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aquarium overflow


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hi! i have a 240 gallon with  3 overflows and a sump. i want to add guppies and tetras to it howerver, they are constantly getting sucked into the sump. any tips to avoid this? sponge works, but my turtle may eat it so i cant use that

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19 minutes ago, OnlyGenusCaps said:

What type of overflows?  For example, are they weirs or drilled directly into the back back using screens?

i basically drilled holes, added bulkheads and used 3 pvc elbows facing up

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Great.  There are a few options here.  I'm tossing our ideas, and you can let me know if they all stink.  I have a similar setup on a rack of tanks for drainage for an AWC system, with one of the tanks having Endler's.  I've been able to avoid issues with loss by jamming 10ppi Poret foam into the PVC.  I keep it about flush with the top so no one get trapped in the top of a dry tube.  Your tubes won't be dry, but same principle probably applies.  A cheaper option would be to use pot scrubbies, but recognize the flow rate will be lower (in my experience) that with the coarse foam.  This should keep the material away from your turtle.  But it does lower flow rates (though very little with the 10ppi) when compared with the foam on the outside of the overflow.  This won't work if you have floater plants in the tank though as they will rapidly be pulled toward the overflows and clog your now "netted" overflows.

If you have floating plants and your turtle is airline safe, then you can also create a bubble wall.  This is just placing an air-stone beneath each of the overflows.  The upward current then pushes material away from the overflows that can't swim well, including fry.  Downsides though include that you lose surface skimming as part of your filtration, and thus get more rapid mulm build up, and it may mess with the look you could be going for.  However if you have floating plants, it also serves to push them away from the overflows and prevent them from clogging them. 

Hope one of these might be useful.  If not, let me know why, and we can keep running through possibilities if you like

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