not sure what glass

[jbomar3771]

glad to be on here! i got a 72 or 75 gal. bow front that i know nothing about. i want to drill it and dont know if it is tempered or not. it has a little sticker on bottom that says aga . and if i can drill it what would be the best overflow for it? thanks

 

[uncleof6]

<b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</big></big></i></b>

Aqueon/AGA makes a 72 gal. Bow Front. The bottom of the tank is tempered. The sides generally are not tempered. Contact Aqueon Tech Department to make sure. The dimensions are 48 3/8" x 18 x 23. It weighs 91 lbs. empty and ~ 800 lbs full. Good tank, but be sure to leak test it, before anything else. (It is used i assume, that is why)

The proverbial "best overflow" for this bow front, would be an internal "near" coast to coast, ~4" front to back, and ~5-6" deep. with two returns up over the rim -- one at either end of the overflow. The proverbial "best drain design" would be BeanAnimals "silent and failsafe overflow system" stickied at the top of the DIY page. It requires three holes along the length of the overflow, out the back of the tank. There are many options, but you wanted to know the best. And this is it, hands down.

HTH,

Jim

 

[jbomar3771]

where do i find the proverbial?

 

[sweetleaf]

In the DIY forum, at the top of the page.

It's pretty clearly labeled there, just read Bean's initial explanations then look through the examples. It's fairly straightforward.

 

[uncleof6]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15271365#post15271365 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jbomar3771
where do i find the proverbial?

Proverbial: of or relating to or resembling or expressed in a proverb; "he kicked the proverbial bucket"; "the proverbial grasshopper"

Sorry for the confusion.

Regards,

Jim

 

[jbomar3771]

not your fault , for some reason i was thinking it was the name of an overflow box,reading to fast. would the 1500 from glass-holes be a good one? what would you recommend?

 

[uncleof6]

Glass holes does a first class job all the way around. The size really depends on your return pump. But the 1500 is one that is commonly used.

Jim

 

[jbomar3771]

thanks, u have already been a big help. i bought the tank and it came with nothing but the tank and the stand. you might could help me with all i need. i want to put a sump with a refugium, what would be the best size and design. what size return pump and best kind i should get for the 72gal.what is exactly the coast to coast u were talking about. i want the best set up for it. im very handy so cutting glass and plumbing doesnt bother me. i just need some guidance. thanks for all your help!!

 

[uncleof6]

The coast to coast overflow is an "L" shaped shelf that spans the entire back of the tank, and is sealed to the back and the ends of the tank. And looks like this: (although different style tank)

For a sump, the largest that will fit in the stand, but allow some room for plumbing etc.

This is a sound sump design, and can be scaled to fit your stand:

Skimmer section left, "fuge" right, return section in the middle.

Why the coast to coast rather than a smaller box or corner overflow, is a little lengthy to explain. I can if you want.

What pump is another lengthy one to explain, as is flow rate. But the overflow, drain system, and flow rate are all related, and involves the skimmer, and gas exchange.

Jim

 

[jbomar3771]

i

 

[jbomar3771]

i like the ctc. do i take glass and make an L and seal it to the top inside ? do you know the heigth and width and how far down from the top to put it? and how far down to drill the holes? does it have to have teeth or smooth alright?

 

[uncleof6]

The "L" is sealed to the back of the tank, and the ends. However, a bow front has relatively narrow ends, which is why I suggested a "near" coast to coast. This would be shorter than the length of the tank, ~36" or so, need end pieces for the "L" shaped overflow, and allow returns to be plumbed over the top at the ends of the overflow.

The overflow is not sealed to the top of the tank, but rather the "overflow" part (weir) is set even with the bottom of the outside tank trim, ~1" down from the inside lip of the tank rim, which hides the water line.

The height of the overflow depends on the size of your plumbing, and how far down on the back you cut the holes. Holes should not be less than 1- 1.5 times the hole diameter from the top of the glass, and not closer together than the same.

The width (front to back) only needs to be sufficient to get your hand in and install the elbows for the drain pipe/s.

The CTC in the render above, is 6" top to bottom (inside dimension) and 4" front to back (inside dimension). It uses 1.5" plumbing. The holes are 1.375" down from the top of the glass (measured inside the tank from the bottom of the trim lip.

Teeth are not necessary, and not necessarily even wanted. It causes the water to "pile up" deeper going over the edge, for a given flow rate, decreasing the surface skimming ability of the weir. Same affect as decreasing the length of the weir, which is actually what the "teeth" do. You want a very thin sheet of water going over the weir for maximum skimming, plus the thin sheet will "cling" to the inside of the overflow, (back surface of the weir panel) and cause little, if any, noise.

Hope all of this makes sense.

Regards,

Jim

 

[jbomar3771]

im going to do the near ctc with a 30gal. sump/refuge like the design you showed me with the bean silent and failsafe design. do you know what size pump for this setup and wether internal or exturnal? thanks

 

[uncleof6]

I use higher flow rates than some, and suggest 10 times total water volume of the system, so figure roughly 80-85 gallons, so a return pump that will flow 800-900 gph AFTER headloss, should be fine. Not horribly large, and the sump above is designed for a submersible pump. Would need to be modified a bit to run an external pump. You could get away with 1" drain pipes, but I would consider upping the size as this is getting close to the upper limit of a 1" full siphon, however it would work. Study Bean's design well, as the design works as it is designed, modifications can and do cause problems.

Addendum: Make darn sure the glass on your tank is not tempered. Call aqueon and talk to tech support. Oviously they will not be wanting you to drill the tank, but aside from that, If they hesitate, or give a sloppy answer DO NOT DRILL THE TANK. See this thread:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1663327

and this one:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1663464

Jim

 

[jb61264]

I think you will like the "near" ctc design better anyway...unless you are building a tank into a wall where the sides aren't viewable, the thought of seeing the siliconed glass on the sides of the tank was unappealing to me. The Beananimal silent/failsafe overflow is awesome...just built it into my 75 with a 36" near ctc overflow. I'm using a Mag 18 for my return, 1" plumbing everywhere except after a T split in my return to each corner of the tank where I reduce to 3/4".

 

[somedude]

this is great love the information and i will definitely modify my design to this as well.

~alex

 

[jbomar3771]

what thickness of glass should i use for the shelf (weir)? reading beans he recommends the 1 1/2 pipe ,would it be better to do 1" or 1 1/2?

 

[uncleof6]

1/4" glass will be sufficient. Nothing wrong with using 1.5" pipe, you would simply need to close the valve on the full siphon more to get the system balanced. ( I use 1.5" w/ 1.5" bulkhead and it flows roughly 2700 gph)

Jim

 

[jbomar3771]

will it be fine to run a 1" bulkhead and run the 11/2 pipe? looks like thats what bean does in his illustration.

 

[uncleof6]

Yeah that will work fine also, just more parts is all adapting down from the internal elbow, then adapting back up on the outside. Easier just to keep it all one size. Up to you though.

Jim