Where to drill the holes?

[CatfishSoupFTW]

Hey everyone. been doing research and talking to some people, but still a bit confused.

 

so i bought a 18 by 18 by 16 starfire rimless tank, and i plan on drilling it. No overflow box to keep space and look clean and open.

 

 

From my discussion with someone, he recommended drilling the 1 inch drain 5 inches below the rim. To my confusion, that meant if the pump went out, id have 7 gallons of water going into the 10 gallon sump. But then he mentioned that by the time the 90 degree elbow and strainer go on, then its actually about an inch and change top the top equating to maybe 3-4 gallons of water drained. Does this all make sense?

 

as for my return, 1/2 inch lets say... 2 inches from the top.

 

Does this design keep the tank silent? I see tanks with no overflow drilled all the time in an LFS but i havent paid attention to the depths.

 

thoughts? recommendations?

 

[CatfishSoupFTW]

nobaday?

[Mpy]

the best course of action is to have an overflow... there are a lot of slim options and things to help make the tank look sleeker, but having that much of a change between your operating level and the tank level when your pump is off is likely problematic.

 

The overflow will keep your level in the tank more constant, give you better surface skimming and help keep the siphon from sucking in a fish or something.

[CatfishSoupFTW]

the best course of action is to have an overflow... there are a lot of slim options and things to help make the tank look sleeker, but having that much of a change between your operating level and the tank level when your pump is off is likely problematic.

 

The overflow will keep your level in the tank more constant, give you better surface skimming and help keep the siphon from sucking in a fish or something.

 

 

If im drilling the back, what would you recommend? A small herbie overflow possibly? I have read a bunch of stuff, but always confused on what to do, and I dont want to drill the bottom to make those durso overflows. I want small, sleek but effecient. - oh and quiet.

 

Also contemplating mame. It will have roughly 150-180gph so thats 7 times turnover roughly.

[Mpy]

Bean Animal is accepted as the best, Herbie next best and then Durso being the worst, in terms of noise and failure rate. the problem is, if you want to not have an overflow, having a Durso (open channel) is possible to do drilling the back, but it is hard to keep quiet and has a higher chance of failure. Herbie and Bean Animal really need to have an overflow to work right. Bean Animal requires more space for the 3rd drain bulkhead, but returns for both can be run over the rim of the tank.

 

I have a 18" cube I drilled the bottom for a Herbie and return and then put in a 16" overflow across the entire back. I think I only lost ~3 inches off the back wall of my tank. I have~250gph turn over through my sump and it is pretty quiet.

[farkwar]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/191281654428?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Do this.

[CatfishSoupFTW]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/191281654428?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Do this.

I like where this is going.

 

thats sweet. I messaged the seller and hopefully it goes well. Shipping to canada would be a bit crappy. And i always have issues with ebay. Been banned before because i bought a 1 dollar LED from china and then I was deemed a high risk account -__- .

 

Ill see what the locals have as well, but its gonna cost well over 200 I fear.

 

and on a side note, how do people feel on mame?

[CrazyEyes]

I really like that. You could build something very similar for fairly cheap too, and acrylic isn't too hard to work with.

[CatfishSoupFTW]

I havent worked with acrylics in years. and since I live on my own (off campus) the tools I own is like... a screw driver and a hammer. lol I find acrylic expensive though. a sheet of 5mm acrylic that is 18 by 16 is like 40 bucks. I would imagine i need a thicker piece, something for clean cuts, some clamps for gluing. it is possible, I just dont know my level of craftmenship with it. If it was wood, then I can do it. lol xD

but youre right, it doesnt seem too bananas to make. Would I be able to make a smaller version? with lets say only one or two drains on the external side? that way its small and low profile. and then maybe place it off to the side of the tank instead of the center. As i was planning to frost the back glass instead of blacking it out.

[CrazyEyes]

Ofcourse you could just have have 1 drain on the external box, I'd recommend atleast 2 holes though (herbie drain), it'll just give you a little room for error incase something clogs the drain, plus it will be silent.

[NorthGaHillbilly]

I did a similar overflow for my new build, for a smaller tank I would just scale it all down and run a herbie. You can see pics in the link in my sig. I know those guys, on ebay, will do custom work, so I expect you could get a smaller version for around 100

[CatfishSoupFTW]

the ebay fella is responding lightning fast lol

 

so, we are talking about a custom design, and im trying to figure things out. would it be:

 

One 1.5 inch hole through the tank, to two 1.5 inch drains to the sump

 

two 1.5 inch holes through the tank, to one 1.5 inch drain to the sump.

 

or two and two. or any other combo that seems reasonable.

[farkwar]

I have read he will customize it.

 

Say you wanted a white or clear one for an ADA tank, would be cool.

 

Or just smaller for smaller tanks, 1 inch on the Bean Animal drains for example.

 

Or DIY...

 

the ebay fella is responding lightning fast lol so, we are talking about a custom design, and im trying to figure things out. would it be: One 1.5 inch hole through the tank, to two 1.5 inch drains to the sump two 1.5 inch holes through the tank, to one 1.5 inch drain to the sump. or two and two. or any other combo that seems reasonable.

2 1.5s through tank. 3 1 inch for full Bean Animal for that size tank. What I would do.

[CatfishSoupFTW]

I will ask the guy and see if maybe I can get that done. Id like to keep it small, as since im frosting the back wall I dont want it to look too ugly. But if thats the case, maybe ill black it out. Have you guys ever seen a frosted back with black overflow box around here? Also, should it be placed in the middle of the back panel, or is the side fine ?

[NorthGaHillbilly]

I wouldnt to the two through the tank as 1.5, but rather two 1"

[CatfishSoupFTW]

I wouldnt to the two through the tank as 1.5, but rather two 1"

so two 1 inch holes that then lead to three 1 inch drains?

 

edit: the builder told me this

 

yes, 2 drains to the sump is a good idea but you should only need a single 1.5 or 2" bulkhead going through the tank. You could use 2 1" going through the tank but it will take up room in the exterior box for the drains going to the sump. I think the best way is to use a single 1.5" or 2" through the tank then 2 1" drains on either side of it in the exterior box.

 

 

end quote.

 

 

makes a valid point about the box size since im trying to keep things minimal. with the ghost design it does seem as if nothing would really clog that drain.... at least I hope not. lol

 

I guess ill see how prices change and the size and go from there.

[NorthGaHillbilly]

Heres mine, obviously the bulkheads through the tank are going to need to be trimmed, but I could see the argument about space, but a 2.5" hole is going to make you need an internal box that is tall, with the 1" I was able to make the internal box 4" tall.

 

https://flic.kr/p/pxjUNA'>https://flic.kr/p/pxjUNA'>IMG_00000398 by https://www.flickr.com/people/125603963@N06/'>North Ga Hillbilly, on Flickr

[CatfishSoupFTW]

whats your thoughts on a 2 inch through the tank, and two 1 inch drains? It will keep it slim, but the 2 inch drain will basically assure that it wont clog it being so big. Or maybe a 1.5? My glass is 8mm thick so I dunno if 2 inches is too big for that glass since its gonna be near the rim.

 

for the return pump im thinking half inch, return with a Sicce Syncra 3.5 Silent pump. thoughts ?

[NorthGaHillbilly]

With the 3.5 I woulf prob go with a 3/4", but half would prob do alright. A 2" drain would might end up needing a 5 inch tall skimmer box, but that won't hurt anything.

[CatfishSoupFTW]

half would have quite the pressure coming out of it i think. that plus the wp10 and id have good flow. I think i may go 1.5 ... 2 inch just seems massive for a 22 gallon tank.

 

so 1.5 inch through the tank, and two 1 inchers to the sump, then 1/2 inch return.

[farkwar]

half would have quite the pressure coming out of it i think. that plus the wp10 and id have good flow. I think i may go 1.5 ... 2 inch just seems massive for a 22 gallon tank.

 

so 1.5 inch through the tank, and two 1 inchers to the sump, then 1/2 inch return.

 

Glass-holes.com has return kits, and glass drill bits.

 

And overflows.

 

 

If you didnt know about them.

[CatfishSoupFTW]

Glass-holes.com has return kits, and glass drill bits. And overflows. If you didnt know about them.

 

 

yeah I know them. but I like this external box thing going on here so I will probably do that.

 

thanks everyone for all the help.