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Glass-holes 1500 overflow.. drilling..


fishstick41

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Hey guys!

 

My 1500 finally came in! I am confused about where to drill the holes (note: I did read the paper work that came with the kit). I am getting someone that works with glass to drill the holes but he only knows as much as I know. I need to tell him where the center of the holes are. I am wondering where did you guys drill the holes at and what is your water level?

 

Thanks,

Martin H. Lawton

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if you ordered glass holes it should have come with a drill bit and a guide/stencil unless you opted out.. that guide (on one of the sides) should be the perfect distance from the rim for the overflow to fit just fine, at least it was on mine..

 

also, it's really very easy to do yourself if you watch some youtube videos.. I know it's intimidating though so if you're not up to it then take it to someone else..

 

as far as placement, is your tank rimmed or rimless?

 

if rimmed, you have to make sure that the hole is far enough away from the rim that the overflow will fit under the rim and still line up with the hole, and that your return hole is far enough away from the overflow that they can both be installed..

 

with rimless, I'm not quite sure, but I think they say that the hole needs to be at least as far away from the edge as the hole is wide..

 

like I said, watch a couple you tube videos and you might decide to do it yourself.. if you're having someone else do it, you might ask what guarantee they have in the event that they break your tank or that the hole is chipped bad enough that the bulkhead doesn't hold water..

 

hope that helps..

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The tank is rimless and the the overflow is 1" taller then the stencil and so are the teeth. I believe what I can do is tell the guy to go down an inch and then use the stencil and cut the holes. That will give me of a water level of 13". but I am making sure that This is correct before I order the glass from the company.

 

( sorry about the picture being upside down ... I don't know how to fix it..)

20140917_142944_1.jpg

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then I would line the top edge of the overflow up with the top edge of the tank.. there is plenty of glass left above the hole..

 

did you order a lid for the overflow? if so (or if you ever want to have one), make the lid match the rim of the tank, rather the top of the overflow matching it.. that would look nicer imo (better than the lid sitting above the rim of the tank).. I ordered a lid to keep fish out of the overflow.

 

rimless folks may tell you differently, but structurally that would be just fine though.

 

also, I see my sig in the background of that pic :lol::D

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you mention a water level of 13", but that's going to vary depending on your return pump. a faster gph pump will give you more water in your display and less in the sump, a slower gph pump will give you a lower water level in the tank and a higher level in the sump..

 

sounds like you have a plan though.. are you getting the tank custom made or just taking it to the glass company for drilling?

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The pump us going to be a mag9.5 after all the plumbing it should be around 695gph. The overflow might be a bit overkill but I wanted 2 bulkheads. I designed my tank I'm giving the dimensions to the guy. He also cuts holes so I was like why not. :P

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My glass-holes box's top rests just under the inner plastic lip of my 40B. Maybe give yourself another 1/4" below that. I'd place the box with that spacing off the top, then see where the guide needs to be in order to give you that spacing. Measure distances using the center of holes in both the overflow box and the guide. This will give you flexibility to move it up or down, then tighten the bulkheads when you get it just right. The drilled holes allow you some flexability.



then I would line the top edge of the overflow up with the top edge of the tank.. there is plenty of glass left above the hole..

I'd give some room below because if you decide to do a wave in your tank, you want some headroom.

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I'd give some room below because if you decide to do a wave in your tank, you want some headroom.

 

that's actually why I said to wait for other rimless folks to chime in (since I have no experience with rimless), I could see water splashing being an issue..

 

however I don't think I'd run a wave in a rimless tank, supposedly they can pop seams, which would be even easier in rimless.. but I think most people run around 0.75-1.5" below the edge of the glass, which is probably not far off where he'd be with the overflow level to the top of the glass (he said the teeth were 1" which would probaly put the water .25 or so above that, especially running a 1500 overflow and 700 gph pump (after head loss). just a guess..

 

that's a good point though, OP may want to drop it down a quarter/half inch or so..

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Andrew_Reef90g

How large is the tank? I wouldn't worry about waves cracking a seam as long as you're tank was built by a decent company. But I would definitely give yourself at least 1.5" if you are planning on doing waves.

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