Questions about a small fuge?

[Jeremiah]

I have a 30 gallon tank setup that is not drilled and has no overflow box. I have a 5 gallon acrylic minibow sitting around that is modded with 2x13 pc lighting. I was thinking of using this as an above the tank fuge.

Questions....

1. Will I be able to grow enough macro and such in a 5 gallon tank that it will actually help with nutriend export? Or is it to small? Perhaps I could fill it up with live rock and have it be a pod factory for a manderin or something? Maybe both?

2. I want to drill the back of this acrylic tank and put in a 1/2" bulkhead. Can I just drill it with a regular bit or will it crack? Do you in need to have an overflow box or can I just have the bulkhead, I think that's how they have them at some fish stores?

Any suggestions for this would be greatly appreciated. I have never had a fuge and wondering if my idea will work or will be a waiste of time and energy.

Thanks,
Jeremiah

[trodder]

I am sure if you have a bulkhead with a strainer you should have no real need for an overflow that I can think of... however I am not sure you can get a 1/2" bulhead with a strainer...but not sure. I have a 30 that is drilled with a stand/sump/lid/etc if interested....

[Jeremiah]

I think the one at the top of this page is a 1/2". http://marinedepot.com/aquarium_plum...tings_2.asp#bh

I am not sure if that is what I need though, as I have never drilled a tank before. I was thinking I could just put one of those strainers that are on the same page. I have a 75 gallon sitting here empty that still needs some parts for it that has dual overflows and a 20 long sump. I am just going real slow on this next tank because I want to have it just how I want it in the first place. Do you think 5 gallons is going to be enough volume to be effective.

[Jive Turkey]

Any amount of Macro will help. But on a thin-sided 30g, I wouldn't hang a 30-40lb tank that I modded as a hang-on.

With just a bulkhead on the back with a strainer, you will likely have a major slurping that will keep you awake in the next room. I would try to get an acrylic fabricator like Greg(geshields) to build me a small overflow box that could be siliconed to the glass and have a Durso Standpipe hiden inside, with a 1" hole in there.

Or a used Amiracle overflow found on ReefCentral for $10-20 would work, but with this there is a poss of an overflow onto the carpet. However, I used one for 2.5 yrs with no problem.

Joe

[Jeremiah]

I wouldn't hang a 30-40lb tank that I modded as a hang-on either. The 5 gallon fuge tank will be on a seperate stand that is at a higher elevation then the main tank.

Thanks for the advice
Jeremiah

[David Grigor]

You can use either a hole saw or just butterfly bits that a made for wood at Home depot. I like to use the butterfly bits because sometimes its hard to get the acrylic hole out of the hole saw. If use butterfly bit becuase sure to clamp a bit of wood to the back so as the butterfly bit goes through the acrylic it has something to grab onto and fly around causing to chip or break the acrylic.

[SaltBlock]

I have almost the exact same setup you are describing...a 5 gal fuge above a 30 gallon reeftank.

I drilled the 5 gallon with a bore-bit (I think this is the same as the butterfly bit described above). I drilled both a overflow and return and used Savko bulkheads (very reliable company) http://www.savko.com/partlist.asp?pgid=2

Take David's advice on the wood backing when drilling the holes...and take your time...that thin acrylic likes to chip and break. Also consider painting on your backrgound before you get it all set up. There is special paint for acrylic...but regular old spray paint will work OK (be careful not to scratch it).

I used the 1" bulkhead w/ strainer for the overflow. Where the overflow enters the main tank I used a "J" pipe to eliminate any gurgling noise. I used a 1/2" bulhead w/ a barb fitting for the return.

Originally, I had appx 10lbs of small pieces of LR, halimeda, cheato (sp?), and red dragons breath algae. After two or three months I had zillions of pods in there and both the halimeda and cheato were growing well. It also works great for a grow out/frag tank for relatively low light corals. I now have just a few pieces of LR (the rest has been sold off w/ attached frags) left and I am only using the cheato algae and I have almost zero algae in the main tank (that $#%! bubble algae just wont give up). So I guess what Im saying is...build it...you'll love it

Good luck,

AEB

[kjdeut]

You may want to rethink about using a 1/2" bulkhead for the overflow. I had a smaller DIY tank that sat on a table above the sump for my main tank. I drilled the smaller tank for a 1/2" bulk and then just used some elbows and a strainer for the overflow and had the hose going right into the sump.
Anyway you may want to use a 1" bulkhead to make sure you have enough flow. I didnt have a very big powerhead/pump for a return but i was always having a problem with the 1/2" bulkhead either backing up, or if the power went off it wouldnt start draining properly when the pump came back on and it made more noise then my 92gal. I tried venting the overflow like you do with a standpipe and it had some affect but still was a pain in the butt and I ended up taking it down before i had a big problem.
I have been wanting to redrill the bulkhead to 1" to see if that took care of the issues but havent had a chance yet.
Just thought I would throw that out here for you to think about.

Ken

[Jeremiah]

Thanks for the tips guys, appreciate it...