anyone got pics of your drilled tanks?

[hankstanks]

I am about to drill a 120 that I have in the basement but I have always used reef ready tanks in the past so I am clueless.

Do any of you have any pics of your drilled tanks? I was thinking about 3 overflows and 3 returns or 2 and 2. or 2 overflows and a larger return but also adding a closed loop to the system as well.

The Sump will be about 10 feet below the tank in the basement.


Any plumbers out there

[Geoff]

i am trying to get my pics in order. i just drilled my wife's system. two holes in a 20h and 7 holes in a 75. i actually drilled the holes with water in the tank.

i hope to get a couple pics for you soon. i just added an elbow with a strainer to the bulkhead. that is my overflow works great. i used a Dursa standpipe attachment on the backs of the drains to keep them quiet.

G~

[yardboy]

Here's mine as I'm setting it up, using a plan Geoff developed. Ignore the plumbing, it didn't work very well and I went with SCWD's (and when one of them failed, a y-fitting, nice thing about initial setup in the garage)

[Geoff]

Originally Posted by yardboy

Here's mine as I'm setting it up, using a plan Geoff developed. Ignore the plumbing, it didn't work very well and I went with SCWD's (and when one of them failed, a y-fitting, nice thing about initial setup in the garage)

what did not work? did you put SCWD's on the pump outlets to go to the 2 returns?

G~

[yardboy]

As shown the elbows restricted the flow too much and it was laminar flow, no variation. I put SCWD's on instead, to alternate betwen the upper and lower returns, but with a Mag 18 and only one elbow, the flow was apparently too much and one of the SCWD's froze up, allowing water only out of the top return. I replaced the broken one with a simple y-tubing fitting. The other is still working 4 months later. As a better explanation of how it works, here's the design sheet that Geoff gave me for the construction. I even put his homemade eductor design on the upper returns, spraybars on the lower.

[MagicMan]

How does the drilling process work? I've never done this before and it looks like I will have to do so in the next several weeks.

On the diagram, I noticed that the drain into the sump looked like it was through a hole in the bottom. Is that right?

Finally, what does SCWD stand for?

[yardboy]

SCWD - Switching Current Water Director - a device that has 1 intake and 2 discharges, which it alternates current flow between. Speed at which it alternates depends on speed of current flow. Maximum flow rate is 1400 gph. I had mine on a Mag 18, 1800gph, but I felt that with several 90 elbows in the flow path, that would be cut down to less than 1400, one of the SCWD's still went kaput.

Two holes drilled in bottom, inside overflow box. One is overflow to sump, using a Durso standpipe, and other is for return, runs upthrogh overflow and out the top, with mine splitting into two returns pointing in opposite directions.
I've cut glass using a Dremel tool with diamond bits on a 20 gallon tank. On a 120, glass too thick with that. I'd do it professionally at a glass shop.

[Krux]

i did way too much plumbing when we drilled out my last tank. i had a single overflow, but had two drains in it in case one got clogged or backed up. i had a closed loop running through 3 scwds, and the return pump ran over the top to a seaswirl. i didnt get a shot of the back before i moved it agains the wall, but here is a side shot.

i have been acused of over plumbing...

oh, and i am drilling and plumbing my new tank at some point this week, i will be better about taking photos throughout the process so i can show you that.

[Saint Taris]

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