Overflow questions

[Vstar99]

Hello All
I have been stuck on my project, building area for 55 gallon tank. My issue is that i have 2 rooms that will be separated by my tank. The tank will act as my separating wall. With that said my plumbing will be kind of hidden by the sheet rock. it pretty much complete but my concern is that way i built it i have little space for the overflow box (hang on, on the side of the tank not the back due to that both side of tank will be visible). I have illustrated 2 overflow boxes in url. Need info on which one is best. pros and cons would be helpful. In this case then i will modify wall to fit respectfully. thanks in advanced - E!
http://develop.webheadgroup.com/naca/overflow_ill.htm

[subsailor]

IMO Hands down Drilled, With a overflow box style if you lose your siphon on a power outage there is a possibility of the box not starting back up and your tank overflowing so you are relying on something mechanical in order to keep things goin, whereas with a drilled tank you are relying on gravity. Mechanical things will fail. It is not a matter of if it is a matter of when. Gravity will never let you down.

[ErikH]

The only time I have ever lost siphon was when I was messing around with mine. In your case, it would probably be harder to start the siphon since you wont have much acess to the space in the back of the box to run tubing to start it. If you decide the box is your only route, you could take the u shaped tube and put a hole in the very top with a valve. Attach airline to it, open it, and start your siphon via suction. I would seriously consider drilling in your case.

The other thing to remember is ventilation as you do not want soggy walls. :)

[Vstar99]

Thanks subsailor and ScorpiNo....for the replys, seems like the drill out bulk head is the best option... i do how some follow up questions. Questions are on the updated illustration.
I have updated the images http://develop.webheadgroup.com/naca/overflow_ill.htm
You can see where i will be placing tank here: http://develop.webheadgroup.com/naca/fountain/default.htm
I will try to post actual images for better illustration. Thanks! - E!

[ErikH]

That's a Durso Standpipe...
http://www.dursostandpipes.com/

the reason for the hole is to run airline down into the PVC to allow air to escape. It should eliminate any gurgles.

They are recommended by most people with that setup.