Please help me setting up my tank.

[Bao]

Hello everyone,

I kept a small reef tank with mostly LPS and Zoanthids for about two years now. However, I don't know much about pluming the tank. Currently, Filtrations for my tank are LR, LS and some carbon. I would like to upgrade my tank to a 46 Bowfront with a refugium. I have done some research about it but still kind of confused. I would like to ask for your helps before I set out to drill the tank.

1)What is the diameter of a hole after it is drilled in glass?
2)What is the diameter of the Diamond hole raw should i order?
3)How big an overflow box should be? Would a glass box of 4” L x 4”Wx4”H good enough?
4)What is the most quiet type of overflow should I do in my tank?
5)How should I decide which GPH pump is appropriate as a return pump for my tank. (zoanthids and LPS tank). Currently I have two used pumps: Mag3, and Iwaki(500 gph).
6)Can I get all my bulkheads and materials from HomeDepot?

Thanks in advance
Bao

 

[csb]

1)What is the diameter of a hole after it is drilled in glass?
2)What is the diameter of the Diamond hole raw should i order?
3)How big an overflow box should be? Would a glass box of 4” L x 4”Wx4”H good enough?
4)What is the most quiet type of overflow should I do in my tank?
5)How should I decide which GPH pump is appropriate as a return pump for my tank. (zoanthids and LPS tank). Currently I have two used pumps: Mag3, and Iwaki(500 gph).
6)Can I get all my bulkheads and materials from HomeDepot?

Alrighty then... I'll throw my answers into the arena.

1. The diameter of your drilled hole will be almost exactly the diameter of your drill bit... whatever size it is that you choose.

2. Drill bit... chose whatever size you need. The diameter of the bit = the diameter of the resulting hole.

3. 4" x 4" x 4" for an overflow is probably not going to do the job... of course, it depends on the type of overflow you're building. For a 46g system, you'll need about 460g/hr (10x tank volume is somewhat ideal). There is an overflow calculator at reefcentral.com

4. Most quiet overflow? Probably a durso. You'll want to research different types of overflows and pick the one that will best meet your requirements.

5. Pump selection ... you'll want to buy a pump which will result in approx 460gal/hr through your system. Depending on your plumbing arrangement, it is normal for a pump to lose some capacity. This is known as "head loss". So, you'll want to select a pump that will give you 460gal/hr *after* head loss. There is a head loss calculator at reefcentral.com. On my 30g system, I used a Mag5, then upgraded to a Mag7, then upgraded to a much larger eheim pump as I added more tanks to my system. The mag 7 would be a good choice for your 46g... (although, I have found mag pumps to be quite noisy.)

6. You can get quite a bit of your plumbing materials from Home Depot... vinyl tubing, hose clamps, various fittings, elbows, T's, ball valves, etc. Bulkheads, generally not... Any real LFS should carry bulkheads... so wherever you live, head to your nearest reef store and check out the offerings.

Hope you enjoy your build! Building a system is one of the most enjoyable parts of the hobby... that's why we all end up with more tanks than we know what to do with

 

[Bao]

Thanks for the reply,
I was really confused about the size of the bulkheads and the hole it goes into. But I think I understand it now. 1" bulkhead will fits into 1.75" hole, so I would need a diamond hole saw with a outside diameter of 45mm (I can get those from Ebay).
The image below is an external Dursol overflow that i would like to use. But instead of a "Intake Strainer" i would like to have an elbow facing downward, hoping that it would be quieter. Please correct me if i am wrong.

Would an 1" bulkhead (goes into 1 3/4" hole) be good enough to drain the water to the refugium?. I will have more powerheads inside the tank to help with water circulation. This is just a LPS and zoanthids tank.
If the GPH of the return pump is less than that of the GPH of the 1" bulkhead, What is the negative effect it will have? More noise
Thanks,

 

[JohnK]

You can use the elbow down as long as you put the strainer in the open end of that, otherwise it's very easy for a snail to crawl into the pipe and cause a flood

1" bulkhead should work for the kind of flow your looking for, but it will handle somewhat less than the usual 600gph if it's up high and not near the bottom of the tank.

If the pump pushes more than the overflow can handle the water level in the display will rise and then begin to spill over the top causing a flood. You can put a ball or gate valve on the output of the pump to restrict it if needed (never restrict the inlet to the pump)

4x4" might work for the overflow box, but I'd go a bit bigger. it will work, but it will skim a pretty thick layer of water off the surface. Problem with that is it will make it a lot easier for a fish to go over the top and get stuck in the box, also, the thinner the surface layer you can skim off the better (for feeding to a protein skimmer)

 

[DangHobbies]

Also isn't it true that if the bottom of the tank is tempered glass it cannot be drilled?

 

[JayM]

Most bottom tank glass IS tempered, and cannot be drilled

 

[Bao]

It is an overflow box on top right corner of the tank. So I will drill it on the back of the tank where glass is not tempered.