Glass lip on 150 Gallon tank interfering with overflow

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Boaz1021

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I would much rather use a table saw to cut ~1/8 off the top of the inside weir box then dork around with the existing holes in the glass.
I cut the holes in the glass to start with, they weren't *technically* already existing. Lol

However, I was able to grind the holes a little larger at the bottom, so that now the weir fits (snugly, mind you). I had bought thicker/ larger gaskets from BRS already, and used those against the glass on the outside, and I'm not seeing any leaks yet. Btw, the water level in the tank to get over the slots in the weir almost completely fills up the overflow, is that normal? 20210804_184723.jpg 20210804_185259.jpg
 

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I cut the holes in the glass to start with, they weren't *technically* already existing. Lol

However, I was able to grind the holes a little larger at the bottom, so that now the weir fits (snugly, mind you). I had bought thicker/ larger gaskets from BRS already, and used those against the glass on the outside, and I'm not seeing any leaks yet. Btw, the water level in the tank to get over the slots in the weir almost completely fills up the overflow, is that normal? 20210804_184723.jpg 20210804_185259.jpg
Yea because it’s not plumbed in. So the water is going to level itself with the tank as is.
 

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It is just BAAARREEELLLY too high. Maybe a 1/16th of an inch. I'm thinking I'll just use the diamond hole saw and make the hole a little bigger on the bottom, without going too big so that it won't seal.

I would have preferred to just cut the top layer of glass off, but if that's a no-no, I'll just try shifting the hole down a little and hope that makes it work.
If you want to try to widen the whole then please don’t try to cut out a partial hole on the existing. Glass can only tolerate so much and that’s risky. Instead use a smaller holesaw bit and wrap some sand paper around it, sanding away the glass is a lot safer, takes more time but I’ve done it and it will work. Don’t need to go slow but you should start slow to make sure you got a steady hand and wear some ppe to avoid inhaling the dust or glass chips flying up. I used 120grit sandpaper from CRL.
 

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89C7863C-EAEC-40A9-AD79-4B05F3A0A89F.jpeg


Not the best photo, but the main problem I see in your current set up is that you don’t have much margin of error for water level fluctuations; for example when the power and the pump cut out, and then come back on. There is often a water surge that takes from seconds to minutes to level off. You can see my emergency drain pipe to the right. Notice I have plenty of room for the water level to come up and over the emergency drain, without overflowing the box. Your pipe and water level seem to be almost to the top of the box as is. In a very high ‘resting’ state if you will. I hope that makes sense.
 

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Same thing happened to me. The template did not account for the lid to my overflow and having the box that high left little room for adjusting flow/waterline. Modular marine told me it doesn’t happen that often but after seeing this thread and the responses. I’m thinking it does and we just find a fix, instead of asking for a new box configuration.
very true. ouch! Drilling for many of these kit and all the different manufactures... these are not as easy as they look sometimes. measure and measure and measure and test and test and test and then do it again. Typically with a brace, its good to do a little pretend and place the interior box in the tank and then line up the template as to make sure you have enough interior space. Or use the template on the inside were the brace can obstruct the interior box. Tough.
 
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89C7863C-EAEC-40A9-AD79-4B05F3A0A89F.jpeg


Not the best photo, but the main problem I see in your current set up is that you don’t have much margin of error for water level fluctuations; for example when the power and the pump cut out, and then come back on. There is often a water surge that takes from seconds to minutes to level off. You can see my emergency drain pipe to the right. Notice I have plenty of room for the water level to come up and over the emergency drain, without overflowing the box. Your pipe and water level seem to be almost to the top of the box as is. In a very high ‘resting’ state if you will. I hope that makes sense.
So, are you saying I need to make the vents on the weir longer/lower so that it let's water in sooner? Someone else had said that it was just because the water wasn't flowing, which is true since I was just test fitting and leak testing the overflow box.

I guess I'm going to have to play with the water levels until I find the right one, once I get the tank inside, on its stand and level.

Side note, where/what kind of fittings are you using on your return lines to get through the tank? Does their height matter in reference to the holes for the overflow?
 
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89C7863C-EAEC-40A9-AD79-4B05F3A0A89F.jpeg


Not the best photo, but the main problem I see in your current set up is that you don’t have much margin of error for water level fluctuations; for example when the power and the pump cut out, and then come back on. There is often a water surge that takes from seconds to minutes to level off. You can see my emergency drain pipe to the right. Notice I have plenty of room for the water level to come up and over the emergency drain, without overflowing the box. Your pipe and water level seem to be almost to the top of the box as is. In a very high ‘resting’ state if you will. I hope that makes sense.
So, are you saying I need to make the vents on the weir longer/lower so that it let's water in sooner? Someone else had said that it was just because the water wasn't flowing, which is true since I was just test fitting and leak testing the overflow box.

I guess I'm going to have to play with the water levels until I find the right one, once I get the tank inside, on its stand and level.

Side note, where/what kind of fittings are you using on your return lines to get through the tank? Does their height matter in reference to the holes for the overflow
very true. ouch! Drilling for many of these kit and all the different manufactures... these are not as easy as they look sometimes. measure and measure and measure and test and test and test and then do it again. Typically with a brace, its good to do a little pretend and place the interior box in the tank and then line up the template as to make sure you have enough interior space. Or use the template on the inside were the brace can obstruct the interior box. Tough.
I did that, it was just hard to tell exactly where the weir was going to sit on the template on the inside. I'm guessing I was off by that 1/16th of an inch. That might have even been because the holes in the template are bigger than the hole saw sent with the kit. It took a little bit of extra labor, but I think it's working well now. I have water in it and haven't had any leaks since I put it together. Which is amazing considering I had leaks all the way until I made that hole a little bigger and put the weir in on the opposite side. I think part of my leak problem was the overflow tank hitting the lip of the frame on the back and tilting the overflow box slightly. Which, after I moved the holes down, and used the thicker gasket, the top of the overflow was no longer hitting the rim of the tank.
 

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Well I'm glad to hear it worked and you are not leaking water.

Your over flow is working fine. If you want to check it, place a 5 gallon bucket under the overflow and pull one of your plugs to see what I mean. You have them blocked off so once the water level reaches the weir teeth, it overflows into the rear chamber and levels off with the water in the display. Uncork one of those plugs and the overflow will drain and gulp air until the water level in the display reaches the bottom of the weir teeth.


You need to set the exterior overflow water height with a small stand pipe on your secondary drain. Your emergency drain will be slightly higher than you secondary drain incase of, emergency. Your main drain will need a ball or gate valve to allow water to barely flow over the secondary drain. That eliminates the surging/gulping of the main drain.
 

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So, are you saying I need to make the vents on the weir longer/lower so that it let's water in sooner? Someone else had said that it was just because the water wasn't flowing, which is true since I was just test fitting and leak testing the overflow box.

I guess I'm going to have to play with the water levels until I find the right one, once I get the tank inside, on its stand and level.

Side note, where/what kind of fittings are you using on your return lines to get through the tank? Does their height matter in reference to the holes for the overflow

I did that, it was just hard to tell exactly where the weir was going to sit on the template on the inside. I'm guessing I was off by that 1/16th of an inch. That might have even been because the holes in the template are bigger than the hole saw sent with the kit. It took a little bit of extra labor, but I think it's working well now. I have water in it and haven't had any leaks since I put it together. Which is amazing considering I had leaks all the way until I made that hole a little bigger and put the weir in on the opposite side. I think part of my leak problem was the overflow tank hitting the lip of the frame on the back and tilting the overflow box slightly. Which, after I moved the holes down, and used the thicker gasket, the top of the overflow was no longer hitting the rim of the tank.
@Boaz1021, I am so glad this worked out!!!!

its really tough when something like this becomes fatal for the tank. Horrible. I truly know from experience. such a major ouch!

thanks goodness this worked out and your journey continues. YES!
 
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@Boaz1021, I am so glad this worked out!!!!

its really tough when something like this becomes fatal for the tank. Horrible. I truly know from experience. such a major ouch!

thanks goodness this worked out and your journey continues. YES!
Thanks to you and the rest whom commented for all of the help. My venture into this hobby so far would not have been possible without all of you.
 
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