75g, external overflow and closed loop - dialup beware

[psyco_guy_abd]

I got this tank used, it had the back glass painted blue and came with a stand, external overflow and some hoses as well as 60lbs of live sand that I decided to keep. I had been researching what I wanted to do with my tank for quite a while and imediatly decided to go with an closed loop, and a taller stand to fit the location I had in mind. I also decided to take the plunge and cut the tank for an external glass overflow.

The first thing I decided to do was build a new stand for my tank. This stand is based on a design that I saw here in the diy secton. I made the stand from 2x4's. It is 36" tall, 48" long and 24" wide. I decided to make it wider so that I could later upgrade to a slightly larger tank and use my existing plumbing/sump/stand without too much trouble.

Next I decided to build my closed loop manifold, I built the whole thing out of 1" pvc and am planning on steping the actual outlets down to 3/4 or 1/2 inch. I am leaning on the side of overkill with the perspective that it is much easier to upgrade pump when all the plumbing is already large enough to handle them.

 

[psyco_guy_abd]

The next step I took was to cut the trim out around where I wanted the holes for my external overflow. I did this by drawing the outlines on the trim with a black marker and cutting them out with a dremel cutting disk.

At this point I started thinking about how I was going to put the box on and also the fact that I had no Idea what type of paint was on the back. I didn't know if the paint would be toxic or not so I decided to remove it from the tank. I did this with a razor blade and the paint came off easily in large strips.

After this the next logical step was to start cutting the overflow holes themselves. I choose to go with 4 slots, two are 6" long and two are 4" long for a total length of 20". All slots start 1/8" above the bottom of the trim and are about 1/4" tall. I left a 1" strip uncut between each of the slots and left as much of the trim intact as possible. I did this for two reasons, first the trim acts like a visual guide on the sides and top, second some people had expressed doubts about the strength of a tank cut on the "long side". I felt that the trim, uncut strips, and glass left uncut across the very top would add at least some little bit of strength.

As you can see in these first two pictures I cut the first slot inside with about 8" of water and sand in the bottom of the tank. I cut the glass using a "tile cutting" rotozip bit. The dremel bit is the exact same except that it costs more. Ill get a pic of it tomorrow.
I used an old peice of trim and some clamps to try and get the bottom of all the slots even. I used a gallon jug and some airline tubing for cooling water. This setup worked but is not recomended. It took about 1.5 hours to cut that first slot and made a huge mess.

 

[psyco_guy_abd]

All the other holes were cut outside using the same bit and guide. I used the garden hose for water and left it running at a good rate. This worked much better, water really is the key here because it works not only to keep the bit and glass cool but also to rinse the "sand" that you get when cutting away from the bit so that it can keep cutting. I found that cutting went best when I had as much water as I could use and still be able to see what I was cutting clearly. I would estimate that it took me maybe fifteen minutes to cut each of the remaining 3 slots.

The next thing I did was to cut a hole 2 and 3/8" for my 1.5" bulkhead near the bottom of the tank. This is used for the closed loop. I cut the hole by puttting together all the closed loop plumbing and using that to locate the bulkhead on the back of the tank. Then I traced the inside of the gasket with a marker on the the glass and cut it out with the dremel. I forgot to take pictures of these steps but it really is just like cutting the slots.

I then went on to building the overflow box. I made the box 28" long, 10" tall and 5" wide. The bottom of the box is actually 38" long making a small shelf on both sides of the box. the reason for this is that the bottom of the box falls about 1/2 way down the back of the tank and I felt that making the bottom of the box as long as possible would add some strength to the back glass ( kinda like an "I" beam). This is just my oppinion. I cut two holes in the bottom of the overflow for 1.5" bulkheads just like I cut the hole in the back of the tank. After the holes were cut I glued the box together using a little frame that I built. I am not posting pics of that step to keep from tainting all of your minds with my very bad design. It really didn't work out well at all, however after a little fighting and a lot of choice words the box was done.

I wiped down the whole back of the tank with paint thinner several times before gluing the box to the tank. Then I measured up from teh bottom of the tank and in from the sides to center the box on the back of the tank.

 

[psyco_guy_abd]

I waited 72 hours for the silicone to dry and then took the tank to the yard for a water test. It has been sitting full now for about four days without any problems. I only had a few small leaks around the bulk heads which are now fixed. I am hoping to move it inside this weekend and fill it with salt water.

Ill keep posting to this thread with updates as I plumb in my sump/fuge and also build my canopy. I willalso try to answere any questions

 

[steve68]

Wow those pictures are huge
looks cool.

 

[Travis]

R-E-S-I-Z-E:lol:

How much water do you estimate you can flow through the overflow with those thin cutouts?

 

[8BALL_99]

Great job.. Its looking good

 

[eameres]

Could you have put the feed for the closed loop in the overflow box rather than in the back of the tank? I'm paranoid about any extra holes in the tank, so I was thinking of doing that.

I assume the biggest consideration is will there be enough flow through the overflow slots to feed both the closed loop and the sump.

 

[FINFISH]

I'd recommend coating the steel brackets well on your stand- If you plan on having a sump under there- they'll become quite rusty, use multiple thin coats of quality oil-based paint, or better yet- epoxy paint.
How do you like the Prairie?

 

[csammis]

Resize those images..."dialup beware" is one thing, but you're breaking tables like mad

But all that aside, great work!

 

[shelburn61]

It looks like you drilled through the frame to attach the cable ties for the manifold?

I hadn't thought of that.

 

[samsfishnchips]

looks nice, hope it holds up, good luck,

sam

 

[rsteagall]

How do you cut glass like that? =\ Just wondering for future reference. Also, I like the manifold... I might just have to do something like this in my tank. Any other manifold links?

 

[psyco_guy_abd]

First off, sorry guys about the huge pictures. Sometimes I forget that not everyone has a huge wide screen monitor on their computer. Ill resize them to fit in the normal width as soon as I get a chance.

rsteagall - I cut the glass using a dremel and a ceramic tile cutting bit. use lots of water it helps. If you want some more info do a search using the button at the top and you will find lots of info on how to cut the tanks with a dremel tool. As far as manifolds go check out Anthony calfo's forum he has a sticky at the top about manifolds.

shelburn, yes I drilled through the plastic frame to attach the manifold, just a couple of small holes where the glass lids would normaly sit.

Finfish, Thanks for the tip, I wasn't sure if I was going to need to paint them but I guess I will. The Prairie is nice, It's the "tank" of our three quads. I wouldn't really recomend the automatic though. It gets really hot and I just don't like it personaly but it is the only thing my g/f will drive. Never had any problems with it.


eameres, Yes the closed loop pump could have been put into the overflow box but I would have needed a much larger overflow. I am planning on running about 1000 gph through the closed loop to start with and maybe put a bigger pump on later. I also plan to have 600 gph through the sump/fuge and I know that my overflow will not handle 1600 + gph. Also with it hard plumbed to the back of the tank there is much less chance of micro bubles being returned to the tank.


Travis, I tested it in the yard with a pump that is rated for 600gph at 4ft of head which was about right. I was only using about 1/2 of the height of each slot so I figure I could go up to about 900gph with out to much trouble, and I could always make the holes bigger If I want more flow.

 

[Bax]

Nice work ... I don't have the nads to cut or drill my 75.

Good luck!

 

[Freeskier98]

huge widescreen monitor? How big are we talking here. Im running 2048 X 1536 on my 24 inch and its still almost taking up the entire screen.

Sounds like someones got a 48" widescreen LCD for a monitor =)

Like the CL. Looks good

 

[moriartiholmes]

That looks good I'd love to do that to my 75. I think I'm going to "borrow" your idea of zip tying the pipes to the trim though. I second the idea of putting the closed loop pump in there if you can fit it and your overflow can handle the flow.

 

[00nothing]

very nice setup i am currently considering upgrading from my 55 to a 75 in order to get the extra width

these pics are humungous though if u could make them a little smaller that would be amazing

 

[psyco_guy_abd]

as promised the pics are resized to 800x600. Should make all you small screen users happy

 

[doody]

Hows this tank doing?