Enlarging the tank overflow and return holes, Yes or No

[falcam7]

Question to the group,

I have a 135-gallon tank, which came with a 1" hole for overflows, which it will take a 1" bulkhead and the return holes to the tank are 1/2", which it will take 1/2" bulkheads(this holes are in the center of the bottom glass) :? :? :? . I know it is too small.

I have to break down the tank to re-do the plumbing to accommodate my new sump, add sand (which it never had) and a new bigger return pump

I was thinking, that while I had it all empty(all 350 pounds of live rock, and fish), I could take it to a good glass place and have the holes for the overflow enlarge from 1" to 2" and the return holes back to the tank moved from the center of the bottom glass to the corners outside of the overflow boxes. And make them 1.5" from 1/2"

I need the groups advise on this subject and a place to take the tank to get this done, (unless they do house call), either in Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock and even Georgetown,

Please advice. :( :( :( :(

1)Should I even try to enlarge the holes?

2)Or I should just leave it like that and find a work around it.

3) I do know that I run the risk of the glass cracking or breaking

Thanks,

[Tim Marvin]

Definately enlarge them! The glass shops can cut the holes for you easy enough.

[NaCl_H2O]

If anything, the return(s) (Guess that means you have two or more?) at 1/2" are on the small side. If there are 2+ 1/2" returns you can conect them to a larger dia manifold to the outlet of your return pump and that would be OK.

What pump are you using for a return?

For the drain, 1" is OK. If I were you, I would get a second 1" drilled and add another overflow. Two will give you better water movement and provides redundancy if one gets clogged with a snail or something.

I agree w/Joshua on the low (5X) sump turnover & provide the rest via closed loops, powerheads, etc.

- Steve

[matt]

There are a few things about this post that I don't understand. First, 1" bulkheads take holes in the glass either 1 7/8" or 1 3/4". 1/2" bulkheads, which are only appropriate for tiny tanks, take 1 1/4" holes I think. If you really have 1" holes, and 1/2" holes, I think you're looking at useless holes. If those size bulkheads are in your tank now, you definitely have bigger holes. The size for 1.5" bulkheads is pretty big, like 2.5" holes or something like that. Nothing wrong with a couple of those for overflow; I suppose you have corner overflow boxes, correct? How big are they? How deep are the notches in them? All these things will determine the drain capacity of your tank; it could be if you have small overflow boxes, going to 1.5" bulkheads will not increase your capacity at all.

About the return holes, we're talking about holes in the bottom of the aquarium through which water returns from the sump, goes up a pipe or something like that, and shoots out a nozzle? Is that right? Is there any sort of dam or overflow type box surrounding these holes? If not, you are flirting with disaster, as the saying goes. If there were ever a leak at one of these bulkheads, which believe me happens ALOT more often than you'd think, your entire tank would drain. I honestly can't picture this being the case, so I'm assuming those holes are protected by some sort of dam. If it were my tank, I'd absolutely seal those holes and just run the returns over the side of the tank. Or, build or buy a dam to keep the tank from draining out those holes. I think dealing with this situation is way more important than the size of the bulkheads.

It's true you don't need too much flow through a sump if you have good circulation within the tank, but for a 135, you probably want 1000gph or so. This can still be very quiet if your overflows/standpipes/plumbing is set up well. Besides, it will slow down, you can be sure of that.

Good luck!

[CD]

Matt-

Carlos definitely has 1" bulkheads inside the overflow boxes.
1-1" in each corner overflow. I have seen his tank which has alot of rock but it didn't appear that there was any type of dam or anything around the returns (I may be wrong here as I couldn't see under the rock). The returns are definitely outside of the overflow boxes in the corners.

As for dimensions of the overflow boxes, here is what Carlos said in a different thread:


The overflows are 23" x 5" x 5" each side has 8 opening, each opening is 1/4" apart and they 1" deep cut.

HTH.
Chris

Carlos- I will give you a call later today once my company leaves.

[falcam7]

Thanks to Chris, Matt, Joshua, Steve and Tim.

For taking the time to reply to my post. Chris thanks you for chiming in and helping me explain. Matt I think this tank was meant for African cichlids, because why would someone drill the return holes back to the tank in the middle of the bottom glass. Plus the canopy that came with it is to close to the surface of the water. (Chris is going to help me built a new reef ready canopy)

Matt: as Chris explained on his post. It does have two holes in each corner for the overflow. And Chris has posted the size and description of what I have.
I am going to take out the middle bulkhead from the bottom of the tank (this one is not been used) and try to measure the diameter of the hole. I pray to GOD that you are correct about the measurements.

I have not bought a pump yet, because of the plumbing issue. I do not have any power heads yet, to create current. I will be getting some next year. I just want a pump that will handle what ever for plumbing, since it is going to have to be internal, it cannot get too hot, plus it has to be quite.

The pump I have right now with the old sump, I am using right now. It is a quite one pump (and believe me, it is super quite) but of course it is one of the first models and when it get too hot, it will turn off. So I have couple fans running over it and those are the only things you hear the two fans.

I do love my free 135 gallon show tank 72" x 18.5" x 25", but it needs a lot of work before it becomes reef ready. And as you all know, it is not cheap. i have a new euro-reef CS8-3 skimmer(which it did not have one) I had a brad new sump built 54" x 15" X 18". 21" of it is for the refuguim.

Next year I will be re-doing the lighting. Currently it has 2-175w MH, and 2-40W actinic. I am hoping to upgrade to 3 250 MH and VHO or T 5's.

I am also will be adding the tunze turbelle 6000 with the multi controller 7095 with the night sensor.

All this not cheap and I have a respect for all of you that have been doing this for a while and have multiple tanks. I really feel like a small fish in a big pond with way larger fihes like you all experts.

I am hoping to get some good answer and join the elite like you all our.

Thanks to all of you for trying to help this really reef rookie.

Thank you very much to you guys, who have answer me so far I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

CD: I will be waiting for your call later. Tell Wendy that I have sent her 2 pm.

Anyway I hope to find answer on how to redo my plumbing problem. I need bigger plumbing at least 1.5" or maybe 1" to the sump and 1" or maybe 3/4" back to the tank. Only then I will know for sure what kind of new pump(internal (submerge) or external) to buy.

Thanks

[matt]

Carlos;

If your overflow boxes are only 5" by 5" you might as well forget 1.5" bulkheads in them. Also, I'm not sure how you're going to get a standpipe in such small overflows, but there's probably a way. I think you want the modified durso or stockman pipes. You can do a search for these designs; you make them yourself out of PVC.

Still, you really have to deal with the holes in the bottom of your tank that are outside the overflow boxes. That's a very dangerous scenario IMO. Maybe you can put bulkheads with plugs in them, but I'd look into the idea of covering them with glass plates siliconed in place, on both sides of the tank bottom. I don't know, maybe that's a bad idea, but I'd think about it and ask some people that make tanks. If it were acrylic, I would definitely patch over the holes with acrylic, cemented in place with weldon #40. If the return holes are near the boxes, like just outside them, you could deal with the whole situation by building (or have Dan do it) larger overflow boxes so that all the holes in the bottom of the tank are contained within these boxes. Building the corner boxes and installing them is not such a big deal.

As far as the hole sizes go, definitely don't take my word for it; measure what you have, and buy the bulkheads you want before drilling anything. The size hole needed is on the label stuck to the bulkhead usually. I bet you have 3/4" bulkheads for the returns; 1/2" is really small and typically not used for large tanks.

Now, for your pump, almost any internal pump will transfer more heat to your tank than an external, which are air-cooled. The quiet one that you have is an unusually hot external, kind of like the velocity pumps. Why do you need a submersible pump for your new set-up? You could get a nice iwaki or pan world; this would be much more reliable than any submersible and run cooler.

good luck Carlos!

[Tim Marvin]

Matt covered it pretty well.
You don't need tons of flow through the sump, but try filling a tank and wish later you had put in large diameter bulkheads. A 1.5 inch bulhead can handle all the water flow even with a turbo snail crawling in it. Yes you can put screen and numerous other things to keep critters out, but just let that tank overflow all over the house one time and see what you think of the screen covered with caulerpa, a fish, snail, slug, or????? Oh, and while your cleaning up the spill ask you wife what she thinks....LOL.... JK, if you value your life.... I use a 1.5 inch overflow, a mag 9 return, and tunze 6060 for flow on my 90 gallon corner tank. The acroporas have to hold onto the rocks with both hands. Just 2 pumps run the whole tank.....

[falcam7]

Thank you Matt and Tim for tanking the time to help me with this.

Matt: the tank has been running for about 2 years the way it is. A friend of mine gave me the tank about a year ago. It came with the cherry oak stand and Hood. 135-gallon tank drilled (by him I guess) 350 lbs of live rock and 8 fish (4 false clowns, 1 Fuji devil, 1 engineer goby, 1 yellow and 1 regal tang) and my favorite a big sea urchin. Of course a 20-gallon sump and a quite one pump. 2-175 MH and 2-40 w actinic.

Since I got the new skimmer and new sump. I figured I would upgrade the plumbing before I placed those two items.

I do have a 1 1/4 Durso stand pipe on the 1" bulkhead inside of the overflow.

I would love to stay with an external pump, but when the new sump was built, no holes were predrilled for a bulkhead. It is that after buying the CS8-3 euro reef skimmer and the new sump, my budget is pretty low. I think I have around $150.00 to send on a new pump, inter or external and still have to pay the club membership fee. Because of my current situation with the plumbing. Whatever pump I buy needs to be quite and, run cool and efficient.

The tank is in the living room and the wife is not too crazy about the hobby (she says that it is a very expensive hobby, if she only knew) which pan world pump would you recommend? The 100PX-X?

But this plumbing stuff seems to be a greater problem than I thought. I will read all your post and make up my mind on what to do.


Tim: thanks for your help. If you do not mind, I would like to give you a call later, since you live close to me (Pflugerville).

Thanks for everything and advise to both of you, Matt, Tim and everyone else that wrote on this post.