internal overflow box

[thefatman]

ok so next week i'll probably be getting a new AGA 75gal.

i'll have toget it drilled and install my own internal overflows.

so, does anyone havea recommendation on internal overflow box, brand.. site.. size.. .etc...

any trt sponsors have them.. i'll be searching myself in a moment. just want to see what others recommend.

also, when i get one, do i jsut place it in the tank? or do i put it in and silicone it in place? any tips directions for doing the actual silicone job?

thanks
jay


btw: i found a new way to help me take this tank slow......

complete and utter lack of funds!!! lol this will greatly help heheh. looks lke i'll begetting tank one week, drileld another week, build a stand a nother week, canopy, install overflows, build a sump, etc.. all of this wil ltake some time i'm sure. soooooo i wont be rushing this one

[Calvinc4s]

I built my own and would recomend doing yourself. I saved myself atleast $250 doing it that way. I have a bunch of pictures and am planning a DIY post on it.

[thefatman]

well come on then whats the hold up?

250 bucks!!! they cost THAT much?

[Calvinc4s]

Oh bummer! I just looked for the photos to get a DIY post up for you and I dumped them


It was a rather simple task and judging by your DIY stand and canopy you will breeze through it!

You will need;

¼” black acrylic cut to size (the plastic shop will do this as you wait)
Weld-on 3 adhesive
Needle applicator
Blue painters tape
AGA silicone
Isotropic rubbing alcohol


First you need to plan the dimensions of the overflow. One factor is height. You want to be exactly ¼ inch bellow the top frame. Then the size should be just large enough to fit a durso and your hand.

Before gluing the pieces together you will want to mark out where you are going to put your slats. I put them ½” apart 1/3” wide and ¾” deep. I did that with a dremel tool.

Then tape the sides together with the blue painters tape and make sure it is square by using a carpenters square (I taped this on the inside to give it support as I glued).

Then run a fine bead of the weld-on 3 on the inside seem. Remove the tape after 5 minutes then hit the parts that where covered in tape.

Clean the surface of the aquarium that will be silicone with the rubbing alcohol and glue them in.

Let it cure for a day then hit it again with silicone.

Its easy man and a pro wanted 200 per side on my tank!

[Calvinc4s]

Here is someone elses photo of one out side of a tank.

[Calvinc4s]

Jay, after giving it some thought; you would probably save money if you get a reef ready tank. The supplys are going to cost you at least $50 to make your own.

[thefatman]

cant get a reef ready tank anywhere in town. which is why i have to do it myself.

i can get a 75 aga for only 120. a reef ready is considerably more than that. plus add in shipping costs, and i still end up far cheaper doing it my self and paying for the parts, and haveing the tank drilled.

unless i'm jsut looking in all the wrong places for tanks. i love to be abel tofind one that is reef ready, butthe costs i'm seeing are just crazy, when i can get one for 120 and then do the extra stuff myself.

[mikeMersot]

Originally posted by Calvinc4s

Isotropic rubbing alcohol

did you mean isopropyl alcohol? I have never seen an alcohol marketed as isotropic, that is being identical in every direction with respect to a property, or in the case of a medium, having a single index of refraction. Sorry for being weird, but isotropic struck me as odd.

[beach bum]

Unless it is a P*tco, any shop that carries all-glass should be able to order you one. I went the acrylic tank route, easier to drill and the overflows take no tank space, just space behind the tank.

[thefatman]

no, i'm ordering from my lfs. but they order through a distributer. and the 120 price is a special for 75aga through the month. i'll chekc to see if it can be ordered reef ready, but not sure if they have that option, and if so, i'm sure it will raise the rpice, but we'll see how much.

yes i would like an acrylic, because then i could just drill myself.. but for twice the money, at the moment it doesnt appeal to me. i'll go with acrylic when i do something massive.

why would overflows be any different for acrylic vs glass?

[Calvinc4s]

isopropyl, Yeah you can use that kind too

[beach bum]

why would overflows be any different for acrylic vs glass?

Cause I drilled through the back, not the bottom. Guess you could do that for glass too, I must have had the brain turned off for a second there.

Yeah, 120 is a smashing price, 125 is what I paid for my 80 and I thought it was a great deal.

[thefatman]

ahh ok cool. cuz i've seen a few tanks that were drilled in the back, and that's where i originally intended to put mine. mainly just so that all of the pvcand bulkheads would beeasily accessible to me as it would all be on the outside.

[Geoff]

whether or not it was drilled on the bottom has a lot to do on whether or not the glass is tempered or not. most tanks have tempered glass. it is not recomended to drill holes in tempered glass. the rest of the tank is regular glass.

G~

[thefatman]

you saying the BOTTOMS are usually tempered? and the sides/back are usually normal glass?

if so, then i guess i'd be safer to drill in the back, if the tank doesnt state tempered or not?