Yay, upgrade time!! I could use a little help from the experts in setting up...

N

Newreeflady

New member
Hi all, me again. Well, we all knew it was coming, a little upgrade from my 12g nanocube. I have purchased an undrilled, likely bottom glass tempered, 36g aga 36g bowfront corner aquarium. link to same tank

I would like to build an overflow in the back corner of this tank, and drill the back of the tank for a drain and return. I am not sure if I need 3/4" or 1" bulkheads for this. I have to measure the stand tomorrow, it *may* fit a 10g aga sump, but I will have to see. Not much room at all under the stand, so it'll have to be custom or bucket if not. My goal with the sump is to hide stuff and make top offs and such easier. Plus, if possible, keep powerheads out of the tank.

So, if anyone can help, I would appreciate it. I have a couple of weeks until I leave for NY, then when I get back I have just two more weeks until summer school starts. I would LOVE to have this running by then.

Please help:)
Thanks!
Angela
 
Go for a one inch bulkhead

You drill the tank only once so make it worth your while. You can always reduce the drain fitting and return line later via reducer fittings.
 
Ok, i'll do 1" holes. I would need two holes, though, one for drain and one return, so should they be on opposite sides of the corner? Or, how far apart? How far from the seam do they need to be? Can I still do some kind of modified Durso in order to make it quiet? Is flex-pvc an appropriate choice for the plumbing for someone who isn't into it for the looks?

I also need tips on how to most easily do an internal overflow for this, and how to keep everything as slim as possible so that I can put this up to the wall fairly close (it is a corner tank, I would like to get it as far into the corner as possible.)

Any/all help is appreciated. I may start a new thread in DIY later on to get more response.

Question for my east bay locals: Where do you get your tanks drilled? I am not sure i'd want to drill it myself and I can't imagine it'd cost that much.

Thanks!
Angela
 
Unless it is an absolutely unbeatable deal, I would rather pay a tad more and have it done closer. Is there a shop up this way you know of that drills?

Thanks:)
Angela
 
It's not so much of an unbeatable deal, it's the fact that many will not drill as glass tanks as it's a pain in the butt to do, not to mention very possible breakage.

I'd go with dswong01 suggestion and go with MorandiWine
 
Wow, I didn't realize it was so bad to drill glass, I thought a lot of people did it. Maybe i'll contact him and see what he says. I'm not willing to risk breaking it.

-A
 
I personally wouldn't drill a glass tank because of fear that it may shatter. If you can exchange it for an acrlyic tank, then that would rock. Drilling an acrylic tank is easy and making an overflow is pretty symbol.

I had Lap drill 2 1" inch for my overflow in the 300. He made
 
It's really easy to drill a glass tank. I drilled my 37, my 90, and a 20 sump myself. I had never drilled glass at all when I did my 37, and ended up doing three holes with a dremel. My 90 and the 20 sump were drilled with hole saws, and were no problem at all. Key is to just go slow and use water.

If you're uncomfortable doing it yourself, best bet would be to have someone else do it of course. Most glass places won't guarantee it though because of the risk of cracking, but if done right the risk isn't really that high.
 
Thanks all. I'm on the fence about this. The tank is borderline, imo. At 36g you could kinda go with or without a sump i'd think. I am considering the hang-on option. I did this with my 65g and while it was limiting in the long-run, I think with a 36g it may not be *as* bad. After measuring the stand, the only sump I could fit would hold less than 7 gallons of water... not sure it is even worth the trouble at this point.

Thoughts? I would like to have a real goal here. I guess if this sump will be stupidly small I should just try to build something to conceal powerheads, heater, etc in the back corner. One suggestion made to me was to build an eggcrate box in the back to conceal all of this, then have rock built up around it. I was thinking then I could have two outputs hidden in the back wall and maybe set up DIY dualing spraybars at the top. My hang-on skimmer pump would be concealed with this as well.

What do you guys think? I think the last idea may be my best bet for this one.

-A
 
Ok, i'm already getting tired of this. :(

If anyone knows of a shop or person who does custom work in the area, let me know. I have had no luck in finding anyone to help with designing these components so I guess i'll need to pay someone to just build it. What a ****er, I really wanted to get some hands-on on this, but I don't want to just go tossing things together and end up with some crap that doesn't work right.

Anyhow, i'll take referrals if you've got 'em. I guess i'll see about getting quotes on drilling the tank and building an overflow and sump. If it costs more than i'm willing to put into it, I guess i'll just toss the HOB skimmer on it and start it up.

Thanks,
-A
 
What do you want to achieve with this tank though?

I ran a thirty plus tank with built in-sump (I hated the sump because it wasn't really a sump but a waste of space in my opinion), hob skimmer, one powerhead, and heater for years.

The only reason why I went with a bigger tank (other than the obvious - it's bigger) is because I was getting into SPS.

My 7g at work has a hob filter with softies, zoas, and one fish and I'm really happy with it.
 
I would like to have an asthetically pleasing place to raise my coral and fish:p

Really, I just need more room than I have in the 12g tank, it is just too small. This is not huge, but it is 3x bigger and sure as heck looks a lot larger, too. I will be keeping a mixed tank as usual, definitely includes clams and sps.

I don't know that I do or don't *need* a sump, but I would like for the tank to be functional and not look like crap. I had a 65g tank that was all hang-on, it wasn't bad really, but I like the look of my 12g nanocube in that it doesn't have cords and such everywhere. I'd like to acheive something similar with this 36g.

-A
 
Ok, so can anyone help me design a sump? It needs to have a 10" by 12" footprint and in order to run the hang-on skimmer I have (bakpak) I need to have 14"-15" depth of water, at least in the chamber where the water goes to first.

I think I should be able to handle the overflow. After looking at Durso's site it doesn't seem that hard. What is the "teeth spacing" is that where the water goes in to the overflow? How do you determine what the optimal teeth spacing is?

Thanks!
-A
 
I would actually do it with no teeth, much more efficient. My new tank has two 17" long overflows that have no teeth. I get a nice, quiet, thin cascade of water going over, great surface skimming. Then I made a shield to go inside (just smaller than the inside dimensions so it doesn't hit the water flowing over) each box out of eggcrate and gutter guard to keep the fish and snails out.
 
I'd measure out how big of an overflow you want, then goto TAP plastics and have them cut a few pieces of acrylic (it's real cheap). Have the height of this be about 2 inches shorter than the tank.



There are many threads talking about how to glue acrylic to glass. Then add some black eggcrate to the rim of the top of the overflow, and walla, an internal overflow box.

For the dimensions of the box, the more surface of water overflowing, the better. Reefcentral.com's home page has a overflow area calculator that will help you.

For the glass drilling, that is the difficult part. Look in the phone book for glass companies, see if they can drill two holes =/

Also, if I can guess you correctly, if you compromise for just a hang off the back setup, you're going to want to setup a sump eventually... and then a bigger tank etc ;) I think you should just take your time, enjoy the build, and get it right the first time. Go the distance and work on getting the sump integrated into everything. then you'll really be happy =)
 
Hi guys. I had someone recommend a Lifereef overflow box, they are supposed to not break the siphon which is the main issue with these boxes. I think I may go this route and forego the drilling because it just sounds like a lot of risk and work and this seems like a good alternative.

I DO need help designing a sump. I think you're all right on the sump, it does make things easier and i'll probably be unhappy in the end if I don't do it.

So, i'm trying to get help in designing a 10" x 12" footprint sump. I just started this thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=850520 so if anyone wants to help out, it would be so appreciated and I would definitely owe you!

Thanks:)
Angela
 
If you can find a used one go for it. Periodically, there are ones for sale. I used to have a slim-line version of it, and loved it.

It does not break siphon, and is an awesome overflow unit should you decide to get it.
 
I will need the slim version for sure. I'd like to set this tank up soon, so i'll probably just buy new. Nice to hear from a couple of people they are good units. They seem discrete and will certainly take up less tank space than an in-tank overflow so it really seems win-win! :)

So, I figure i'll see about designing a sump and see how much Lifereef would charge to make that, too, and if not too bad i'll save on shipping and get both at once.

Can you recommend a quiet/cool running sumbersible pump that will push 600gph at 4' head?

Thanks!
Angela
 
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