40B - Need help on drilling tank

[davidpesce]

I got the 40B tank and want to make the jump to a drilled tank. Looking for what's worked best for other people and pics if possible.

Info on the setup:
- Will be in a wall mount situation in my basement. The "back" will be behind a wall with plenty of access from that side. No front access available.

Here's what I'm looking to figure out:
- What's the best configuration for drilling? (back, side, bottom)
- If I go bottom, how do I determine if the bottom is tempered glass?
- Where do I get the black acrylic overflow? What size should I get? Pros/Cons/etc
- Once I have it drilled, do I silicone the overflow to the glass?
- Any other things I should be aware of or should consider when figuring this out?

Thanks for the help!

 

[toddmh]

here you go..this guy rocks..It's a little over half way through it..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxnugJGiT3o&feature=related

 

[jacksonpt]

What's the best configuration for drilling? (back, side, bottom)

This is largely determined by your setup and personal preference. You have plenty of access to the back of your tank, so it doesn't sound like room is a concern. Some make the arguement that drilling the bottom and having full height weirs is a cleaner look, but they take up more room than does a simple overflow box.

If I go bottom, how do I determine if the bottom is tempered glass?

Good question... not sure. I'll let someone else chime in on that one.

Where do I get the black acrylic overflow? What size should I get? Pros/Cons/etc

boxes from glass holes are very popular. I have the 700gph box in my tank. Its well made and. Works well, though its not as quiet as I'd like. As for what size... that depends on how much water you want to put through it.

Once I have it drilled, do I silicone the overflow to the glass?

no, at least you don't with the boxes from glass holes. The bulkhead is enough to hold it in place.

Any other things I should be aware of or should consider when figuring this out?

The only thing I can suggest is to plan your plumbing and get LOTS of advice and feedback before you start cutting and gluing. Drilling my tanks was much easier than I anticipated, but getting a good, efficient, maintainable plumbing setup has been a big pain.

 

[pascal32]

The bottom is likely tempered, so drilling is out of the question. From drilling a few tanks I will say that figuring out the content of the tank first (SPS/LPS/softies/mixed) first helps as you can work on managing the rock formation and how you are going to move water. If you rush putting the box in on the side back you might regret only having one return line, or possibly not being able to put a power head where you want.

My 120 has a corner overflow which makes good flow in that corner hard. I finally conceded and put in two MP40s which solved the issue. a Koralia mounted on the side just didn't work for me.

plan it out well, then the assembly will go quickly! planning should include everything down to power lines, outlet placement, possibly two circuits in case of a power failure, sump positioning, skimmer height, accessibility etc. I love the flush tank look - though positioning corals might be tough from the back - and then there is keeping the glass clean. any chance you can put a flip up lid in the front?

If you are going to run halides let me know - a lot of halides cause interference issues which i spent a lot of time fixing. there are some easy things you can do during the build that can help contain the noise they generate.

 

[davidpesce]

It's going to start out as my clown/nem tank. Once the nem settles in (hopefully) then I'll start looking to get some pretty bulletproof corals like torches, etc. Overall it's my secondary tank and will be in the basement and quite possibly house frags/grow outs.

Will be running PCs to start and then LEDs shortly there after.

 

[davidpesce]

Is 700gph a bit much to be pushing through a sump setup? That would also require me to have a Mag9.5 on the return because of the height going back up.

I'm looking to get a mag 5 return and would then be looking at about 300gph on the overflow.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

jmo

jmo

a Mag5 should be fine for a 40 breeder BTA tank if the working head isn't a lot. Don't forget that each 90degree elbow = 1 ft. working head.

 

[davidpesce]

I'll piggyback on this thread for the time being. hopefully someone will see it.

Here's my current quandary...

I have a 300gph eshopps overflow box on the 75g tank with a mag5 return. For all recommendations I've seen, this is too small. Yet we are having great success with all levels and no issues thus far. Tank is still young though.

I'm putting in the 40b in the basement and was wondering if it would make sense to just take the 300gph overflow and the mag5 and use that with the 40b. Then buy a new overflow and return pump.

I'm wondering if I should get the eshopps 800gph overflow and the mag 9.5 return? Head is about 3ft with (2) 90 degree angles in the pvc. I have a ball valve to let excess go into the fuge. Is this setup ok?

 

[pascal32]

IMHO water does not magically become superwater through the sump. A lot depends on the equipment in the sump and how much filtering you are looking for. IMO the turnover rate is tied to what you want to keep in the tank. My sps tank (120) has a 600 gallon per hour turnover (just measured last weekend) and does well. My lps tank is lower.

You do need to up your in tank circulation if your return pump isn't enough for the tank.

Mag5 for a 40b seems like plenty if (per gary) the line has minimal resistance.

 

[Johnny C]

I used a Mag 5 on my 30G and the flow was somewhat weak with 3.5' of head. I usually like to have around 10x turnover from display to sump. Drill baby, drill!

 

[toddmh]

I used a Mag 5 on my 30G and the flow was somewhat weak with 3.5' of head. I usually like to have around 10x turnover from display to sump. Drill baby, drill!

I agree with Johhny here,I had the same system and the flow was pretty weak for a mag5 for some reason

 

[pascal32]

Mag 5 at 3.5 feet is about 345 GPH