Help With Drilling Aquarium

[adamo]

Hi,
I have a 180g and I am in the process of building a new stand which will be a lot taller. Since I will be taking the tank apart to move it, I would like to drill it. I will be using a 120gallon as a sump and was justing wondering where should I drill? I have seen people do it on the sides and bottom is there a difference? Also which size hole should I drill?
Thanks

 

[dale]

google aquarium overflows,, and choose a style,, a lot of people are leaning toward bean animal style,, diff styles, diff bulkhead size n placement...

 

[jeffopentax]

Beananimal is best in my opinion. Check out http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

 

[pulpfiction1]

you need to be positive the bottom isnt temperd if you drill it out there

 

[TORX]

you need to be positive the bottom isnt temperd if you drill it out there

Pretty sure most if not all larger tanks have tempered bottoms

 

[TORX]

There are a few things that are up to you. Like mentioned above, try and avoid bottom drilling. Also, you need to know how much flow you want to go through it. I have a 1" drain running full siphon with a second 1" for the trickle, lastly a 3rd 1" for emergency. I have an internal overflow then I drilled 2 holes in the tank to feed an external overflow. You can see it all in the link below for my 120 gallon peninsula tank. Bean animal is a great set up and suggested for anyone as it is silent, just depends on what you want. I would not go any less then 1" plumbing on your tank though. Also, different bulkheads have different size holes that you drill, so be careful, maybe get the bulkheads first, before buying the bit to be sure. I can not recall the details on the different sizes at the moment, time for bed for me lol.

 

[100gallon]

1" bh requires 1 3/4" or 45mm bit

 

[NateR]

I drilled mine last year on the back about 3-4 inches from the top and have been happy with it so far

 

[adamo]

Thanks for all the replies. Yes bean animal is the one I am looking to do just couldn't remember the name. I was thinking to do a inch and half hole so what size bulk head do i need? and do i need valves on all the pipes?
Thanks

 

[jeffopentax]

If you go to mops.ca they include drill size in bulkhead description (and vice versa). The only line that needs a valve is the full siphon.

 

[100gallon]

I did a bean...over the top return. One thing I wish I did was a fourth hole on the opposite end with some flex line to make it back over the weir. Not a big deal but cleans it up nice!!

Sent via Samsung Galaxy S4 on Tapatalk

 

[adamo]

I have seen people put overflow boxes inside and outside the tank. Can I just drill three holes in the back of the glass with two draining and one and one filling and put 90's inside the tank on a angle pointing up for the water level?

 

[TORX]

I have seen people put overflow boxes inside and outside the tank. Can I just drill three holes in the back of the glass with two draining and one and one filling and put 90's inside the tank on a angle pointing up for the water level?

You can, but I would suggest 3 for drain and 1 for return, especially if you are not using an overflow box. Basically, if you only have 2 drains and something clogs one, water will be everywhere, at least with 3 drains, you will have that added emergency in case of just that, an emergency.

 

[Pistol]

I used this method for a few years without any problems, gives more area for surface skimming and almost impossible to clog,
I used 1 1/2 inch pipe and a chop saw to cut the slits.

 

[adamo]

Thanks and great tank btw love the set up

 

[Bece13]

Beananimal is my choice. It's quiet and you don't get salt creep in the sump.
I like Pistol ideea as well if it connects to an overflow box in the back with Beananimal setup.
Otherwise I believe it might be noisy get salt creep in the sump because of the combination of water and air running through the pipe. Correct me if I'm wrong.
You can check if a glass is tempered or not by using a pair of polarized sunglasses. Do a search on google.

 

[scubasteve]

polarized glasses dont always work you need to view it at just the right angle to see it that way and need a high uv rating cheap ones you wont be able to see the lines i used my fishing glasses but normally there will be etching marks within 4-6" of the corners left over from the brace during heat treating but sometimes are hidden by the caulking....

 

[jeffopentax]

I used the 3d glasses my daughter got from the theatre when she saw Frozen. Lots of videos on youtube that show exactly how to test using polarized/3d glasses.