follow me and my new 75 gal.
- Thread starter kau_cinta_ku
- Start date
kau_cinta_ku
New member
as for a pump i am thinking maybe a mag 24 or 36 which should give me plenty and a mag 9.5 for my return.
as long as it is a diamond bit hole saw you will be fine just make sure your glass that you are gonna drill is not tempered you can't drill through that. the cheapest place i found the hole saws were on ebay. if you type in diamond hole saw and look for a guy named lau he has about any size bit you need and cheap. mine it a 60mm bit that cost 12.00 all together with shipping from hong kong and only took 5 days to receve it.
iam doing the same thing on a 75, minus the closed loop. waiting on my bit to get here to drill. glad to hear it wasnt too hard. what did you use to paint? also my BIG question is where are you going to get the intank overflow. i've been looking forever for one of those. what are you using for a return pump?
kau_cinta_ku
New member
i didn't paint the tank i just used the backing that you can get at the LFS the guy i got the tank from gave it with the tank so i thought i will try it out.
it was very hard cause in the beginning i was just gonna make one out of glass but then found out there is no way of painting it to match my back of the tank and won't be toxic. so i am just gonna order mine from http://www.wetdryfilter.com/internal_overflow_boxes.htm
as for my return i am thinking a mag 9.5 or a mag 12.
and if you are like me and never drilled a tank before it is so much easier then it seems but still i would practice on an old sheet of glass first. just remember the thinner the glass the harder it is to drill and not break so when i drilled my 10 gal. with thin glass and didn't break it i knew for sure i was gonna be fine on the 75 gal.
good luck and let me know how it goes
that seems steep for an overflow. i think i am going to try to make one. just need to get black acrylic. then bend one corner into it and cut the teeth. shouldnt cost more then 20$.
i just bought a mag 12. the head loss calc. says that with my setup i should still get about 1064gph back to the tank. with 1" drain i have heard that it will drain 600gph. so does that mean that the 1-1/2" that we are using will flow 900gph. if so i will just divert back to fuge for some flow there. my hang on overflow flows 600gph and has 1" drain. but i think the limiting factor is the U tube not the 1" pvc. so i guess we will see.
i just bought a mag 12. the head loss calc. says that with my setup i should still get about 1064gph back to the tank. with 1" drain i have heard that it will drain 600gph. so does that mean that the 1-1/2" that we are using will flow 900gph. if so i will just divert back to fuge for some flow there. my hang on overflow flows 600gph and has 1" drain. but i think the limiting factor is the U tube not the 1" pvc. so i guess we will see.
kau_cinta_ku
New member
yeah i know 60 bucks seems steep for an overflow. which is why i am still thinking about making on myself. do you know any good places to get the black cast acrylic? i would like to do as much as i can DIY.
i figured with my mag 9.5 or mag 12 using a 1 1/2 bulkhead i should be fine cause like you i am gonna have the fuge that i can divert some of it to and also with a ball valve to get the flow that i need. this is what my fugie is gonna be kinda like
sump----return-----fuge
so it will have a tee in there do divert the water to eash area that i need.
the 1 1/2 bulkhead should flow around 1200gph but like i said if i don't want that much flow or if my pump can't handle it then i will just adjust the ball valve to where i need it
at least i hope it is gonna be as easy as i think it is
i figured with my mag 9.5 or mag 12 using a 1 1/2 bulkhead i should be fine cause like you i am gonna have the fuge that i can divert some of it to and also with a ball valve to get the flow that i need. this is what my fugie is gonna be kinda like
sump----return-----fuge
so it will have a tee in there do divert the water to eash area that i need.
the 1 1/2 bulkhead should flow around 1200gph but like i said if i don't want that much flow or if my pump can't handle it then i will just adjust the ball valve to where i need it
at least i hope it is gonna be as easy as i think it is
...Glad I found this thread. I can now pretty up the holes i made LOL...
kau_cinta_ku
New member
the inside of the bulkhead is 1 1/2 the outside is 2 3/8 so it fits the hole perfect. i bought my bulkheads from http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4013&ref=3532&subref=AJ&N=2004+113786
any certain part of the bulkhead you want a pic. of?
p.s. i am very glad that this thread is helping ya and others it makes me feel like i am doing more than just showing off my tank
any certain part of the bulkhead you want a pic. of?
yeah they really do make the holes very nice looking good luck
p.s. i am very glad that this thread is helping ya and others it makes me feel like i am doing more than just showing off my tank
msuzuki126
New member
Where did you get that hole saw?
kau_cinta_ku
New member
bjonesjr1
Premium Member
Nice progress on the tank, will be following this thread as it is fun to see how things go along for someone... Myself I am new to the saltwater hobby, but have messed around with freshwater for a long time... Couldn't wait to get my tank going, and loving every minute of it.
jmait769
-CSHFLW
Sam â€"œ great info on the drilling. One question. I read some other threads that you could not drill glass aquariums. I looked on my current 55 and it had a sticker at the bottom glass that said “do not drill â€"œ tempered glassâ€Â. I guess my Newbee question is are the sides of the aquariums not tempered or are you drilling thru tempered glass. I like the way you plumbed the closed loop. Will try something similar on mine.
Thanks!!
Jay
Thanks!!
Jay
kau_cinta_ku
New member
well first off the progress hasn't come as fast as i wanted as the wife was in the hospital for a while due to pancritise (sp.) but i have been getting alot of other equipment for it that i need to update here. still all i need let to get is the lights which i am gonna go with the Icecap T5HO retro and then a closed loop pump which will be a sequence 1000 series pump just not sure which one yet.
as for the 55 gal. tanks the sticker on the bottom usually says if the whole take is tempered or if just the bottom of the tank is tempered. in my case it says bottom glass is tempered do not drill which is why i had to drill the back of the tank. all the glass is safe to drill other than the bottom. however on 55 gal. tanks most of them are tempered on all the glass which makes drilling it impossiable. but if you know what company built the tank you can contact them and they can tell you for sure. but i wouldn't try to drill it unit you know for sure as if the tank is tempered on all sides it will shatter (you cannot drill through tempered glass). or as another option you can get a piece of glass to replace the back of the tank that is not tempered and replace it then you can drill it.
as for the 55 gal. tanks the sticker on the bottom usually says if the whole take is tempered or if just the bottom of the tank is tempered. in my case it says bottom glass is tempered do not drill which is why i had to drill the back of the tank. all the glass is safe to drill other than the bottom. however on 55 gal. tanks most of them are tempered on all the glass which makes drilling it impossiable. but if you know what company built the tank you can contact them and they can tell you for sure. but i wouldn't try to drill it unit you know for sure as if the tank is tempered on all sides it will shatter (you cannot drill through tempered glass). or as another option you can get a piece of glass to replace the back of the tank that is not tempered and replace it then you can drill it.
Great thread you have going. I like the manifold you made for the top. I am working on a 75 myself that will be for 3 way viewing (sort of a room divider tank) I am doing this one on a very small budget and have been very lucky so far. Tank was free, Halides were free so so far the only thing I have paid for is glass for the overflow to be cut and diamond tip dremel bits. All said and done, I should only spend a few hundred $ since I have most of the stuff I need from "donations" and trading. I look forward to seeing the finished plumbing of your tank.
