Wet/Dry or drilled better?

[Alamo]

I have my 125 staring at me, taunting me to come and play with it.. My RO is in the mail, my base rock is in the mail, the sand is in Texas I think :lol: My tank is not drilled and I was gonna go the overflow box down to the wet dry, but now im thinking its gonna push it too far away from the wall, or at least farther away than I want it.... anyone have a good guesstimate on wall clearance drilled pipes vrs overflow box would be, and who does tank drilling in SA thats reasonable... I have no experiance with drilled tanks so im a little leary of the whole thing... :shock:

[Ross]

If you get holes drilled in the bottom then you can put very close to the wall. If you get holes in the back you can still put it closer to the wall then w/an overflow box. I would definetly recomend getting your tank drilled.....almost every very nice tank is drilled instead of an overflow. Thad Zeigler drilled my first tank and cracked it.....Aquatic Warehouse drilled 2 holes in my 2nd tank and both are fine. There shouldnt be a problem as long as the tank is fairly new and good quality(thick glass).

[NaCl_H2O]

Drill it! An overflow/siphon hang-on is a flood waiting to happen! I have been running overflow boxes on my two tanks for over a year, they require continuous monitoring to avoid the flood.

The down side to drilling is it does take up some space in the tank. Make sure your in-tank overflow(s) have enough capacity for your sump return pump.

Oh yea, by drilling your tank, no clearance behind is required :)

[GaryP]

I run both drilled and undrilled. DRILL IT!

I'm planning a replacement for my undrilled tank now. Get Dan to make your overflow for you. As a suggestion, you might think about a Calfo overflow. That's what's going in my next tank. There are some water quality advantages to a Calfo, and it doesn't take up as much tank space where you need it. Just my opinion.

BTW, why are are you putting in a wet/dry? I would suggest a refugium instead. Again, talk to Dan, he makes both.

Gary

[dan]

if you go with a hang on overflow that i build, the clearance that you need behind the tank is 4 1/2'' min. if you drill you can put the tank up against the wall. you'll have a little space because of the base board. i would get it drilled. that way you have no problem with air collecting in the overflow tubes. i can build the interior overflows for you. one in each corner or a three sided one in the center of the tank.i build the overflows in black. if you prefer calfo thats no problem either. btw WELLCOME TO MAAST!!!!!!!! :D :D

[Alamo]

excellent info, I didnt even think about drilling in the bottom... I have a wet dry overflow on my 40 and it hasent ever caused me a problem, I just start the siphon and forget about it... is there a company that will come to my house and do the drilling if I go that route... this is a big tank.... I was going to buy one of Dans overflow sump integrated skimmer jobbies over at alamo aquatics for 300 $... can i get this puppy drilled overflowed and skimmer sumped on the same budget?

PS whats a calfo... I googled it and eneded up on reefkeeping .com on his bio , but couldnt find a specialized overflow design by him...

[SaltyJim]

One thing to make of BEFORE you drill is that the bottom of the tank is not tempered glass. I beleive that all Oceanic brand tanks are tempered glass on the bottom, but drilling the back glass would be ok. Tempered glass usually has some sort of logo or seal to indicate.

Jim

[brewercm]

I had my 180 drilled at the Forever Pets on Basse Road for $20 a piece and they did a great job.
You'll need to get it there but they have people that will load and unload it for you once you get it there.

[Ross]

Calfo is holes drilled in the back of the tank and 90degree pvc that the water flows down through.

[Alamo]

Okay and if i do get it drilled what size... how many holes for a 125 ? 2 ?

[matt]

If you do a search on reefcentral or reefs.org for "calfo overflow" you'll find info about it. This is definitely the way to go; basically there's a shelf which allows the entire length of the tank to functon as an overflow without taking any space on the bottom of the tank, and is much quieter, and has much better flow capacity, and is much less likely to get stopped up by a snail. Probably three holes would work for a 125, but go for 1.5" bulkheads. Maybe a little overkill, but I bet you won't regret it.

Oh yeah, a great place to see drawings and designs for the calfo overflow, and lots of other great ideas, is Anthony Calfo's book, but I forget what it's called. someone here will know. Have fun; sure wish I was still building skimmers!

P.S. for those who might be wondering, looks like the summer before I can get a shop up and running :cry: