40g B Tank Drilling

[devildog999]

Morning all,

Recently purchased a 40g breeder from PetCo during the dollar per gallon sale. The goal is to put in an overflow but the bottom is tempered glass. Was thinking maybe I could drill into the back of the tank and still put in an overflow box?

If this is an option, how should I go about doing this? I was thinking using a 45 degree pvc into the bulkhead and another coming out the back and then going to a straight pipe to get down to the underside? Three bulkheads total; a main drain, a return, and an emergency. Does this sound like it should work?

Also, how far down the glass should I drill; should I get as close to the bottom or go with the middle?

Was thinking I would go to a glass shop in the area for the glass for the overflow box. How should I go about putting teeth into the box?

Thank you for all suggestions. This will be my first time drilling a tank and undertaking this type of build. I have a lot of experience building, just not playing with glass.

 

[mcgyvr]

Sure you can drill the back if its not tempered (and they shouldn't be on a 40b)..
Pictures/diagram/information here... read this..
http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

Then you need to get the PVC fittings all decided upon and lay it all out to figure out the water height/where to drill,etc...
I suggest you take your time here... Once you screw it up.. That tank is basically done for.. So its very important to lay it out properly first..

In that link you can see a simple example of a full coast-coast overflow constructed with just 2 pieces of glass..
There are numerous other ways and also overflow boxes you can buy all done and some with drilling templates that have done all the layout work for you... but a 40b is a bit small for most of these off the shelf solutions IMO.. or should I say the boxes are too big..

 

[devildog999]

Thank you sir; once again, you have made my search for knowledge easier than I deserve.

Only the bottom is labeled as tempered so I do not believe any other panels are. Is there a way to look and be able to tell?

 

[mcgyvr]

Is there a way to look and be able to tell?

yes with polarized sunglesses... there are some videos on youtube showing how to do it.. But I'm quite positive that the 40b from petco sides are not and its just the bottom like you said..

Hard to beat this too BTW.... takes all the guess work out of it and provides a nice product all done.. hardly worth a DIY solution.. buy and be done...
https://modularmarine.com/collectio...-low-profile-overflow-box-with-removable-weir
(message them for the 3/4" uniseals IMO)..

 

[Tauri]

Please do the tempered test before drilling. I recently found out the hard way that all of my panels were tempered even though only the bottom panel was marked as tempered. Aqueon puts a tempered label usually on just the bottom if 1 OR MORE panels are tempered.

 

[devildog999]

yes with polarized sunglesses... there are some videos on youtube showing how to do it.. But I'm quite positive that the 40b from petco sides are not and its just the bottom like you said..

Hard to beat this too BTW.... takes all the guess work out of it and provides a nice product all done.. hardly worth a DIY solution.. buy and be done...
https://modularmarine.com/collectio...-low-profile-overflow-box-with-removable-weir
(message them for the 3/4" uniseals IMO)..

Oh that could make things real nice and easy and save some cash. Help get the setup together faster too.

 

[devildog999]

Please do the tempered test before drilling. I recently found out the hard way that all of my panels were tempered even though only the bottom panel was marked as tempered. Aqueon puts a tempered label usually on just the bottom if 1 OR MORE panels are tempered.

I will thank you