One Drain - Problem?

[anderson0196]

My new tank (bought used on CL) is a 24x24x18 cube with a center top to bottom overflow box - On the rear wall, dead center, is the bulkhead and drain line.

My question is how big of an overflow risk am I taking with only one drain?

The tank is acrylic so I would prefer to mod now if necessary.

Here is a pic of the back of the tank

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[dunc101]

I think it depends on you really. With one drain, I would just make sure to clean it monthly and make sure snails cannot clog it up to help prevent a flood. I personally have 2 drains because both drains would need to become clogged before a flood in the house happened.

 

[anderson0196]

I think it depends on you really. With one drain, I would just make sure to clean it monthly and make sure snails cannot clog it up to help prevent a flood. I personally have 2 drains because both drains would need to become clogged before a flood in the house happened.

That's where my head is at too....Does anybody fabricate a cover to go over the overflow box so no critters can get in and potentially clog it up?

 

[dunc101]

You could probably make your own if you wanted. You could get some acrlyic and cut it to spec.

 

[anderson0196]

You could probably make your own if you wanted. You could get some acrlyic and cut it to spec.

Yes - I planned on making it myself....Just wanted to check and see if there was any reason not to do it. Sounds like it would be a viable option

 

[Todd_Sails]

You could probably make your own if you wanted. You could get some acrlyic and cut it to spec.

How about some sort of mesh for a screen, like around 0.5-1.0cm mesh.?

 

[thegrun]

I would definitely add a second drain, with an acrylic tank it will be simple to do and could prevent a future disaster (or let you sleep well at night).

 

[anderson0196]

I would definitely add a second drain, with an acrylic tank it will be simple to do and could prevent a future disaster (or let you sleep well at night).

Does it make any difference where it is added in reference to the current drain line?

 

[Zappo]

There's only a risk of overflow if you build a sump with a large enough return section to overflow the display tank. Ideally the sump should have enough room to hold any water that can drain into it when the power is out, and the display tank should have enough room to hold all of the water in the return section.

 

[anderson0196]

There's only a risk of overflow if you build a sump with a large enough return section to overflow the display tank. Ideally the sump should have enough room to hold any water that can drain into it when the power is out, and the display tank should have enough room to hold all of the water in the return section.

Brilliance in simplicity....for a noob like me at least!

Is there a way to test this to ensure you have setup properly?