Reef ready tank or drill myself?

[Dom]

I'd go reef-ready. But that's probably because I'm losing interest in the hobby and don't have the ambition for it the way I used to.

 

[Jberge]

Sorry, I meant how experienced at drilling tanks LOL. It is not hard, but a little experience does help.

Oh gotcha lol. I thought you were asking for another reason. I’ve never drilled a tank but I’m in construction so I do have experience drilling fragile materials and using diamond hole saws

 

[ca1ore]

Then you'll be good. Same concept as a wet saw. Lots of water and take your time .....

 

[Jberge]

Then you'll be good. Same concept as a wet saw. Lots of water and take your time .....

That’s what I figured. Do you have any issue with the plumbing being behind the tank where it’s not accessible

 

[ca1ore]

You will need to have some access. 210 is only 24" wide so getting to the top of the external box is pretty easy. It's rare, but not unheard of, that you'll need to get to the plumbing under the external box. I usually mount the overflow towards one end of the tank so that I can reach more easily.

 

[Jberge]

You will need to have some access. 210 is only 24" wide so getting to the top of the external box is pretty easy. It's rare, but not unheard of, that you'll need to get to the plumbing under the external box. I usually mount the overflow towards one end of the tank so that I can reach more easily.

That makes sense. And then I suppose it’s better to get one of the higher gph boxes with 3 drain holes? Separate question, would you drill for 2 return nozzles?

 

[ca1ore]

I don't personally drill through the back for the returns. In order to maintain safe boundary distances with the diamond drill, the return ends up being too far down and drain back is a problem (I don't use/like check valves). So, I just go over the rim. Mine is an eurobraced acrylic tanks, so I was able to drill through the brace, but over the rim works fine too. Use black PVC and it's quite unobtrusive. I just use a single return because I'm pumping back from the basement and need to eliminate any and all possible friction losses - so no Ts, minimal elbows and no locline.

 

[piranhaman00]

Drilled is the way to go, I do however have a life reef overflow box that has never lost syphon and I dont worry about it. I do have a level sensor in the tank in case it fails however lol.

 

[nereefpat]

Another vote for staying away from "reef ready" and drilling yourself. Those megaflow type things take up way too much space.

Then you'll be good. Same concept as a wet saw. Lots of water and take your time .....

Another tip, along with the water, that I would give is to make a template of some kind. Those hole saws don't have the center drill bit to keep the hole stable, so drilling through a piece of acrylic or something and then taping it to the tank works well.

 

[Soren]

Another vote for staying away from "reef ready" and drilling yourself. Those megaflow type things take up way too much space.


Another tip, along with the water, that I would give is to make a template of some kind. Those hole saws don't have the center drill bit to keep the hole stable, so drilling through a piece of acrylic or something and then taping it to the tank works well.

+1 on the template. I recently bought two 1200gph Modular Marine overflows for my 75-gallon and 90-gallon tanks. This was my first time drilling glass, but all 4 holes went very well. The overflows came with a template that I consider indispensable for glass drilling. The glass hole cutter was held neatly in place in the template during the entire drilling process which made it much simpler.

 

[Super Fly]

Now if each internal overflow only has 2 holes, 1 drain, 1 return, I couldn’t do a bean animal, right?

that is correct, need 3 holes for bean animal. Re. ur tank size question, since u r upgrading and experienced reefer I'd recommend going w 210. IMO u'd probably regret not going bigger like myself when I went from 65 cube to 93 cube... oh how quickly I wished I'd gone bigger. ;Facepalm

 

[Devaji]

I was considering glass cages. If I brought that size tank into the house, I’d be thrown out of the house lol

well they do make any size you want. might be able to get in a few extta gallon by the other half..lol

but come on 210 vs 300 not much difference in size really just tell her that is a 210...LOL

 

[Jberge]

that is correct, need 3 holes for bean animal. Re. ur tank size question, since u r upgrading and experienced reefer I'd recommend going w 210. IMO u'd probably regret not going bigger like myself when I went from 65 cube to 93 cube... oh how quickly I wished I'd gone bigger. ;Facepalm

Thanks, yeah I decided 210 is the way to go

 

[nereefpat]

Now if each internal overflow only has 2 holes, 1 drain, 1 return, I couldn’t do a bean animal, right?

Correct. But you an do a Herbie, with 1 siphon and 1 trickle/emergency, if you run your return over the back.

 

[Jberge]

Another vote for staying away from "reef ready" and drilling yourself. Those megaflow type things take up way too much space.


Another tip, along with the water, that I would give is to make a template of some kind. Those hole saws don't have the center drill bit to keep the hole stable, so drilling through a piece of acrylic or something and then taping it to the tank works well.

Yeah I’ve always cut an identical size hole in plywood as a template when I’m drilling tile, otherwise it’s impossible and it helps hold water