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Sebastiancrab
2500 Club Member
I spoke with Aqueon twice earlier this year. They are not keeping tabs on what kind of glass they use in the production line. The only sure bet is to check it yourself.
DaddyFish
“5 percenter”
As stated several times already, you MUST check the glass to be confident the panel you intend to drill is not tempered.
If you are okay with keeping a large canister filter at the same or close to the same height as your tank bottom, IMO you absolutely cannot beat the Oase Biomaster Thermo 850 for that size tank (75-90 gal). A Fluval FX6 will pump 450 gph from the bottom of a 36" stand, but it is an absolute P.I.T.A. to clean. The Oase has an easily removed and cleaned pre-filter that means you won't have to go into the canister more than once every month, or two, or three. The included heater also eliminates one more piece of equipment in your tank, making the setup much more visually appealing.
If you decide to go with a sump I would look at the Fijicube overflow kits. They include the drill and many people I know have used them with great long term success. If you or somehow helping you, destroys the tank you're out $200 and some time. Hate to say it but I wish that was all the money I ever wasted on this hobby!
For HOB look at the Seachem Tidal-110. I would recommend two of them for a 75-gal. They are a bit pricey but...
they include Matrix media which saves you $$$. And they have a skimmer to siphon control that allows you to adjust how much water is picked up from the surface. You get the benefits of a skimming weir and most of the benefits of a sump-based skimmer using the Tidal-110. I've proven it by running test setups with a skimmer added to an existing Tidal-110 tank with absolutely nothing collected in the added skimmer for weeks.
If you are okay with keeping a large canister filter at the same or close to the same height as your tank bottom, IMO you absolutely cannot beat the Oase Biomaster Thermo 850 for that size tank (75-90 gal). A Fluval FX6 will pump 450 gph from the bottom of a 36" stand, but it is an absolute P.I.T.A. to clean. The Oase has an easily removed and cleaned pre-filter that means you won't have to go into the canister more than once every month, or two, or three. The included heater also eliminates one more piece of equipment in your tank, making the setup much more visually appealing.
If you decide to go with a sump I would look at the Fijicube overflow kits. They include the drill and many people I know have used them with great long term success. If you or somehow helping you, destroys the tank you're out $200 and some time. Hate to say it but I wish that was all the money I ever wasted on this hobby!
For HOB look at the Seachem Tidal-110. I would recommend two of them for a 75-gal. They are a bit pricey but...
they include Matrix media which saves you $$$. And they have a skimmer to siphon control that allows you to adjust how much water is picked up from the surface. You get the benefits of a skimming weir and most of the benefits of a sump-based skimmer using the Tidal-110. I've proven it by running test setups with a skimmer added to an existing Tidal-110 tank with absolutely nothing collected in the added skimmer for weeks.
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Lalaallieu
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Okay, so I have called Marineland about the 75 tank and stand from petsmart and it 100% is not tempered except for the bottom glass. All sides are perfectly fine to drill.
DaddyFish
“5 percenter”
Please, I cannot stress this enough. Yes, the documentation from tank manufacturers says the bottom is the only tempered panel. BUT, real life experiences for many people have proven otherwise. You MUST do the tempered glass test using polarized lenses.
YouTube on checking for tempered glass
Another video on checking for tempered glass
1stNoel
Well-Known Member
My display is a 300 gallon tank, and my number one regret is not drilling it.
Dealing with a hang-on back (HOB) overflow is a pain because you always have to check the u-tubes to make sure enough water is flowing through. About twice a week I'm having to suck the air out of them from the build-up of micro bubbles.
I have three other tanks that are drilled, and they are absolutely no maintenance.
GeoSquid
Well-Known Member
I have a 180 gallon not drilled. The water is pumped up from the Display tank to two plastic bins build into the cabinet above the tank with borenman surges. I put T5 lights over the bins and added rocks and Macro algae and DIY ATS's. The bins are full of amph/copepods that get blown down from the surges. I can see my fish feeding on things as the surge comes out in the display tank.
A proper HOB overflow like the eshopps will never lose siphon unless something catastrophic happens. You can turn the pump off and on as manh times you want it always stays primed. Although from experience i do regret not drilling my 75 gallon as algae starts and coralline starts to collect in the u tubes and within 2 weeks the amount of water that passes to the sump slows down which throws the ATO off.
On this I’ve walked right in to the store with sunglasses and a laptop/tablet. Store manager came over and watched me go through them; afterwards he restocked with what he “thought” were tempered vs non... gave him my $.02 and said just don’t tell anyone they “are” or “are not” tempered!
I was going for a couple of 40b’s; the manager and I went through 7 or 8 tanks before we found 2 that could be drilled. Like @Peace River stated my experience is being able to find drillable tanks at Petco.
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