Drilling help

[MacWilliams]

I'm looking on BRS and they have multiple sizes for drilling. Can i order just 1 for all my holes? What size should I use for return / overflow? I'm planning on drilling 3 holes. 2 overflows and 1 return. Would the 1" work? If so which? SCH 80 or ABS? Thanks

 

[clay12340]

Seems that most people tend to use smaller returns than drains. You could probably use the same size for each without ill effect you just may need to add an additional reducer to the return lines. That said I'm not sure it's worth the trouble when you're talking about a sub $15 bit.

As for the size it all depends on how much water you're trying to move. You might want to look into the beananimal and herbie threads.

ABS vs Sch80 is really just preference. The sch80 is a heavier bulkhead built to handle higher pressures. The lines have hardly any pressure in a fish tank, so either should be sufficient for the task. Some people just like the more sturdily built sch80. Both types will work with sch40 or sch80 pvc.

 

[MacWilliams]

Thank you for the response. I'll look into it more. Anymore advice would be great. I have a 30x30x30 cube tank im drilling the bottom. 2 holes in the center and one in the back corner. Going to be using black PVC piping to trying and hide it against my black back.

 

[MacWilliams]

Or i was thinking about painting the back blue since i already have the paint for that and hiding the black pipes with LR. The blue would make it much brighter. Thoughts?

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

why two holes in the centre? are those going to be your drains….the centre is one of the weakest points you could drill the tank…i would assume it is not going to be 360 viewable if you are painting the back…why not build a proper overflow on th back of the tank and drain it properly with a bean silent failsafe overflow design…just my two cents if you're building the tank and drilling it you might as well do it right the first time

 

[MacWilliams]

So you're saying to drill the back instead of the bottom? I'm sorry Im not familiar with the bean overflow. But silence does sound great. Could you explain more? Nothing has been done yet. Still getting ideas and working out the kinks.

 

[MacWilliams]

Ok, just read the BeanAnimal thread. That actually sounds amazing. I could still get away with just the 3 holes with the return coming over the top if i wanted. Benefits from adding a 4th hole and running the return through the back?

 

[MrClam]

You read the Beananimal thread in under 15 minutes? Impressive.

 

[2000se]

You read the Beananimal thread in under 15 minutes? Impressive.

I really don't crack up openly on these forums"¦but that was actually kinda funny..that is a lot of info to take in in that single thread..

 

[Mrramsey]

I really don't crack up openly on these forums"¦but that was actually kinda funny..that is a lot of info to take in in that single thread..

Ya that's funny... I must be a slow reader it took me days to filter through that thread lol.

 

[MacWilliams]

LOL. That was a good one. No. I read the first few posts until it got into a ****ing contest. I get the design concept and it seems like something i may want to consider. A quiet tank is always a welcome idea. I just need to figure out what i need to do to make this happen and take plenty of pictures for you guys / gals.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

in all honesty there is NO point to draining a tank any other way unless you are forced by tempered glass…if you are designing and building, it is the only way that makes sense…it is easy, dead silent, and completely failsafe and self regulating…there is no other design that does this..if you drill through the bottom you can't really do a coast to coast style overflow, if you drill through the back you can build what ever style box you want.

 

[Mrramsey]

I agree...I have 2 beananimal systems.

 

[MacWilliams]

Ok, Thank you all for the advice. I'll be doing this. Now time to get moving.

 

[clay12340]

As far as I can tell the benefit to drilling your return through the back is that it often times looks cleaner, and it's pretty much impossible for the return to somehow get knocked loose from the tank.

I'm just running mine over the back of the back of the tank. I figure if I don't like something about the return setup, then I'm not married to it. I can just move the pipes or split them etc.

 

[Mrramsey]

I run my returns over the top as well. Mine go over the top to the front and point toward the back. I have 3 lines and 4 nozzles

 

[liam2317]

Back to the original question... is there any reason to not use the same size return and drain lines?

 

[ca1ore]

Back to the original question... is there any reason to not use the same size return and drain lines?

Only if the holes are already there. Otherwise no reason.

 

[ca1ore]

As far as I can tell the benefit to drilling your return through the back is that it often times looks cleaner, and it's pretty much impossible for the return to somehow get knocked loose from the tank.

I'm just running mine over the back of the back of the tank. I figure if I don't like something about the return setup, then I'm not married to it. I can just move the pipes or split them etc.

Purely for aesthetics, or if you run something like a sea swirl. Personally I hate having pipes come over the back of my tank ..... but that's just me.

 

[MacWilliams]

Yea, ca1ore thats the main reason why i think ill just go ahead and drill another hole. Whats 1 more hole if you're already drilling 3? lol. Plus I have a canopy and I wil be adding some grate to the back so no fish can possibly escape.Just ordered the BRS diamond coated bit so hopefully i can get this started next weekend.