How Importan Is A Pre Drilled Tank

[BIGDREWLEWIS]

Good Morning,
Reefers hope you guys can help me out with this. I have a chance to purchase a 55 gallon reef ready tank i am currently running a normal 55 gallon. I just got a sump ( PRO CLEAR 75 WITH PRE-FILTER W/O SKIMMER) I wanted to know if the pre drilled tank is a good investment ot make or should i just use a HOB overflow box. I am getting the tank for around 90$. I really just want to know would you buy it?

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Is that $90 for just the tank? Sounds a hair steep for a used 55g tank. Especially one the same size you're using now. If you're gonna spend a few bucks and go through the hassle of moving things from one tank to another, at least go up a size or two!

Hang-on overflows are OK, you just need to be aware of the danger of breaking the siphon in it, which can be disastrous.

[Nanz]

It took me some time to decide this same delima. I ended up reading too many horror stories of overflows failing and my living room becoming flooded so I decided to get a predrilled tank with a built in overflow.. Its a standard 75gal with Megaflow overflow. I am really glad I decided to go this route. I also dont have to worry about something hanging off the back of my tank.

[chris31]

go with the per-drilled its not a bad price when my 55 sprong a leak i bought a reg 55 for $96 i think it was. yea there are a lot of horror stories like NANZ said. i would get it if i were you

[XSiVE]

Well, if your siphon breaks you will only fill up your display tank with the total amount of water volume that is in the portion of your sump where your return pump sits.

In my tank, thats 1.87 gallons. with the level I keep my water in my display (just below the black strip) it can hold a little more than 2g before it would overflow.

If you calculate it out and your tank can take the extra water, the only danger to the siphon breaking is a dead return pump.. which may or may not be an issue depending on how much flow / biofiltration is being done in your DT without the sump.

[mayor10]

If you haven't purchased one yet, you'll need to spend about $40 for a U-Tube overflow box (preferred over CPR boxes). So think of it as spending about $50 for the pre-drilled 55g. I would do that if I were you.

I use a U-Tube overflow. It hasn't failed me, but it does often get a bubble in the u tube, which if I eventually don't reset the siphon would be disaster. So it's always a worry.

To me, $50 (even $90 if you already have an overflow box) is worth the peace of mind and convenience over the long haul.

Unfortunately, that's just a drop in the bucket on what you'll be spending on your reef over the next few years.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

FWIW, there are lots of methods to preserve and/or automatically reset the siphon in both u-tube and constant-siphon (CPR style) overflows.

The most popular is to use a diaphragm pump like the Aqua Lifter. Some overflows have a nipple on the top of the siphon tube to attach a pump like this. If yours doesn't, you can just fish an airline up inside until it reaches the top of the tube. The idea behind these pumps is that they'll suck out any air that gathers to prevent the siphon from breaking. If the power goes out or the siphon does break, the pump will evacuate the air and start the siphon back up automatically.

[dragginzuzu]

Id like more info on this auto siphon . Where can I find it

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Here's a hang-on at Drs Foster and Smith that uses the aqua lifter pump:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...1&N=2004&Nty=1

Like I mentioned above, you can order that pump seperately and use it on any overflow. If your overflow has a nipple at the very top of the siphon tube, hook the pump up to that. If it doesn't, fish a piece of airline tubing up into the siphon and play with it until the opening of the airline is at the VERY HIGHEST point in the siphon tube.

The aqua lifter pump's advantage is that slowly pumps a very small amount of water OR air, so it'll suck air bubbles out and restart broken siphons. It's sized to run off airline tube so it works well in this application. Put the output tube into the outside section of your overflow and plug it in!