what overflow box you guys use for 20G?

[lastduke]

I am looking for a overflow box for my 20G nano, it is not easy to drill such thin glass, is this overflow a good option?

what's good overflow box you guy used on 20G tank? please give me some inputs.

Do you think the CPR HOB Refugium will be good enough for 20G as a refugium and a sump?????

[j2me5ku]

I have used a HOB overflow box on my 20G tall. IMO I didn't like having the box because it took up too much real estate inside the tank and it looks annoying. Also, I believe the overflow box you end up going with will depend on how much water you would want to be drained into your sump and if you have a pump that will be able to deliver the water back to the tank; you can regulate the flow with ball valves.

I ended up ditching the overflow box and cut a slit in the tank to drain out to an external overflow box I've siliconed to the back of the tank.

HTH,

-james

[lastduke]

can you show me your tank and the cut?
not feel comfortable to cut the glass especially, there are live stock inside, I have nowhere to transfer them.

[lastduke]

pump, anyone else had put the overflow box on your 20G?

[nietzsche]

my friend and i just drilled his tank, he came up with some weird crazy idea of using some pvc piping that is going to be towards the top that drains down. i know ive seen people do it around here but i cant explain it

someone posted a link to this place: http://www.glass-holes.com/product.sc?categoryId=3&productId=5

thought that was kind of cool that it came with all of what you needed. btw, the tank we drilled was an AGA 20g long

[lastduke]

nietzsche, thanks for the link, the glass hole saw IS helpful to me. I went to homedepot to look for this saw, that guy told me: sorry, man, you are f***ed, you can not drill the hole by yourself.

do you think I can drill the hole without empty the tank?

[j2me5ku]

I've read that you can but it is extremely difficult and you would have to drain the water out of your tank to the level of where you are cutting the glass. In all honestly, it is pretty difficult to cut glass the first time around; your chances of not cracking the glass is better if you empty the tank.

I'll try to get pictures of my overflow tomorrow.

[Rosseau]

I realize that you've said you don't feel comfortable cutting... yet I'm going to suggest it anyways.


I bought a diamond tip hole saw and have been able to cut many holes on my first try.... pretty easy actually. Though, I doubt I would try it with livestock in the tank.

The cost a drill bit and a new 20G AGA tank will likely be less than that of buying an external overflow - if it matters.

[Rosseau]

I've used saws that look like this...

http://www.machinerieplus.ca/HOLESAW%20CERAMIQUEBIG.jpg

with this sort of method...

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=603816

As long as you go slow it is pretty easy. Don't press too hard and keep the bit level...


If you do drill your stocked tank, have buckets handy.

[NanoReefWanabe]

i have drilled my 20g tank five times now...without issue, 2 for closed loop, 1 for drain....drain wasnt big enough so i drilled a second drian beside it....i still wasnt comfortable with how it was draining, so with the tank full i made one of the drains larger...from 3/4 inch bulkhead to a 1.5 inch bulkhead...

so five holes no problems...i have a internal coast to coast style overflow box...

i didnt buy one of those fancy hole saws though...i just did ti with a dremel...very quick and easy on small tanks...using a piercing bit to punc a hole through then use a drum styled bit to cut a line to make a circle..

you can either run a hose over the glass to keep it cool...or if your tank is running and standing then all i did was put a crap load of paper towels on the back of my stand up tight to the tank and use a spray bottle...spray with one hand cut with the other..

i drew the size of circle on the tank with a sharpie..then traced that line with one of the diamond bits to etch the glass...the sharpie will run off as soon as it gets wet...then pucnh the hole and cut...very easy...takes about 2 minutes per hole..if that...

i must say though that i dont think it is a very good idea to drill/cut a stocked tank....ONLY do so as a LAST resort...

also if your going to go the route of hole saw...then take the time to make a wooden template the size of the hole you want...but make it square..that way the holesaw bit wont dance on you when you touch the glass...and you will still be able to spray water on the bit and not have it heat up too much since it will only be touching the wood in four points...

i would also like to add that many people have had success with the HOB overflows...personally i dont trust them.....

[lastduke]

Thanks so much for all you guys and comments. That did make me confident to drill the hole now, going to order the holesaw from http://www.glass-holes.com/product....d=3&productId=5 and do more research on how to drill it safely.

BTW, what size(hole diameter) I should drill for 20G tank?

[j2me5ku]

I believe for a 3/4" is 35mm and 1" is 40mm. I have 3x3/4" holes drilled in my tank. I think 3/4" is more common for smaller tanks.

I've just drilled a 10 gal yesterday. My first attempt I cracked the glass. I went out bought a new one at Petco and drilled again. I noticed that using holesaws, it's best to drill at an angle until it breaks through. When it breaks through the glass, your cut should look somewhat like a crescent moon. From there, just continue to drill at an angle until the hole is complete.

I'll try to get pics to describe what i mean.

-james

[lastduke]

waiting for your picture James....I am gonig to order 3/4'', one hole is enough for 20G?

[Goongs]

They are selling those hole saw at e-bay. Great deal there.
check it out.:)

[J-Bass]

lastduke, check out your local Harbor Freight tools store before you order from e-bay. They have those diamond tip hole saws for same or even cheaper than the e-bay ones and you won't have to wait.

[InLimbo87]

If you decide to go with a HOB skimmer, I'd suggest using a u-tube style. They're much better than the CPR's for maintaining siphon (which obviously would be important to you if the power went out).

[j2me5ku]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11146818#post11146818 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lastduke
waiting for your picture James....I am gonig to order 3/4'', one hole is enough for 20G?

duke, i didnt have a chance yesterday to post the pics; it was at my bro's bday dinner. i'll try to post some tonight.

-james

YGPM

[lastduke]

Hey Goongs, can you give me the link for the hole saw on Ebay? I didn't find the correct one i guess.
J-Bass, I will go there to check local stroe, from their website, the hole saw has a smaller diameter.
InLimbo87, I decide to drill a hole myself easier to maintain.

[lastduke]

James, Did you mean one 3/4'' hole is good enough for 20G tank for return?

A little confused, how big and how many holes I should drill on the tank? and how small the return hole I should drill/piping in?

I got a really powerful and quiet pump from a guy who quit the hobby. Can I install a ball valve to control the return speed? will it damage the pump?

[NanoReefWanabe]

you may want to drill two returns if the pump is powerful...then just "T" the return and adjust those with ball valves, you should be fine turning back the juice on the outlet side of the pump.....As long as you dont put more pressure on the the pump then the maximum Head pressure would allow..

Essentially throttling back the pump adds head pressure...you dont want to exceed the max head of the pump or you risk damaging it..

i would think four holes would be good in that case...or if you chose to go over the top with the returns then you should only need 2 holes..

one for your drain and one as an emergency drain should something happen to the main drain...the emerg drain should be built to make as much noise as possible to alert you of a problem....

3/4" bulkheads should be fine for this...but there again it depends on the GPH of your return pump...3/4" pipe, even under full siphon will only pass about 400 or so GPH...size you plumbing to your pump.. or you may have to throttle back you r pump too much, or be forced to get another pump...(that was the mistake i made)

i believe that a 1" bulkhead is good for 600GPH the hole for a 1" bulk head i think is 60mm and for a 3/4" bulkhead it is 45mm

[lastduke]

I just found out, the used return pump i bought from another reefer here is eheim 1250 which output is 317GPH, is that big for 20 or 30G? How many return hole I should drill if I use this pump?

[j2me5ku]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11153043#post11153043 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lastduke
I just found out, the used return pump i bought from another reefer here is eheim 1250 which output is 317GPH, is that big for 20 or 30G? How many return hole I should drill if I use this pump?

where do you plan to drill the hole? simply put, a vertical hole will drain at a lower rate than a horizontal hole. it is not suggested to drill the bottom of the tank cuz most of the time the glass is tempered. here's a really good read to figure out what's best for you.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=69372

*mod please blank out the web address if i'm breaking any rules. cant seem to remember them all at the moment.

here is the external overflow im working on at the moment.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j289/j2me5ku/Picture148.jpg

here is a pic of one of the holes i drilled for for my closed loop.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j289/j2me5ku/Picture149-1.jpg

i'll try to get pics of what i mean on how to cut at an angle.

also, to figure out what size bulkhead you want to drill, go to the homepage and use the calculators on the left column. try estimating what the head loss will be from your pump and then use that number you calculated from head loss and plug it into the drain/overflow size calc. i kinda fiddled with the calcs and got about 190 gph flow rate from your sump to your tank and that would require a hole around .6 inches. i would guess going with 3/4 would be ok and just attach a ball valve to the bottom of the bulkhead to regulate the drainage.

HTH,

-james

[lastduke]

james, thanks for the pictures. From the pictures, you made a slot for overflow box rather than drilling the holes on the display tank , did you?

The holes you drilled for return pipe, That is really close to the edge.....nice drilling.....

[cherubfish pair]

lastduke,

You should go to a glass shop and get a couple of small sheets of glass for practice. They will pay for themselves and you will be more confident when you start on the real thing.

[cherubfish pair]

Here's my thread of looking for internal overflows:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=11107581#post11107581

[cherubfish pair]

Here's my thread of looking for internal overflows:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=11107581#post11107581

[cherubfish pair]

Here's my partial build thread where I added an internal overflow to an upper corner. I didn't have to drain much water.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1011802

[cherubfish pair]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11158123#post11158123 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cherubfish pair
Here's my partial build thread where I added an internal overflow to an upper corner. I didn't have to drain much water.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1011802

Oh, it was my upgrade thread. I used a C-clamp to hold the overflow in place and just used silicone rubber cement to attach it. I only drained about 6 inches from the top and didn't have to take anything out of the tank. I got the overflow from wetdryfilter.com. I highly recommend the owner, Christian Schwalm.

[lastduke]

thanks for your posts, cherubfish, I am out of town for a business trip:( Drill bits are on the way, I am looking for the 30G tank to drill on craigslist