How many of you have tanks that aren't reef ready?

[KarenM]

I'm assuming reef ready means "drilled" or has the holes in bottom and on the side, right? I'm checking ads on a number of websites and all of them seem to have saltwater tanks that don't appear to have holes anywhere. Is it more common to have a tank with the holes, or without them?

[Beretta]

Drilled tanks make life much easier. After I get the stuff in my freshwater tank sold, I'm taking it somewhere to get it drilled.

[Joseph9123]

two tank non reef ready with external overflow and one reef ready. I love external bc it doesn't take up all that space for me to put my corals.

-Joseph

[cmanning]

I agree w/Beretta...IMO reef ready is much better. There's no hang over pipes, skimmers, heaters......almost everything can be hidden under w/sump. Noise reduction is a plus and you can custom build your cabinetry.

[KarenM]

I'm just afraid of leaks. I have a mental block against holes in aquariums.

[chatfouz]

I'm just afraid of leaks. I have a mental block against holes in aquariums.

like screen doors on submarines?

[cmanning]

I'm just afraid of leaks. I have a mental block against holes in aquariums.

I can understand, been there. I think what gets me the most is electrical cords and water. At first, I left all the wiring and power strips to my husband, let the pro handle it (15+ yrs. experience) that should count for something, thank goodness for GFIs'. But always test for water leaks before anything, bulkheads usually come with a rubber washer to make a good seal and that's to prevent leakage. Sometimes taking slow is better.

[+dapettit]

I'm just afraid of leaks. I have a mental block against holes in aquariums.

Robin has the same fear. That's why I will be filling the tank with freshwater (after hooking up all the plumbing) and let it run for awhile, checking for leaks, in the garage before moving it into the house. Better to flood the garage than flood the house!

Like cmanning said "Sometimes taking slow is better."

[KarenM]

I agree w/Beretta...IMO reef ready is much better. There's no hang over pipes, skimmers, heaters......almost everything can be hidden under w/sump. Noise reduction is a plus and you can custom build your cabinetry.

Can't you still have a sump without a drilled tank, and just have the hoses hanging over the back? I really want a 90 gal, but the drilled ones are just too expensive. I just can't see me plunking down that much for a tank considering I've got property taxes out the wazoo due. My only option is to buy a new one and put it on a credit card, but then I hate doing that because I'm allergic to paying finance charges.

How bad would it look to have the sump and everything, just the hoses hanging over the back? And can you do that if the tank has a canopy?

[chatfouz]

Can't you still have a sump without a drilled tank, and just have the hoses hanging over the back? I really want a 90 gal, but the drilled ones are just too expensive. I just can't see me plunking down that much for a tank considering I've got property taxes out the wazoo due. My only option is to buy a new one and put it on a credit card, but then I hate doing that because I'm allergic to paying finance charges.

How bad would it look to have the sump and everything, just the hoses hanging over the back? And can you do that if the tank has a canopy?

IT is possible. and no it does not look bad, at least i dont think so. especially if you have a canopy, then what you see is about the same as drilled tanks. if you dont want a drilled tank buy a tank then get an overflow box, around 60-90$ at lfs. or you could always make your own, dont recomend it though. but thats me, delicate work like that is worth 60$ than 30$ in supplies and 5 hours of work... same thing to me...

back to subject. it does not look bad. put the sump and all that under the tank in the stand. and as far as stuff in the tank all you see is the overflow box usually low profile, and whatever you use as return. the rest, skimmer, heater, uv filter or whatever fanacy device is under your tank. ive done it that way and while from the side if you look behind the tank it looks a mess but easy way to fix that is add a narrow curtain over the back the space between the wall and tank. then you dont notice it at all. drilled tanks are nice, but by no means can you live without it.

overflow box down to sump. pump back to tank. the overflow box is basically a device that hangs on the back and does what a hole would do. it will do what you want to do.

Edited October 2, 2007 by chatfouz

[KarenM]

OK, I can probably live with that. Actually I'm going to have to live with that. I love this hobby and I would love to have the best of the best, but the ugly truth is that I just can't be spending too awful much on it. There's just not much left after the house, taxes, college fund, etc. ;-}

And I'm limited for space, too. I haven't measured for exact numbers but I'm thinking not much more than 48" wide. I'd like a 90, but it has the same footprint of a 75, only it's taller. Being shorter, the 75 would keep my livestock closer to the lights but won't give me much room by the time all the rock is in there. So I'd like something deeper than the 19" (or however deep the 75 is).

Stephen's tank is something like 50x24x24. That's a perfect tank for me, but the stand and canopy are more rustic and my house is more Pier 1. Also I don't think I can afford his system, let alone work it properly.

Looking on the internet I'm not seeing these odd sized tanks. Where would be a good place to look?

[chatfouz]

OK, I can probably live with that. Actually I'm going to have to live with that. I love this hobby and I would love to have the best of the best, but the ugly truth is that I just can't be spending too awful much on it. There's just not much left after the house, taxes, college fund, etc. ;-}

And I'm limited for space, too. I haven't measured for exact numbers but I'm thinking not much more than 48" wide. I'd like a 90, but it has the same footprint of a 75, only it's taller. Being shorter, the 75 would keep my livestock closer to the lights but won't give me much room by the time all the rock is in there. So I'd like something deeper than the 19" (or however deep the 75 is).

Stephen's tank is something like 50x24x24. That's a perfect tank for me, but the stand and canopy are more rustic and my house is more Pier 1. Also I don't think I can afford his system, let alone work it properly.

Looking on the internet I'm not seeing these odd sized tanks. Where would be a good place to look?

check stores. call the local stores. also many small stores can speecial order. well i am sure they will. call stores to see if they have it in stock or how much ti would be to get one. they have contacts to all sorts. good luck!

[bananags]

You can make your own over flow with PVC pipes for about $15

if you have a large tank, use more than one pipe, if you do it correctly, it works much better than the overflow box and will never lose siphon, I saw a detail step by step post on how to make this some where before, can't remember now

but these link below maybe give you an idea.

I drilled my own tank =)

Paint the pipe black also for look

here are some variation of the same concept

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...mp;pagenumber=1

http://www.reefbuilders.com/forums/diy-pro...rflow-sump.html

video

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good luck

Edited October 3, 2007 by bananags

[tomanero]

http://melevsreef.com/closedloop(old).html

Karen,

Check this out. A lot of good info on his site plus this link is for a closed loop on an undrilled tank.

I just setup a 110g and drilled it myself.

You can see in the pic the overflow going to the sump which is a hang-on, not drilled.

Other pics in my blog.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[KarenM]

Wow, that's amazing how easy it is to make some of these things. I understand the 2nd pic (of the overflow), but the "pvc pretzel" lost me. The tank will be in my living room against a wall (well, within several inches of the wall), so I can't have any kind of valves behind the tank because I won't be able to get to them. I'm planning on having a sump below the tank, so that leaves only the overflow and the various piping behind the tank (please correct me if I'm wrong, as I have no clue what I'm talking about). The 2nd pic you listed shows an overflow system without a box, only the piping. From the pic and desc it looks like the overflow water would just make a loop by flowing into the "strainer" on the right, down into the sump and back up into the tank on the left. The guy said it "never lost siphon" when the power was off which I take to mean that the water in the tank continue to flow into the strainer and down to the sump when the power was off. That makes sense - it's just gravity and physics at work. But if the power was off, how did the water continue to flow back UP into the tank? I love the look of that overflow piping, though, since it's minimal equip hanging on the tank. I'm hoping for a 90 gal, something along the lines of the 48x25x18, nothing too large, and to start with minimal equip and build from there as I can afford to. I'll be buying all used equip most likely, when it's available, so it may be a long project. So with a tank that size and the sump in the cabinet and an overflow system like this one, there would only be the piping down the back visible, correct?

The more I get into this, the more I understand how addicting it is. Even though I'm a woman I'm fairly mechanically minded (have to be-since I got divorced I've had to replace my garbage disposal, toilet flush valves, etc). I work for the gas company here in Austin. I used to work in our operations building mapping our facilities and I'm familiar with tees, ells, caps, valves, etc. I can spend an hour in Home Depot. Although I'd prefer to buy something "pre-assembled", I'm not totally against doing it myself with enough communication with all of you gurus. As long as I didn't break a nail.

[Elbeau]

Predrilled holes are great...as long as they are predrilled high on the back of the tank. IMHO it is lunacy to assume that you will never in the future history of your tank have a leak as a result of the hole. If the hole is high in the back, you only loose the top portion of water when it happens. Because of this, I see no benefit to these pre-drilled holes compared to simply using an over-tank siphon hose. Sure, you will loose suction some day (still pretty rarely)...but when it happens, you won't wipe out your tank, you'll simply re-siphon. big deal.

[GKarshens]

Actually I would rather spring a leak from a bulkhead and have a slow leak than lose siphon and have my return pump overflow my display with all my sump water. If done correctly a bulkhead should not leak.

[Headless_donkey]

I have to agree with gabriel here. Although, with a properly designed sump you could minimize the amount of water that ended up on the floor. You might however burn up your pump.

We have 3 tanks with sumps at the house. 2 drilled, 1 with an HOB. I will never use a HOB overflow again. They are a pain. They get clogged, grow algae, and move around. It has never lost siphon, but I can't say it won't happen.

[Elbeau]

I dunno guys. If I spill some water from a sump overflow my tank a little, then worst case I have to replace a little flooring (realistically most of us don't put our tanks on expensive flooring and a mop would clean it up)...and I'd much rather replace a pump than loose most or all of the water in my tank. Also, when (and I do mean WHEN) your gasket or whatever goes bad...you will definitely have a lot of water to clean up, so the burnt out pump is really the only argument here to me. IMHO of course.

Siphon - MUCH better.

[Headless_donkey]

Siphon break causes a ton of water IMMEDIATELY on the floor! If a bulkhead fails it will be a very slow leak. Thus giving you time to fix the problem before replacing flooring. BTW I don't see replacing flooring as no big deal. In fact I consider that a HUGE deal.

Drilled-MUCH better

[Elbeau]

Siphon break causes a ton of water IMMEDIATELY on the floor! If a bulkhead fails it will be a very slow leak. Thus giving you time to fix the problem before replacing flooring. BTW I don't see replacing flooring as no big deal. In fact I consider that a HUGE deal.

Drilled-MUCH better

Don't I wish....really. 2 1/2 months ago I moved here from Las Vegas. I vacated my Vegas home hoping it would sell even in the bad market there. What I didn't know is that I had a very slow water leak under my kitchen sink. My realtor found it two weeks later. My beautiful pergo floor was so wet some boards were curled 4" into the air :'(

After extensive repairs to the drywall, counters, and floorboards of my entire downstairs...the flooring can finally get installed this week and I can try to salvage some money by renting out the place.

The moral of this story is that a quick small leak would have been a million times more desirable than a slow undetected one (actually the moral of my sad story is to have someone checking on your home even when you think it's fine). But in any case. How much do you have invested in that tank? A little overflow from your sump is nothing compared to destroying your hard work and money that you have invested in your tank. And you don't really know how bad the leak would be. You can work with probabilities, but I'll still stick with the certainty that I don't have a way to drain my tank planned into my tank design. Anyways...enough rambling from me tonight...It's obvious that I'm way too tired for organized thinking right now.

latre

[Headless_donkey]

My point was if it is a small and you check the outside of your tank regularly, you could catch the leak and stop it before it caused major damage.

[Entropy]

I will take a slow leak from a bulkhead over a syphon break any day. If your sump is set up correctly and you don't have anything touching your bulkhead it will just trickle down your drain or return hose back to the sump. The return pump will more than make up for any leak. Actually my return line is like this right now. There is a small amount of salt creep on the hose which means there is a leak there somewhere. It falls into the sump though, so no big deal IMO. Bulkheads cannot really fail completely other than the tank cracking so they are much safer IMO. Of course the ultimate in safety would be to have a tank with everthing built inside the tank itself.

[Elbeau]

yes...yes...yes...all true.

BUT............it's only true because you qualified your leak as a "small" leak. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to predict the future like that jk.

Anyhow...let me throw this out and see if we can find some common ground. In my first reply to this post I said that it is safer to either syphon or to have drain holes drilled high in the back instead of low or underneath. I'll drop the syphon argument (not because I'm ever wrong...but because some mortals just have a hard time understanding my reality) and I'll just make the point about having drain holes drilled high in the tank instead of low. That way, it is still gravity fed (whew to all syphon critics) and it won't completely drain your tank if you have a slow, medium, fast, gushing, bubbling, or gurgling leak in your outlet, hose, sump, brain, or return lines, etc, etc. (whew to me)

[Headless_donkey]

An internal overflow box would allow you to do two things.

1) Have the tank drill=no loss of siphon

2) control the amount of water that will leave your tank if your bulkhead fails. Once the water level drops below the over flow box water will stop leaking out and everything in your tank will still be under water.