Drain and overflow help! drill bottom or back glass

[admann99]

so is it better to drill bottom of tank or the back glass for drains? Also is it better to have two overflows or one long one, maybe even the length of the back glass. all help is welcome let me know what you think and why. This is my first reef build so I am soaking up everything I can and learning from all the people I can so I can make educated decisions on my equipment. thanks in advance foe all your help it is very appreciated.

 

[Jon0807]

I think it depends on how you want to run your plumbing and stand. If you drill the back, you'd have to position your tank to compensate for the plumbing if it's against the wall. If you drill the bottom, you won't have to worry about that.

I would have at least 2 drains with one being an emergency. With just one drain, it's just a matter of time till you flood the house due to a clogged pipe. In my current build I have 3 drains set up with the Bean Animal style. One full siphon, one partial, and one emergency. It's super quiet, and super safe.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

The current trend is to have a "ghost" style overflow the whole length of the tank with bulkheads through the back. It provides good surface skimming and takes up very little real estate if designed well. There's nothing wrong with other styles though if that's what you want for what you're doing, like Jon0807 said it really depends on the layout of your stand and plumbing.

I would also agree with him that it makes sense to do a multi-drain setup. Beananimal and Herbie are the two most common.

 

[ssgss gogeta]

Drill none, have the glass cut and attach an external overflow box. Can add a comb to the cut section if you feel like


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mcgyvr]

Do a bean animal drain on whatever style overflow you go.
http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx
This shows the bean drain system with an internal coast to coast overflow

It really is superior to all other systems.. Herbie isn't bad but bean IS better..

If you aren't going to DIY you've got synergy overflows which are the ghost style der_willie was talking about..
http://synergyreef.com/product-category/overflow/
You also have the eshopps L
http://www.eshopps.com/products/overflowboxes/eclipse-l/

Slotting like ssjss is great too if you are having the tank custom made or want to do it yourself then have an external overflow box with bean system in it..

 

[Jon0807]

The current trend is to have a "ghost" style overflow the whole length of the tank with bulkheads through the back. It provides good surface skimming and takes up very little real estate if designed well. There's nothing wrong with other styles though if that's what you want for what you're doing, like Jon0807 said it really depends on the layout of your stand and plumbing.

I would also agree with him that it makes sense to do a multi-drain setup. Beananimal and Herbie are the two most common.

That's exactly what I have. I got this http://synergyreef.com/product/16-shadow-overflow/
They also have a 20" version

 

[ca1ore]

Though I have had bottom drilled tank (including a custom tank long before the mass brands started selling reef ready tanks), I have gradually moved to preferring back drilled. Just seems inherently safer to me.

I've never really understood the appeal of the coast to coast overflow, nor the logic frankly. So many of them end being a major eyesore. As long as you have enough flow and linear skimming real estate, the system will work just fine. I'm going to be using a 36" skim box on my new 96" tank. I'd be shocked if it's not more than enough.

 

[ericarenee]

Though I have had bottom drilled tank (including a custom tank long before the mass brands started selling reef ready tanks), I have gradually moved to preferring back drilled. Just seems inherently safer to me.

I've never really understood the appeal of the coast to coast overflow, nor the logic frankly. So many of them end being a major eyesore. As long as you have enough flow and linear skimming real estate, the system will work just fine. I'm going to be using a 36" skim box on my new 96" tank. I'd be shocked if it's not more than enough.

I agree with this.. my 7 ft tank has 3 holes drilled about 4 inches down from the top and 3 inches apart . they are 1 1/2 each . I have a 32L X 6T X 1 D Internal over flow box with NO TEETH. It drops the water into a 24x4x 12 inch external box with 3 drains 2 with adjustments on them dropping into a 3 inch pipe that carries the water to the basement ..
There is so much extra capacity its Completely Quiet . In my basement i have a pre settlement tank that is 20 Gallons.. I drained it and timed its fill up rate to determine I am getting 3400 gph return rate. Way more then i need but my take is crystal clear . Even with my 5 inch sand sifter maintaining its 6-8 holes .:debi:


Reason for back or side drill instead of bottom. if you do have a bulkhead to crack the glass it will be less of a issue 99% of the time .. less water pressure less leakage . and will only leak down to lowest part of the crack ..

Sorry for such long post .

 

[admann99]

Do a bean animal drain on whatever style overflow you go.
http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx
This shows the bean drain system with an internal coast to coast overflow

It really is superior to all other systems.. Herbie isn't bad but bean IS better..

If you aren't going to DIY you've got synergy overflows which are the ghost style der_willie was talking about..
http://synergyreef.com/product-category/overflow/
You also have the eshopps L
http://www.eshopps.com/products/overflowboxes/eclipse-l/

Slotting like ssjss is great too if you are having the tank custom made or want to do it yourself then have an external overflow box with bean system in it..

thanks for the link was a good read and how ever I decide to plumb bottom or back it will be a bean animal, also think it will be coast to coast.

 

[admann99]

so how much flow goes threw a 1" pipe at full siphon...gph?

 

[mcgyvr]

so how much flow goes threw a 1" pipe at full siphon...gph?

https://flexpvc.com/Reference/WaterFlowBasedOnPipeSize.shtml
So ~960gph at best..

 

[nereefpat]

I may have missed it, but...I don't see anyone mention that you need to check if the glass is tempered before any drilling. Bottoms of tanks are almost always tempered. You can check with polarized sunglasses.

 

[admann99]

ty very nice site