Drilling 10 holes in bottom of 120wide?

Dudnerd · 12-02-2005, 03:48 PM

I will be buying a 120 soon. 48x24x24. I would rather buy a glass aquarium, but will drilling 10 holes in the bottom be out of the question? I decided to do a perpendicular setup but it is proving difficult for the plumbing. I was going to do it all over the back but as you see in the drawing I did, all of the pipe would be exposed. The blue holes are for a CLS that will be aimed at a 45 degree angle at the center LR stucture. The red ones are for a spraybar that is under all the rock work. I will be doing a 2 inch raised acryllic base under the LR to keep it free of detritus. Any ideas, input or things I may not have thought of?

Thanks, Michael.

Wiskey · 12-02-2005, 04:13 PM

I would not drill 10 holes in the bottom of a tank like that, I think you will be begging the bottom to break. If you REALLY need all of those holes I would think about putting half of them on the back of the tank.

Also I think most 120's have tempered bottoms, you would want to make sure that is not the case with yours before attempting any drilling.

Be carefull drilling glass, I tried to drill a tempered 10 gallon once (did not know it was tempered) and that glass made one HUGE bang, like firing a shotgun in your apt. I would reccomend weiring leather gloves, leather jacket, and safty glasses (full face if you can find them) for safey.

Whiskey

Dudnerd · 12-02-2005, 04:25 PM

I wasnt planning on drilling it myself but thanks for the tip. I think your right though about the tempered bottom. I was going to see if I could custom order it that way. But I think your right, it would break.

VWD · 12-02-2005, 07:51 PM

I really don't think You need that many holes on that size of a tank, And I agree with the fact that it may weaken the tank and break over time.

motorslave · 12-02-2005, 11:13 PM

You could easily do a drilled CLS from the back side of the tank and hide the plumbing under the rock. A large enough intake and a couple returns could be set up to work wonders. The sum,p returns could be set up to handle the flow for the top of the water column and one return for the CLS could be a spray bar and a second could be used for dynamic flow through out the tanks lower and mid levels. Of course a realy big pump would be needed but you could do it with one.

Robert

Dudnerd · 12-03-2005, 03:22 PM

Thanks for the ideas. Robert, could you maybe draw me a pic of how you would drill my tank for this kind of setup.

Thanks, Michael

Geoff · 12-03-2005, 03:58 PM

what kind of overflows do you have?

have the tank set out in the room like that with the thin side to the wall will make plumbing difficult.

G~

motorslave · 12-03-2005, 04:26 PM

Heres some rough diagrams to give you an idea. Hope they help!

Robert

Geoff · 12-03-2005, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorslave

Heres some rough diagrams to give you an idea. Hope they help!

Robert

G~

motorslave · 12-03-2005, 04:52 PM

The CLS plumbing would be hidden by the rock! One of the CLS returns would be drilled to flow as a spraybar to keep under the rock clean. The second could be set higher in the rock and provide flow at the middle level of the water column. The sump returns would provide flow at the top of the column. This is the basic plan I am going to use on my next tank! Its going to be an 8'x3' room divider, now I just need a room big enough for it!

Robert

motorslave · 12-03-2005, 05:04 PM

If you dont have an internal overflow a hang on would work just as well for this! Did I say youd need a big pump??!!!! Id suggest something like the Sequence Barracuda, they are great pumps, push alot of water and are pretty quiet!

Robert

Dudnerd · 12-04-2005, 10:54 AM

Thanks a ton Robert. This project is a while off, but Better to plan ahead right? As for the overflow I am not sure which I want. Right now I have the AGA in tank Mega Flow. I dont really like the look of the in tank style so I will probably DIY hang on.

Michael

Geoff · 12-04-2005, 11:39 AM

you could just drill holes in the side and use an elbow with a strainer on it to make an overflow. that way you only have those elbows in the tank. much less obtrusive than an overflow.

G~

motorslave · 12-04-2005, 01:30 PM

You could also DIY a coast to coast!

Robert

Doug1 · 12-04-2005, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff

you could just drill holes in the side and use an elbow with a strainer on it to make an overflow. that way you only have those elbows in the tank. much less obtrusive than an overflow.

G~

From the diagram you posted, looks like drilling the end toward the wall would be the best option. An overflow box isnt going to be any more aesthetically pleasing than the built in AGA overflows, and aren't that conducive to a closed loop set up.
Heres a couple pics to illustrate what Geoff was talking about