The H2Overflow and Siphon Stopper are two very novel new aquarium plumbing parts from Custom Aquariums. The company specializes in aqarium installations and maintenance and their years of experience have led them to develop these two new plumbing parts because they really needed it.
If necessity is the mother of invention, the H2Overflow and Siphon Stopper are two pieces of aquarium plumbing that will instantly appeal to those of us who have set up large drilled tanks with drains and returns. What first caught our eye at the Custom Aquariums booth at the Aquatic Experience in Chicago this weekend was the H2Overflow.
Aquarists and reefers have for years engineered and invented countless solutions to creating an aquarium drain which can handle a lot of water flowing through it while simultaneously skimming as much of that water from the surface as possible – just shy of 18 inches of total skimming around its perimeter. Since Custom Aquariums deals a lot with professional aquarium installations the H2Overflow was designed with these two features in mind, and some less obvious ones that add to the overall tank aesthetics.
Most notable the H2Overflow elevates the position of the surface skimming up above the aquarium frame so that the line of the aquarium water is not visible to the viewer. Obviously this is a moot point with braceless and open top aquariums but it still manages to squeeze in a lot of surface skimming into a nice narrow wedge of a device. The H2Overflow is designed to be used with 1.5″ PVC plumbing, it can handle up to 1200 gallons per hour of water flow and it comes with a 1.5″ inch bulkhead for $69.
Of course a beautifully designed aquarium drain is only half the battle of an aquarium drain and return system, therefore Custom Aquariums also conceived a better return fitting called the Siphon Stopper. As the name implies, the Siphon Stopper is a fitting for the return side of the aquarium sump which has two openings in the plumbing line to prevent back-siphoning of aquarium water.
While many return fittings do come with a single hole to prevent water in the return line from reversing back into the sump when the power is interrupted, a single hole is prone to clogging and the dirtiest aquariums require near monthly attention to this feature to keep it free of debris. To counter this Custom Aquariums created two breaks in the line and to prevent the water from splashing wanton all over the place, they have little deflectors to guide the small trickle of water back into the aquarium, while minimizing splashing and noise.
The Siphon Stopper is a complete replacement for any kind of check valves which require a perfect seal to work while the Siphon Stopper is practically failure-proof. The attractive black PVC is 3/4 inch, comes with a barbed elbow on the inlet and a length of locline threaded in for $26.45.
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