Question on Tank drilling..

jmartin48

Reefing newb
I've got a LFS that does tank drilling. By all my research on this i'm assuming I would need one drilled in the bottem of the tank for gravity feed to the sump pump underneath and maybe one in the back of the tank on the left side for return?? Also what would you suggest for overflow?? More grand newbie questions!! :bounce:
 
i wouldnt drill the bottom, just me, but theres too many risks involved. i would only drill the back.

just out of curriosity, i recently asked what my LFS would charge to drill holes, so now i'm currious what they quoted you...
 
If your gonna drill it,drill the back.I'd drill the drain in one of the top corners,maybe 3/4 to 1" below the water level of the tank.That way you can gravity overflow into the sump.
Like Project said,theres just to much risk to drill the bottom.The last thing you want is for the bottom of the tank to bust when its full of water,sand,and rock.
 
I have no idea what they charge. I saw they did tank drilling on there website. I'm head'n out there this weekend and was gonna talk with them about some different things so i'll let ya know on what they charge. So I should have it drilled in the back on the right for drain and left for feed?? Also any suggestions on an overflow??
 
+10

The bottom is usually tempered glass. It'll break it you try to drill it. You'll get 80% through drilling it and thats when it'll shatter.

Drill the back as the other guys already said.
 
Check Youtube for videos. There's instructional videos. You can buy hole saw kits on fleebay for like $10. It's easy to do with a cordless drill and some water to cool things.
 
I have no idea what they charge. I saw they did tank drilling on there website. I'm head'n out there this weekend and was gonna talk with them about some different things so i'll let ya know on what they charge. So I should have it drilled in the back on the right for drain and left for feed?? Also any suggestions on an overflow??

It really wont matter which bulkhead is on which side I dont think.As long as the water drains into the sump/fuge and gets returned back to the tank,your good to go.
By drilling it,you wont need an over flow either.Just a couple of PVC 90 degree elbows and some pipe and a screen to keep critters out of the plumbing.
 
Any recommendation on what size to go on plumbing?? I haven't checked with LFS yet on price but I saw some of the bits on ebay which were not priced too bad. Would be nice to have bit for future tanks. I found one bit on ebay for like 14 with free shipping for a 1 inch I believe it was. Thanks again for all the help..
 
what size tank? the 55g in your sig or something else?

the reason i ask is that the size of the tank will define the flow you will need, that will in turn define the size of holes you need to get that flow...
 
+1 RC
heres a synopsys

2 inch bulkhead will flow approximately 1350 GPH
1 ½ inch bulkhead will flow approximately 975 GPH
1 inch bulkhead will flow approximately 350 GPH
¾ inch bulkhead will flow approximately 165 GPH

the thing that i would add to this, is that if you were to make a mistake, then i would make it by going bigger than needed, cause you can allways have extra capacity, but if you go too small, you will regret it till either you fix it, or replace it.
 
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It's the 55g tank. With a 20g sump. From the research I did yesterday and today i'm think'n of going with a mag 7 with 1 inch plumbing. I found a post suggesting a mag 7 for a 55g tank with a 10g sump. I found a few more sites suggesting these pumps also good feedback on them. 1 inch plumbing was suggested by a newbie thread on another forum so It sounded like the right setup for my 55.. Am I on the right track or way off?? :frustrat:
 
i think your headed in about the right direction...

you might consider stepping up to 1-1/2 plumbing, just so you have some extra capacity should you decide you need it...
 
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