Teresa Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Question for everyone: I bought an overflow for my cardiff because I was too nervous to drill. Drs Foster and Smith were having a sale on overflows so instead of buying the nano size and restricting my flow, I bought the pf 800 so I would never have to worry about being restricted with the amount of flow. 'Course now the overflow box won't fit into the back compartment unless I make some modifications. I've got some options and I'm wondering what everyone's opinion is as to what I should do. Option 1: Modify the overflow box. I can modify the internal box by cutting off one side and making it small enough to fit into the back compartment. This would involve me cutting off the end and then cutting the box in half. I can then reattach the end with glue and silocone for a water proof seal. The main draw back is I just purchase this overflow box and it seems wasteful to cut it up from the get go. Option 2: Return the box and buy the smaller version First, I'm not good about returning anything - so It'll probably just sit at my house for a while collecting dust. Second, if I buy the nano version, my flow is restricted to 200 gph. Option 3: Cut out the back compartment on my cardiff This could be cool, cause it would make my tank bigger and since I'm adding a sump, I don't really need the back compartment. The downside is that this tank was expensive, it's really nicely put together and I might end up making a mess of it. Plus, there's the hassel of trying to take out the back compartment with tank mostly full or empty it into buckets. Ideas, opinions, other options??? Some internet pictures to give you an idea what I'm talking about: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I would just hook it up to a ball valve which you can manually restrict the flow on it as well as install a durso standpipe to silence any noise. Just google durso standpipe but it's just a couple pieces that'll cost you less than $5 to put together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 My vote would be a totally different direction. Hire someone to punch holes in the tank. Overflow boxes are so risky :/ I know a few professional installers, and they all poopoo overflow boxes every chance they get. If you are set on overflows, I'd go the route that would allow you to modify as little as possible. Really, you shouldn't be deriving a ton of flow from your sump loop anyway, and should be using alternate flow sources to get the bulk of you water moving. My 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 I thought about putting option 4 as Drill the tank. the problem is the person has to come to my home. The tank is fully established and there is no way I could move it. Who could I call to do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Something to ponder is to pull your livestock and keep them in a rubbermaid for a few days. I wouldnt think that it would be any worse than when people move their tanks cross town, which happens frequently. I've just heard too many horror stories where HOB overflows plug up and you end up dumping your entire sump on the floor. You'd have to empty the tank to drill and do bulkheads anyway, so at that point you could cart the tank to someone who could install the necessary hardware. I think prof offers this service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 Well option 3 is definitely out now that I've done some research. Some people have done it successfully, but others ended up with a small tear in the corner seal that eventually led to a huge leak. I'm still really nervous about drilling. I also read some stories about that not going very well either . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+reeflover Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 I thought about putting option 4 as Drill the tank. the problem is the person has to come to my home. The tank is fully established and there is no way I could move it. Who could I call to do that? I was nervous about drilling the tank too but I just drilled 2 holes to my cube tank. It was a lot easier than I thought. There is a video you can watch from glass- holes.com which is where i bought my overflow box from. At first I took my tank to prof but he took so long and wasnt able to get I done. Even Shane from fishy business would take 3 days after I checked with him then I decided to drill myself. One big advice from Jake at RCA is to drill from inside out, that way The side where you would put the bulk head gasket is nice and clean compare to other side would have more chip when the drill go through. Also have some thing to support underneath side when the drill cut through. This is when people crack their tank due to losing balance holding the drill. I drilled 1" and 2" holes in 15 mins even though this was my first time. As long the side of the glass is not tempered you will be fine. Otherwiswe take it to Shane at fishy business. I could also loan you my drill bits and practice on a piece of glass before practice on you tank. lmk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Teresa, You have a very nice looking tank. I vote with Victoly on installing drill thru bulkhead connectors. I also agree with him on not needing large flow rates in the sump/refugium.. The end product will be much cleaner looking. If this is more than you want to do, then get the smaller overflow box. I have used refugiums for more than twenty years and I like them. However on my 135G deep tank, all the biology will be done in tank with deep sand beds and abundant macro in tank. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Teresa, I am confused about the back compartment on your present display tank. Can you describe it better? What is the point of the back compartment? Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 It's basically just in "intank" sump created with a false back. I have something similar in a Biocube29. You can stick your skimmer/heater/misc stuff back there to keep it from cluttering the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Posted April 27, 2012 Author Share Posted April 27, 2012 It's basically just in "intank" sump created with a false back. I have something similar in a Biocube29. You can stick your skimmer/heater/misc stuff back there to keep it from cluttering the tank. Exactly. I liked the look of the All in Ones. But now I'm looking for a larger filtration area. This is my seahorse tank that currently has tons of sea fans and pipefish. I've been having difficulty keeping parameters in check and feeding the tank enough to keep the fans happy. In the back, I currently have a mini refugium, turf scrubber (which I love and would keep), and intake to a magnum 350 canister filter to chiller loop. I also have carbon, filter floss and purigen. All of these are still not enough to keep the hair algae in check. I'm not sure I could drill it from the inside out since the false back wall will definitely be in the way. I'm also open to other ideas for filtration that would be different than a sump. I guess I just assumed that expanding the water volume and adding a lot more live rock to a sump would be the best "bang for the buck." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 If it's the algae your fighting why not pick up a phosban reactor and rawaphos. This is a better option since its sole purpose it to remove phosphate which is what algae feed off of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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