120 gal 48” wide

[JHWilliams]

I have a 75 gal non drilled with HOB filtration. I have been looking to upgrade to a 120 gal drilled tank. I am limited to 48” wide and I am going to create a built in cabinet look. I have been looking to FB marketplace for a used and the 48” is hard to come by. I have also been thinking I do not want to risk a bad seal on a used. I have seen my lfs with a 48x24x24 marineland corner drilled and it would work perfect for my location. My question to the group is, does anyone have experience with this tank and would it be better to spend more on a different brand? Is this tank good for the $900 or am I going to have disaster sooner rather than later lol. My main thought is on the longevity of the tank/brand. I will be building my own sump and plumbing and all that fun stuff.

Thank you in advance.

 

[UncommonSense]

I have a 75 gal non drilled with HOB filtration. I have been looking to upgrade to a 120 gal drilled tank. I am limited to 48” wide and I am going to create a built in cabinet look. I have been looking to FB marketplace for a used and the 48” is hard to come by. I have also been thinking I do not want to risk a bad seal on a used. I have seen my lfs with a 48x24x24 marineland corner drilled and it would work perfect for my location. My question to the group is, does anyone have experience with this tank and would it be better to spend more on a different brand? Is this tank good for the $900 or am I going to have disaster sooner rather than later lol. My main thought is on the longevity of the tank/brand. I will be building my own sump and plumbing and all that fun stuff.

Thank you in advance.

How many holes does this Marineland tank at your LFS have drilled in it?

 

[mcarroll]

Should be fine.

 

[JHWilliams]

How many holes does this Marineland tank at your LFS have drilled in it?

I looked but can’t remember. If you look at the tank on any site they don’t show the holes. The link is the tank brand new which is what my lfs has. I will have to go check it out again but the description says “drain, return pipes” so I’m thinking 3. I see the description says 700 GPH and that seems low for 120 gal. I would think it should be closer to 1200-1300 GPH.

https://petswarehouse.com/products/...138&gbraid=0AAAAADktirVAo96KUJvryApWC0SfS015M

 

[CrewePD210]

I've got a 150 6 foot marineland and it is well made./

 

[UncommonSense]

I looked but can’t remember. If you look at the tank on any site they don’t show the holes. The link is the tank brand new which is what my lfs has. I will have to go check it out again but the description says “drain, return pipes” so I’m thinking 3. I see the description says 700 GPH and that seems low for 120 gal. I would think it should be closer to 1200-1300 GPH.

https://petswarehouse.com/products/...138&gbraid=0AAAAADktirVAo96KUJvryApWC0SfS015M

Is the tank at your LFS new, or used?

It sounds like it’s set up for a single drain, which is definitely the loudest configuration!

 

[Kodski]

If you're just questioning if it will last 10 years or not, it for sure. Marineland's are close to, if not, the largest mass produced tanks out there. If you take that into account and look at how many people have issues, their failure rates are probably amount the lowest of tank manufactures. You won't find a cheaper tank out there that's for sure. The larger question at hand, is will the overflow work for you? Some people don't like corner overflows or how they are setup to drain. If you see no issue with that, then go for it. A custom tank in those dimensions will run you double if not more than the Marineland once you figure freight in. Another option would be to get one without an overflow and drill it yourself. You can check with Marineland, but the 120's without overflows should be plate glass and drillable.

 

[cilyjr]

I bought a used aqueon 180 in 2008 that was made in 2002, I put it in the wall and it lasted 10 years until I sold it, as far as I know it's still going strong.

The all-glass, aqueon, marineland tanks with the heavy duty plastic frames are tough.

I've no idea where this " a tank lasts 10 years" thing came about.

 

[JHWilliams]

Is the tank at your LFS new, or used?

It sounds like it’s set up for a single drain, which is definitely the loudest configuration!

It is a single drain left corner. It is a new tank. What makes it so loud? My plan for building the sump is to have the drain line under water level. Or is it the tank part that is loud? I also plans to have the whole tank built into a cabinet so only the front and right side will be viewable.

 

[X-37B]

I had a 120 and 90 both 48".
Single drain with 1 return.
Works well and you really only need 3-4 times flow through the system.
120

 

[JHWilliams]

If you're just questioning if it will last 10 years or not, it for sure. Marineland's are close to, if not, the largest mass produced tanks out there. If you take that into account and look at how many people have issues, their failure rates are probably amount the lowest of tank manufactures. You won't find a cheaper tank out there that's for sure. The larger question at hand, is will the overflow work for you? Some people don't like corner overflows or how they are setup to drain. If you see no issue with that, then go for it. A custom tank in those dimensions will run you double if not more than the Marineland once you figure freight in. Another option would be to get one without an overflow and drill it yourself. You can check with Marineland, but the 120's without overflows should be plate glass and drillable.

The non drilled ones are about $300 less. I like the idea of the corner so that it’s the furthest from the 2 viewable sides, I will only have the front and right side open. Are the center drain tanks much better? I will be building the sump and everything so I can configure however but I focusing on the tank first

 

[X-37B]

It is a single drain left corner. It is a new tank. What makes it so loud? My plan for building the sump is to have the drain line under water level. Or is it the tank part that is loud? I also plans to have the whole tank built into a cabinet so only the front and right side will be viewable.

Drill a hole in the top of the overflow pipe. Put a small piece of airline tubing in it. It will quiet the flow and keep it from getting the toilet flush.
Works well and is simple to do.

 

[X-37B]

The non drilled ones are about $300 less. I like the idea of the corner so that it’s the furthest from the 2 viewable sides, I will only have the front and right side open. Are the center drain tanks much better? I will be building the sump and everything so I can configure however but I focusing on the tank first

Harder to service a center overflow unless it's an ext.

 

[cilyjr]

It is a single drain left corner. It is a new tank. What makes it so loud? My plan for building the sump is to have the drain line under water level. Or is it the tank part that is loud? I also plans to have the whole tank built into a cabinet so only the front and right side will be viewable.

It doesn't need to be loud, it likely has two holes a 1 in and a 3/4 inch hole. Or rather sized for those bulkheads.

It is drilled in a more traditional way, set up for a durso stand pipe. In order to make them dead silent, it will require a slightly lower flow than some people tend to like these days.

Don't that discourage you though. Turnover between tank and sump is completely subjective. Most of us from the early '90s through the mid 2000s used this setup. With a lot of people still doing it.

Not to mention they're all workarounds. Some people will send the return over the top of the bracing and use both of the holes as drains. Using the smaller hole as the siphon drain drain.

 

[UncommonSense]

It is a single drain left corner. It is a new tank. What makes it so loud? My plan for building the sump is to have the drain line under water level. Or is it the tank part that is loud? I also plans to have the whole tank built into a cabinet so only the front and right side will be viewable.

The single drain tends to suck in air when running anywhere near maximum flow rates, effectively sounding like parts of a toilet flushing every minute-ish!

— it’s commonly known as a Duroso standpipe design, and can be made quieter with numerous styles of muffler…

— A more modern approach to reduce noise and increase drain safety is adding multiple display tank drains!

— a two drain (Herbie) or three drain (BeanAnimal) overflow allows you to put a valve on your main drain to tune it to a full water siphon; no air being pulled into the drain plumbing! (This makes for silent drain operation!)

Are the center drain tanks much better?

You should look into “peninsula” overflows, too! — this places the overflow on one of the short vertical side panes!

 

[JHWilliams]

It doesn't need to be loud, it likely has two holes a 1 in and a 3/4 inch hole. Or rather sized for those bulkheads.

It is drilled in a more traditional way, set up for a durso stand pipe. In order to make them dead silent, it will require a slightly lower flow than some people tend to like these days.

Don't that discourage you though. Turnover between tank and sump is completely subjective. Most of us from the early '90s through the mid 2000s used this setup. With a lot of people still doing it.

Not to mention they're all workarounds. Some people will send the return over the top of the bracing and use both of the holes as drains. Using the smaller hole as the siphon drain drain.

Thank you!

 

[JHWilliams]

The single drain tends to suck in air when running anywhere near maximum flow rates, effectively sounding like parts of a toilet flushing every minute-ish!

— it’s commonly known as a Duroso standpipe design, and can be made quieter with numerous styles of muffler…

— A more modern approach to reduce noise and increase drain safety is adding multiple display tank drains!

— a two drain (Herbie) or three drain (BeanAnimal) overflow allows you to put a valve on your main drain to tube it to a full water siphon; no air being pulled into the drain plumbing! (This makes for silent drain operation!)



You should look into “peninsula” overflows, too! — this places the overflow on one of the short vertical side panes!

Thank you!

 

[mcarroll]

FYI, single drains were never meant to be run near full capacity, that's why they are noisy… No one ever intended a noisy tank. That's something users came up with when they tried to run more flow. running them at 50% capacity or less is supposed to be the target. (a 1 inch drain is rated for 600 gallons per hour… So that nets out to 300 gallons per hour tops.)

All of that is historic from the time before powerheads with propellers came out. Once people stopped needing to use the return pump for flow, sump flow rates could go back down to normal, which is between one times turnover and five times tank turnover. One is plenty sometimes we want more.

In most cases, five times turnover or less will be silent, even through a single drain.

(The temptation to overcomplicate things is always seemingly present in this hobby.)

 

[PhilT]

i have a 65gal Marineland 36”x20x24, corner overflow single drain and return. Durwood drainpipe, fairly quiet. i guess corner is easier to plump since the sump sock is usually right blow that corner.

just filled a Planet 120g today to replace my redsea that blew a seal 3 weeks ago. it has center overflow, 2 drains and 2 returns. my maintain guy did a pretty nice plumbing job on it.

the reefmat was a tight fit, trigger 36” crystal sump.

 

[UncommonSense]

. my maintain guy did a pretty nice plumbing job on it.

the reefmat was a tight fit, trigger 36” crystal sump.

Your flexible drain hose is around a foot too long, and should really have hose clamps on both sides, especially considering that it looks like it’s just shoved on essentially smooth pipe…

better yet would be hard plumbing this, and using a gate valve, vs. a hardware store ball valve (which will gradually seize up over the next year or two)

The electrical sitting on top of the sump is dangerous at best…

This could use some revision…