Bulkhead sizes, hole bit and more..

revhtree · Oct 21, 2016

I am getting the QT tanks and other stuff ready to rock and roll on the new build! I had a few questions for you all.

1. What size holes would you plumb for the QT and specie tanks?

2. Would you drill a hole for returns on those? Want them as neat as possible.

3. What type of bulkheads do you suggest and where do you buy them at?

4. Can you recommend a good glass hole bit to use?

Thanks!

melypr1985 · Oct 21, 2016

revhtree said:
1. What size holes would you plumb for the QT and specie tanks?

I wouldn't plumb the QT tanks at all. Keep them stand alone and simple. You -ideally- want them to be separate from your display and other tanks and each other if using more than one. The simpler your QT, the easier it will be for you to keep up with it. My 2 cents and a bump at the same time ;)

redfishbluefish · Oct 21, 2016

If you need to purchase bits and/or bulkheads, check out www.glass-holes.com .

revhtree · Oct 21, 2016

melypr1985 said:
I wouldn't plumb the QT tanks at all. Keep them stand alone and simple. You -ideally- want them to be separate from your display and other tanks and each other if using more than one. The simpler your QT, the easier it will be for you to keep up with it. My 2 cents and a bump at the same time ;)

Thanks for the suggestions! Honestly it's a risk but I want to plumb in the tanks so I can drain them quick and do water changes quick! Not sure how I will put them all in line but I would like to.

revhtree · Oct 21, 2016

redfishbluefish said:
If you need to purchase bits and/or bulkheads, check out www.glass-holes.com .

Thanks and I had forgotten about them!

melypr1985 · Oct 21, 2016

revhtree said:
Thanks for the suggestions! Honestly it's a risk but I want to plumb in the tanks so I can drain them quick and do water changes quick! Not sure how I will put them all in line but I would like to.

Would the QT's be plumbed together but still separate from the display? I guess I'm a little confused about the plan :confused:

SandJ · Oct 21, 2016

Is it possible to plumb the tanks like you would plumb your home? So you could have a main drain pipe with each tank draining down to it. It would drain into a bucket by the sink and be pumped into the sink (since there is not a floor drain)
Something like this (except for it is sloped the wrong way lol I think you would need a 5% slope to the drain bucket)

To fill the tanks you could run pvc pipe from your saltwater filling station around the top of the room. Then have the pipe running down to each tank with a shut off valve.

View attachment 412590

melypr1985 · Oct 21, 2016

SandJ said:
Is it possible to plumb the tanks like you would plumb your home? So you could have a main drain pipe with each tank draining down to it. It would drain into a bucket by the sink and be pumped into the sink (since there is not a floor drain)
Something like this

To fill the tanks you could run pvc pipe from your saltwater filling station around the top of the room. Then have the pipe running down to each tank with a shut off valve.

View attachment 412590

That's a pretty darn great idea! I might steal this for my upcoming fish room ;)

SandJ · Oct 22, 2016

Something else you could do...on the inside of the tank you could attach a pipe to the bulk head. The top of the pipe would come to the level you would normally drain the tank for a water change. So when you open the drain it would take out the exact amount with out you having to baby sit it. There may be a way to make it adjustable, or just have different length pipes to attach to remove different amounts of water.

You could also have a something similar to your washer drain. It could just be a pipe sticking up from the main drain pipe. This would give you a place to stick the end of a syphon hose into in case you need to syphon out algae, detritus on the bottom, etc...