Where to drill for overflow

richiet

richiet

Member
I picked up a nice frag tank from Dave over at Aquapros during MACI. It wasnt drilled, but it did have the skimmer box inside (about 3"x4"). The tank itself is an acrylic 24"x24"x8" so I don't have much vertical space to work with. I plan on plumbing it into a 20gal sump.

I was planning on using 1" PCV and the corresponding bulkhead. However, I've never drilled for overflows so I don't know exactly where to drill. How far below the skimmer teeth do I need to position the bulkhead. I've been checking on DIY threads, but people seem more worried about drilling the glass than where it is positioned.

I would also take advice on the types of overflows available for something of this size.

Thanks

Rich
 
Sk it has the overflow but no actual drain hole if you do stand pipe drill bottom in the middle of that overflow box or if your gonna have return there as well do them side by side if you dont wanna drill bottpm drill the same locations just towards the bottom on back wall be sure to measure your bulk head to make sure you can screw tight after hole os made hope this helps a bit maybe post a pic of this bad boy and that would help with ideas
 
Def check to make sure u have enough room for bulkhead and nut. Also with acrylic make sure u keep the hole saw wet bc u will melt the acrylic. Checkout melev's website he has acrylic work and tools needed.
 
Rich, you really only need to set the bulkhead centerline anywhere below the bottom of the teeth. I believe typically it's recommended to place a bulkhead so the crown of the hole is at least 3-4" below the top edge of the tank but this usually applies to glass as a precaution to prevent stress cracks. I would say a single 1" pvc drain will be more than sufficient for the frag tank. You are looking at like 20-25g of water or so, using the 5-6x turnover rate formula, a 1" drain would provide plenty of flow to a sump. You could use 3/4" just fine as well, but given the minimal cost between the two, you might as well just go with the 1".
 
Thanks guys, that was the info I was needing. As far as inside the overflow box, is it worth while to attach a 90 degree elbow facing upwards to allow the water to fall into the pvc, or is it fine to have the bulkhead be the opening for the drain? I'll snap a couple of pictures tonight of the set-up just in case it's not clear. I'll also try to draw something up to illustrate what I'm thinking. Putting plumbing ideas into words is a lot hard than drawing a simple diagram.
 
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