Overflow Help

C Dog · 06/19/2012, 01:29 PM

I have a 154 gal acrylic tank 66"L x 18"w x 30"T with a center over flow. The over flow at the widest point is 21", narrowest 7" and sticks out 5" from the back of the tank. I was thinking of just cutting it out, put a acrylic sheet over the 4 holes drilled on the bottom and do something like a glass holes overflow kit. This would free up more space in the tank since its only a 18"w tank. Or I can just leave it how it is? Help me out, give some ideas and vote!

Which glass hole kit? glass hole either a 1500 GPH (Recommended continuous flow rate 500-1000gph) or a 3000 (Recommended continuous flow rates: 1000-2000gph)

http://www.glass-holes.com/Complete-...ow-Kits_c3.htm

Pics of the overflow it has now.

C Dog · 06/19/2012, 06:50 PM

Bump

Agu · 06/19/2012, 07:07 PM

If it were me I'd get the Glass holes kit, install it on a tank deeper front to back, and sell the existing tank. My newest tank is 24X24 and I'll never go back to a narrow rectangular tank.

mal7887 · 06/19/2012, 07:10 PM

Why change it if you don't have to? Just the lazy side in me.

C Dog · 06/19/2012, 07:12 PM

I paid next to nothing for the tank and a nice wood stand. Plus this tank is only temp for a year or two until I can remodel and buy a huge rimless.

Metal Man 1221 · 06/19/2012, 07:39 PM

I would leave it. Just seems pointless to tear out and redo, especially if it is only temporary.

C Dog · 06/19/2012, 07:47 PM

The tank is not set up yet. Empty in my garage.

LobsterOfJustice · 06/20/2012, 12:15 PM

I hate overflow boxes, I say rip it out. I'll never have another overflow box again, they take up so much space and can't be kept clean. I drill my tanks in the upper back corners and put an upturned elbow in the bulkhead, paint it to match the back of the tank and it's invisible and takes up no useful real estate... and its removable so you can soak it in vinegar to get it looking clean as new.

I just did what you are suggesting with my new tank I'm setting up.

C Dog · 06/21/2012, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LobsterOfJustice

I hate overflow boxes, I say rip it out. I'll never have another overflow box again, they take up so much space and can't be kept clean. I drill my tanks in the upper back corners and put an upturned elbow in the bulkhead, paint it to match the back of the tank and it's invisible and takes up no useful real estate... and its removable so you can soak it in vinegar to get it looking clean as new.

I just did what you are suggesting with my new tank I'm setting up.

Do you any kind of overflow box or just a bulk head and elbow

LobsterOfJustice · 06/21/2012, 01:16 PM

Just a bulkhead and an elbow.

C Dog · 06/21/2012, 01:21 PM

How loud is that? Do you have to do anything else? Seems almost to simple lol. How does it compare to doing a small overflow box?

LobsterOfJustice · 06/21/2012, 01:25 PM

Here are examples of my overflowless tanks

90g (the urchins have chewed some spray paint off the elbows... takes an hour to pull them out, spray them new, and put them back in)

180g (powerheads are directly adjacent to the overflow elbows)

90g I'm currently setting up (hadn't painted the elbows black yet in this picture)

Contrast this to my first tank, a 75g reef ready. Yeah, the tank looks alright, but compare it to the above pictures and think about how much better it would look without that huge eyesore!

Getting rid of overflow boxes is IMO a simple and huge step you can do to take your tank to the next level, it opens up so much more space and makes the tank so much cleaner and... "professional". Several years ago I noticed that all the nice looking tanks I saw online didnt have pesky internal overflow boxes (and certainly not ugly offset plastic ones that you can't scrape the coralline off of), so I started drilling my tanks this way and never looked back...

LobsterOfJustice · 06/21/2012, 01:31 PM

I'll be honest... my tanks aren't super quiet. That could be the way I do my overflows, or the fact that I'm using a 3000gph return pump lol. I've just never really cared too much.

If you are worried about noise, you can slightly modify my system into an external durso by turning the elbow upside down, adding a tee outside the tank, and putting a small overflow box around the elbow like this:

That type of overflow box would still be so much better than a bottom mounted one, but wouldnt be as easy to keep clean and invisible as just the elbows.

C Dog · 06/21/2012, 01:40 PM

When you do just the elbow how do
You keep fish and stuff from getting sucked up?

LobsterOfJustice · 06/21/2012, 02:10 PM

You can put a strainer on it, or cut a piece of eggcrate to fit inside the pipe.

View Poll Results: Pick what I should do with my overflow
Leave it how it is	4	66.67%
Glass holes overflow kit or similar	2	33.33%
Other please explain.	0	0%
Voters: 6. You may not vote on this poll

06/19/2012, 01:29 PM	#1
C Dog Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: SWFL Posts: 532	Overflow Help I have a 154 gal acrylic tank 66"L x 18"w x 30"T with a center over flow. The over flow at the widest point is 21", narrowest 7" and sticks out 5" from the back of the tank. I was thinking of just cutting it out, put a acrylic sheet over the 4 holes drilled on the bottom and do something like a glass holes overflow kit. This would free up more space in the tank since its only a 18"w tank. Or I can just leave it how it is? Help me out, give some ideas and vote! Which glass hole kit? glass hole either a 1500 GPH (Recommended continuous flow rate 500-1000gph) or a 3000 (Recommended continuous flow rates: 1000-2000gph) http://www.glass-holes.com/Complete-...ow-Kits_c3.htm Pics of the overflow it has now.

06/19/2012, 06:50 PM	#2
C Dog Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: SWFL Posts: 532	Bump __________________ C Dogs 400+ Gallon Sun Lit Peninsula Reef

06/19/2012, 07:07 PM	#3
Agu Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Sarasota, Florida Posts: 30,279	If it were me I'd get the Glass holes kit, install it on a tank deeper front to back, and sell the existing tank. My newest tank is 24X24 and I'll never go back to a narrow rectangular tank. __________________ Less technology , more biology . Current Tank Info: 30 gallon half cube and 5.5, both reef tanks

06/19/2012, 07:10 PM	#4
mal7887 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Tampa Posts: 643	Why change it if you don't have to? Just the lazy side in me. __________________ Matt Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. Current Tank Info: 190

06/19/2012, 07:12 PM	#5
C Dog Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: SWFL Posts: 532	I paid next to nothing for the tank and a nice wood stand. Plus this tank is only temp for a year or two until I can remodel and buy a huge rimless. __________________ C Dogs 400+ Gallon Sun Lit Peninsula Reef

06/19/2012, 07:39 PM	#6
Metal Man 1221 FMMAS Executive Director Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Fargo ND Posts: 1,504	I would leave it. Just seems pointless to tear out and redo, especially if it is only temporary. __________________ "My advise is, always look at their aquarium before you take their advise. Because alot of people give advise and they havnt got a clue" ~David Saxby~ "Only after the last tree's cut and the last river poisoned only after the last fish is caught will you find that money cannot be eaten" ~Lamb of God~ Current Tank Info: 125g DT, 45g sump ---- 57g Illuminata, custom sump

06/19/2012, 07:47 PM	#7
C Dog Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: SWFL Posts: 532	The tank is not set up yet. Empty in my garage. __________________ C Dogs 400+ Gallon Sun Lit Peninsula Reef

06/20/2012, 12:15 PM	#8
LobsterOfJustice Recovering Detritophobe Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 7,443	I hate overflow boxes, I say rip it out. I'll never have another overflow box again, they take up so much space and can't be kept clean. I drill my tanks in the upper back corners and put an upturned elbow in the bulkhead, paint it to match the back of the tank and it's invisible and takes up no useful real estate... and its removable so you can soak it in vinegar to get it looking clean as new. I just did what you are suggesting with my new tank I'm setting up. __________________ If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. I remember when zoanthids were called things like "green" and "orange" and not "reverse gorilla nipple." Current Tank Info: 180g reef with all the bells and whistles

06/21/2012, 01:16 PM	#10
LobsterOfJustice Recovering Detritophobe Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 7,443	Just a bulkhead and an elbow. __________________ If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. I remember when zoanthids were called things like "green" and "orange" and not "reverse gorilla nipple." Current Tank Info: 180g reef with all the bells and whistles

06/21/2012, 01:21 PM	#11
C Dog Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: SWFL Posts: 532	How loud is that? Do you have to do anything else? Seems almost to simple lol. How does it compare to doing a small overflow box? __________________ C Dogs 400+ Gallon Sun Lit Peninsula Reef

06/21/2012, 01:25 PM	#12
LobsterOfJustice Recovering Detritophobe Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 7,443	Here are examples of my overflowless tanks 90g (the urchins have chewed some spray paint off the elbows... takes an hour to pull them out, spray them new, and put them back in) 180g (powerheads are directly adjacent to the overflow elbows) 90g I'm currently setting up (hadn't painted the elbows black yet in this picture) Contrast this to my first tank, a 75g reef ready. Yeah, the tank looks alright, but compare it to the above pictures and think about how much better it would look without that huge eyesore! Getting rid of overflow boxes is IMO a simple and huge step you can do to take your tank to the next level, it opens up so much more space and makes the tank so much cleaner and... "professional". Several years ago I noticed that all the nice looking tanks I saw online didnt have pesky internal overflow boxes (and certainly not ugly offset plastic ones that you can't scrape the coralline off of), so I started drilling my tanks this way and never looked back... __________________ If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. I remember when zoanthids were called things like "green" and "orange" and not "reverse gorilla nipple." Current Tank Info: 180g reef with all the bells and whistles

06/21/2012, 01:31 PM	#13
LobsterOfJustice Recovering Detritophobe Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 7,443	I'll be honest... my tanks aren't super quiet. That could be the way I do my overflows, or the fact that I'm using a 3000gph return pump lol. I've just never really cared too much. If you are worried about noise, you can slightly modify my system into an external durso by turning the elbow upside down, adding a tee outside the tank, and putting a small overflow box around the elbow like this: That type of overflow box would still be so much better than a bottom mounted one, but wouldnt be as easy to keep clean and invisible as just the elbows. __________________ If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. I remember when zoanthids were called things like "green" and "orange" and not "reverse gorilla nipple." Current Tank Info: 180g reef with all the bells and whistles

06/21/2012, 01:40 PM	#14
C Dog Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: SWFL Posts: 532	When you do just the elbow how do You keep fish and stuff from getting sucked up? __________________ C Dogs 400+ Gallon Sun Lit Peninsula Reef

06/21/2012, 02:10 PM	#15
LobsterOfJustice Recovering Detritophobe Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 7,443	You can put a strainer on it, or cut a piece of eggcrate to fit inside the pipe. __________________ If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. I remember when zoanthids were called things like "green" and "orange" and not "reverse gorilla nipple." Current Tank Info: 180g reef with all the bells and whistles