Oskie's "Hole-in-One"

[Oskie]

I have been thinking for a long time that I would like my 30 gallon cube to be drilled so that instead of using the siphon I have I could use gravity and stop worrying what will happen when the power goes out then restarts and the siphon is gone.

First I researched drilling methods and as I have a small drill press I decided to buy a diamond hole saw. This is what I got:

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These are available here: www.technologylk.com

Next was to tear down the tank, thankfully a 30-gallon cube is small and it goes pretty quick. After cleaning the tank up a bit I got it set up to begin drilling. Here's the setup:

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Here's a shot a little closer and you can see the plumbers putty and lubricant ready to go.

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Here's a close-up:

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I went very slowly so as not to crack the glass but ir still only took a couple of minutes. Here's the bulkhead mounted in the tank:

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As you can see Oceanic doesn't skip on the thickness even in their little tanks:

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Here's a shot of the plug from the drill:

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Here's the setup in action..finally no more overflow worries from power losses anyway!

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[Hedonist]

Awesome.. so now we know where to go when we need our tanks drilled
I have to agree about the hong on overflows, they will fail at some point in time, and when it does, you can count on not being home when it does

denise

 

[bunsenburner]

nice work!

 

[Driftwood]

Thanks for the great pictures!

 

[ME2003]

Excellent pictures and a high quality result. Just like painting and
most home projects, It takes a day to setup and a couple of minutes
to complete.
Are you able to run the pump without closing the valve?
How is it at maintaining water level?

 

[Oskie]

Mike,
Thanks. So far so good. I have to restrict the outflow quite a bit in order to keep the tank level at a good height. Otherwise if I don't the water just drops down to the outlet and make a sucking sound. But at the amount I have the outlet restricted the level is staying steady.

Unfortunately if I shut off the power the tank will ovwerflow before the amout of water leaving stabilizes. What I can do is add 2-45 deg extensions to the outlets thus lowering them in the tank. this should give them more time (I hope) before the tank overflows. Any ideas here?

Drat lowering didn't help.

 

[ME2003]

Changing the configuration of the plumbing in the back to reduce
resistance. That has help me the most in the past. The larger the diameter the better. I do not know if you narrow the drain on the back and use flex tubing. It is better to screw on an adaptor and
use larger 1-1/2? or 2" pvc. More of a water slide effect than a syphon. When the syphon starts you get the sucking sound.
I have no idea if these will work but you can try if you want.

Remove T and 45 and use one strainer.
You may be able to create a larger strainer later.

or

Put a 90 on the back and hook it up to the same vacuum system
you had in the other overflow.

or

Use a Y or 45 connector instead of a T. This may create less resistance.

or


The one I am trying to avoid mentioning (Drill another hole)

 

[Driftwood]

Are you trying to maintain a water level higher then the hole you drilled? You need a 90 and a short piece of PVC to do that. Have the 90 come out of the bulkhead and the short piece of PVC pointing up. It should be as high as you want your water level.

 

[Oskie]

Driftwood,
Unfortunately if I were to take a 90 and point it up it would be well above the waterline. I may have done better to have my hole lower.

Mike,
I'll try the single strainer 1st and go from there. I'm not opposed to another whole but want to try some alternatives before drilling..

 

[Oskie]

I finally added a small ehiem powerhead in the tank that pumps directly to the sump. This takes care of the overshoot when the tank is refilling after the power stops. I'll see how it works.

The Clark Clown and anominie seem happy

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[ME2003]

Steve
Another possiblity is an External Durso. Here is a couple of links.
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=31447
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3384&highlight=External+Durso

 

[Oskie]

More to think about. I like the durso idea on the back but am not sure it would be any different than where I am now. We'll have to discuss this over a pint soon.

Steve

 

[Oskie]

Life is weird. I removed the gate valve from the end of the outlet in the sump and put a 90 deg elbow pointing down with a strainer on in the tank. I also ran a piece of airline tubing straight up from the elbow behind the tank. By reducing the output of the pump everything is working correctly. No longer does the water get below the outlet in the tank, nor does it overflow the tank when it restarts after shutting off the electricty....Go figure