pipe. The backup pipe never gets used unless there is a problem.

I occasionally need to help kick start a siphon on the center pipe, but that is due to my sump plumbing not the beananimal design. When the center pipes is not working, the left most pipe takes 70-80% of the water and the excess goes down the backup pipe. If the 3 pipes are sized to your return flow, it is failsafe.

The catch everything else pipe (right most pipe)kicks in by the water level. It is set at the desired water level of the tank. Whatever does not go down the full siphon goes down this pipe.

All 3 of my pipes are closed or capped, there is no air breather hole on any pipe. My catch everything else elbow is also upturned. Both are deviations from the true beananimal but it works great. Without the air tube on the catch everything else it is always noisy when it is needed. It will also never run a full siphon. I negate the lack of this second full siphon by oversizing the pipes so they can handle the volume without a full siphon.

Hope it helps.

What are the clear pieces in the return lines? Some sort of filter?

 

[Herbie]

What are the clear pieces in the return lines? Some sort of filter?

check valves, I think.

 

[zportell]

Thanks for the information. Hopefully I can now get a grasp on how it works.

1) Make sure valve on siphon stand pipes is closed when filling tank. This allows water to start draining through the "Catch Everything Else Stand Pipe". Then, when tank is full, slowly open "Siphon Stand Pipe" and this will create the siphon needed. Once siphon is started, adjust the "Siphon Stand Pipe" as needed to bring water level even with the "Catch Everything Else Stand Pipe". I think it sounds more complicated than it actually is, am I right?

2) Josh, you posted a picture with the "Catch Everything Else Stand Pipe's Elbow" turned, facing upwards. Why did you do this? Is there a flaw with the original BeanAnimal design or does this provide a better drain? What's your thoughts on that?

3) Hopefully, I constructed my BAO with large enough PVC. Due to size constraints, I can't go past 28 inches from front of tank to back of BAO Plumbing. So I constructed my BAO with 1" PVC pipe. I am thinking if the Siphon Stand Pipe is used to move 80% of the water volume, and the other 20% is supposed to be in the "Catch Everything Else Stand Pipe" that should provide enough water volume to move 600-800 gph since my sump is a 30g fuge with bubble trap baffles. It will house rock, chaeto and DSB. Should be an excellent breeding ground for all kinds of stuff.

View attachment 5824

View attachment 5825


**After posting picture, I noticed I didn't include any PVC Unions below the shut off valves.. Just in case a whale gets trapped in my standpipe, I want to make sure I can clean it..

 

[RedDevil.258]

Yes there check valves. Good looking plumb job! How does it run?

 

[jrpark22000]

check valves, I think.

Correct, tru-union check valves. They are not perfect and do flap at times, but even with flaws they do slow the water returning to the sump.

 

[jrpark22000]

Thanks for the information. Hopefully I can now get a grasp on how it works.

1) Make sure valve on siphon stand pipes is closed when filling tank. ...
2) Josh, you posted a picture with the "Catch Everything Else Stand Pipe's Elbow" turned, facing upwards. ...
3) Hopefully, I constructed my BAO with large enough PVC. ...

1)Yes, that is how I do it when I restart my return pump.
2)When my elbow was downturned I had problems, it would not always start or would slurp. Inverting the elbow fixed it for me.
3)I run about 700-800 gph through my beananimal with 1” pvc without problems.

 

[jrpark22000]

Yes there check valves. Good looking plumb job! How does it run?

I think that is directed to my post. It works as good as BeanAnimal advertised, flawless. Since the photo I also added a UV to the full siphon drain, but that was only to clear up a bacterial bloom I had after cycling that would not go away. I have made no other modification since.

 

[zportell]

1)Yes, that is how I do it when I restart my return pump.
2)When my elbow was downturned I had problems, it would not always start or would slurp. Inverting the elbow fixed it for me.
3)I run about 700-800 gph through my beananimal with 1” pvc without problems.

1) Perfect. Glad it's not as complicated as I made it out to be.
2) That's good to know.. Slurping sounds will be a HUGE NO NO as my wife will make me move this to the basement..lol
3) 700-800 gallons is perfect for 100 gallon tank. 7-8 times an hour turn over is a good rate for fuge.

THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION AND CONFIDENCE THAT I CAN BEANANIMAL!

 

[lunacris]

Its really easy ....looks complicated but once holes are drilled its a piece of cake i might try the first pipe upright like someone posted here just to see what happens gl

 

[zportell]

Test run complete.
I Filled the tank and used a plastic bin for my test run. All seals are dry, all pipes were ABSOLUTELY QUIET! I even tested with simulated power outages and the results were awesome.

Conclusion to using the BeanAnimal Overflow on my 100 Gallon Display and 30 Gallon Sump is:
- The siphon stand pipe can handle 700+ gallons per hour using 1-inch PVC.
- The "Catch everything else Stand Pipe" was barely wet during proper siphon.
- A simulated power outage resulted in the siphon completely stopping, resulting in no water being transfered to
sump from Display tank.
- When power was restored, the return pumped approximately 500gph to the Display Tank allowing the siphon to
restart on it's own.
- When power was restored, The "Catch Everything Else Stand Pipe" was used for roughly 20+/- seconds as the
siphon Stand Pipe primed itself.
- After the 20+/- second mark, The "Catch Everything Else Stand Pipe" then went dry as the siphon stand pipe took
over the water transfer load.
- I ran test for 10 minutes.

 

[Tethered_Limbs]

welcome to the club. its pretty awesome.......

 

[jrpark22000]

Test run complete.

Gald to hear it worked as expected.

I'm curious which way you installed the elbow on the catch everything else pipe? up or down, maybe sideways?

 

[zportell]

I tried directing the elbow every which way; up, down, and sideways!! I finally directed it so that the opening is pointing up at 45* (approximately 10 o'clock). I didn't direct it facing vertically up the Siphon Stand Pipe was pulling enough flow that the water level didn't reach the top of the elbow. I didn't leave it facing vertically down because the elbow seemed to carry too much water. (it seemed as if it was trying to create another siphon, even though there is an air tube attached to the top of the cap.) So for the siphon to work properly and silently, I played with the angle of the elbow and it finally measured out to work best at 45*.

it's crazy to think if the system would ever need to use the emergency stand pipe as something major had to have happened, especially since the opening of the siphon stand pipe's elbow is about 1/4 - 1/2 inch from the bottom of my overflow box. It would take a whale to clog this and make it not work properly.

Hands Down... The BEST overflow system designed.

 

[jrpark22000]

Interesting on how the different tanks need to have the elbow at different orientations.

I've only seen my emergency pipe used due to a snail. I've since added guards to keep the pesky critters out.

 

[zportell]

I am sure there is a scientific reasoning behind the difference in elbow placement.. But since I am a web developer, I try not to mingle in topics too long that I don't understand.. However, with that said, I could take a guess at a couple of reasons why "I think" this could be.

Scenario 1) Height of drain and how many turns located within the drain. More elbows, the slower water falls to it's final destination.

Scenario 2) Return Pump GPH flow rate in association with the ID size of the stand pipes. Larger ID = more water flow = pump must be able to handle flow without pump restriction.

Scenario 3) How finely tuned the siphon stand pipe is. Has everything to do with how much water is allowed to come collect inside the overflow box for the siphon to work properly.

But, as I said above, I am just a web developer... Taking a stab at what might be a very detailed scientific reason.