Plumbing a 55?

[ichthyogeek]

I know absolutely nothing about plumbing/drilling/whatever. However, after trying one of the Eshopps HOB overflows, and a DIY overflow from YouTube (Uaru Joey's overflow) , I realized that the next saltwater tank I had needed to be drilled. Enter the derp part. I'm upgrading my 29 gallon to a 55 gallon. The sump will be an Eshopps RS-75. The DT is a regular Topfin aquarium (the kind you can sometimes get at Walmart). The overflow will most likely be an internal CPR RSS07 from BRS. I'd prefer if I didn't have to put the return line over the tank rim, but rather through the tank glass. After careful reading, I'm thinking that a Bean overflow probably suits my needs best, because the sump is in the cabinet below the aquarium, and I'm drilling through a wall, not through the bottom of the tank, and need a relatively quiet tank. Major questions that I have so far is:

How big of a hole do I need to drill through the tank for the overflow? The return?

How do I plug the tank to keep it from leaking through the holes?

What size pump should I use for returning the water to the top? I'm keeping Montipora, kenya trees, possibly Trachyphyllia and Scolymia, GSP and mushroom anemones. The sump will hold a filter sock and Coralife 65 super skimmer.

Current plumbing on the 29 gallon, is a DIY overflow, with a return from a small Marineland Maxi 900 via flexible vinyl tubing.

 

[ichthyogeek]

bump

 

[redfishblewfish]

Lets take a step back. I know that there are some 55's that aren't tempered, but a good number of them are. So the first thing that needs to be done is to determine if the glass is tempered. Tempered glass CAN NOT be drilled. The glass will shatter into a million pieces.

You can google checking tempered glass, but I'll also explain it here. You'll need a pair of polarized sun glassed and a cell phone/computer/netbook/kindle with a white screen. Put the white screen device inside the tank while wearing the sunglasses. Turn the device until the screen goes from white to black. If the screen is total black, the glass isn't tempered. If you see streaks through the blackness, it's tempered.

I would also check for bottom glass, which is most likely tempered, so you can see this streaking I'm talking about.

If you can drill holes, you'll use a bulkhead to put in that hole. You might wish to check out Glass-Holes...they not only sell complete overflow kits (that include the drill bit), but also sell drill bits, bulkheads and everything involved in putting holes in glass.

 

[Gorgok]

You can google checking tempered glass, but I'll also explain it here. You'll need a pair of polarized sun glassed and a cell phone/computer/netbook/kindle with a white screen. Put the white screen device inside the tank while wearing the sunglasses. Turn the device until the screen goes from white to black. If the screen is total black, the glass isn't tempered. If you see streaks through the blackness, it's tempered.

If you are unsure of 'results' from the explanation, do that above on the side windows of any car. They are tempered. If the tank matches those, don't drill.

 

[EvenFurther]

Look at the under side of the bottom panel. There might be a sticker that says something like "all panels made from tempered glass". Most standard 55 gallon tanks I've seen are all tempered. Its seems common throughout the tank makers, for standard 55 tank models.

Consider a standard 75, most have tempered bottom only.

 

[Pokahpolice]

To answer the other questions you had. I'd go with a 1" overflow and a 3/4" return. You will use bulkheads to create the seal.

http://aquarium.bulkreefsupply.com/reefing/Bulkhead

Personally I like to go with slip/slip on the overflow and thread/slip on the return so I can thread in a loc-line return. The link above will give the hole sizes for the bulkhead you decide to use.

 

[fishgate]

Don't use a 55 for your DT they are not a great footprint for saltwater. 75 is much better or even a 40B is better.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Dang it...the day after I leave the house for vacation (and therefore the tank), is the day that everybody responds .

I will definitely check the tank for tempered vs untempered glass when I get back.

fishgate: Much as I'd love to get a new tank, I can't. The tank is one that I'm converting from freshwater, and my parents won't let me get anything bigger (or another tank for that matter). It's bigger than my 29, and that's all that matters atm. I know it's not ideal, but I can't exactly do anything about it...

Pokahpolice: Since I'm going with a Bean overflow design, do I have a 1" overflow for each hole? and then have a single 3/4" return?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Should the tank be thoroughly made of tempered glass, I have a few ideas swimming around in my brain to remedy this, would somebody please tell me if this will work well, or just create a mess?

The tank is rimmed, so the first step would be to derim the tank. Then cut off all the silicon sealant using a good razor blade. Replace one pane with untempered, predrilled glass, and eurobrace the entire thing.

 

[fishgate]

Should the tank be thoroughly made of tempered glass, I have a few ideas swimming around in my brain to remedy this, would somebody please tell me if this will work well, or just create a mess?

The tank is rimmed, so the first step would be to derim the tank. Then cut off all the silicon sealant using a good razor blade. Replace one pane with untempered, predrilled glass, and eurobrace the entire thing.

No that is asking for BIG trouble. You would need to reseal the entire tank if you replaced one pane. Over the back overflows are not that bad. Get a decent Eshopps and you will be fine. What you suggest could work if done correctly but why? That single pane of glass will cost more than the entire 55 gallon tank.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Not that bad? I tried that once. The thing leaked like nobody's business, and I'm not prepared to allow for siphons to break. The Eshopps overflows that I had always managed to grow air bubbles over time till the next power outage (always during winter, always when I was away from home). And they're ridiculously difficult to prime...but I will look into it...

Back to the drawing board...

 

[CStrickland]

I wouldn't draw to much until you know what type of glass you are dealing with. There's a lot of bunnyholes to go down with overflows, but there's a good chance you won't end up needing to know all that stuff.

There's not a lot of wiggle room here, if it's tempered like so many 55's you pretty much have to go up and over the rim. There's a couple ways to choose from to do it, cpr, eshopps style, pvc siphons etc. I wouldn't try to reinvent the wheel there too much. If you want a drilled tank with a bean animal, it's not gonna happen with a tempered tank and it will be cheaper to sell the 55 on Craigslist and buy someone's 40b or 75. Keep in mind that the annoying crossbar on the brace with be in the way as well.

Once you deal with the overflow you still have a very awkward tank size. In my 55 after I left 2" all around to clean I am left with an area equal to 4 sheets of notebook paper end to end on which to set a base for my scape. This makes it difficult to build tall, which I wanted to do as the tank is almost 2 feet deep. This tall, thin aquascape is exacerbated by the way that the water distorts light, flattening everything in a 55 such that it appears to be a rock wall, with no depth of field. The tall narrow tank further limits gas exchange due to its low ratio of surface to volume, so be careful when you set up your flow.

I like my 55 but it is what it is, which is basically a fresh water tank. Suits me though cause I like to gripe about it

 

[ichthyogeek]

Thanks for the help! I may have to go with Eshopps after all...I'll check when I get back. In the meantime, here's the relevant information:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2488683

 

[ichthyogeek]

Back to the other questions though...

I've currently got a Korallia nano 425, and a hydor circulation pump 500, as well as the marineland maxi 900. Given the stocking I'm thinking of (in the relevant thread), do I need to upgrade anything/everything? How many gph turnover would I need. Should I go ahead and upgrade the return pump to something a bit stronger?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Progress! The glass is (unfortunately) tempered. Ahh...well...no drilling for me...

I've decided that, depending on price, I'll either make my own overflow, or buy an Eshopps from DFS. Should I get a size bigger than recommended if I decide to buy a premade one?

 

[LeRenard]

My experimentation has shown you don't want to oversize the Eshopps overflows or you won't get enough flow through it to keep bubbles from forming.

Bummer about the 55, mine is tempered too.

 

[ichthyogeek]

You know what...Eshopps overflow it is. PF-300, rated for 75 gallons...

Now...time to get the cover started...

 

[ichthyogeek]

One problem at a time, right? Wrong...

I'm having trouble finding a pump that will work with the Eshopps overflow...I'm looking for a pump with a maximum flow rate approaching but not reaching 300 gph, correct? Anybody got suggestions? I'd prefer something that can attach to rigid PVC rather than flexible PVC...

speaking of PVC, where do I find all of these bulkheads and slips and, and...stuff? Lowe's? Home Depot? Walmart?

 

[CStrickland]

Incorrect. You pump needs to be stronger, there's a headloss calculator around here somewhere that will help you approximate the flow that you'll put in the tank after all the work the pump does against gravity to get it there. Plus each bend and fitting reduces.

I think the best way is to decide how much flow you want through your sump, then pick a pump that can give you that and an overflow that will match. Some people want 5x the dtvolume through the sump, some want 10x, some want more. The estopps recommendation is a ballpark, idk what the max is but its true that if you go too slow it will break siphon. This is a fun bunnyhole...

Yeah, Home Depot, lowes, plumbing suppliers, Amazon prime...

 

[ichthyogeek]

Found the calculator! Is the vertical/horizontal feet the total displacement? Or distance? Because displacement wise, I'll probably go up about 4 feet, and maybe a foot across, while distance wise...it'll probably be like 7 feet total or something like that.

Umm...so basically 300 gph is about right (it's about 5x the DT volume)...now, how to actually achieve that...ugh. I think the quiet one 2200 will work...maybe