Should I just drill my tank?

[TuReal]

Ok i made the decision to not drill my tank that ive been planing and setting up since November. I went and purchased a hob overflow and return pump from ebay, they came in a kit. I finished my sump/refugium and pretty much completed all my plumbing, except drilling a small hole in "U" tubing for overflow and in the return tube.

My sump is set behind and lower than my display tank not under it. The more i think about it though, the less i want to use the HOB overflow. Just scares me

Any recomendations?

If i do get it drilled do i put one hole on the bottom of the tank or two? should they be low on the side walls? back wall? Or should i put a hole close to the top so it skims suface water?

[Chasman]

TuReal

Drilling a tank is not difficult at all. I was very leary of doing it myself and it's quite easy. There are tons of U-Tube videos out there to guide you through it. Visit Glassholes.com and look at their videos. That is where I bought my bits for drilling. One thing to keep in mind is more that likely the bottom of your tank is tempered glass and you cannot drill it. I drilled eight, yes eightt holes in the back of my 50 gal tank without a problem. You don't have to be Mr. Handy Man to do it. You just need a good drill and a bit of patience.

Chasman

[Jason Mraz]

What Size is your tank? On my 55 I have 2 holes in the bottom, one fore drain and one for return. In my 125 I have 4 2 on each back corner. I agree with Chasman, you must know if it is tempered. I have broken probably 7 tanks where I was drilling through tempered glass. It jsut shatteres when you are almost through. I baught the cheap 8 dollar 10 gal tanks from Walmart to practice on and found out that the sides are tempered but not the bottom. I also broke a 55 that I thaught wasn't tempered. When drilling through glass that is not tempered it is really easy

[scubadude]

The more i think about it though, the less i want to use the HOB overflow. Just scares me

Any recomendations?

If i do get it drilled do i put one hole on the bottom of the tank or two? should they be low on the side walls? back wall? Or should i put a hole close to the top so it skims suface water?

Rightly so on scaring you! I hate O-flows....Drilling is the way to go and as far as how many and how big on the holes....it depends on how much flow you want...or what type of fish/corals as well as how much of a bioload you want on your tank. For every question you have there is many questions you must answer yourself. My first advice in designing a setup is what do you want in it? How much liverock...how many fish, what type of fish, how many coral, what types of corals. If you want SPS then you want more flow through the tank if you just want soft corals then lower flow may be adequate enough. As far as where you drill the holes that also depends on whats more convenient to you? I Favor back panel for returns and CL intakes only and bottom panel for o-flow stand pipes but there is some really neat designs out now too.

[TuReal]

As of right now I have a 55 gallon tank, I love Crustaceans just as much as the fish if not more. lol. I am most likley just looking to start out FOWLR and eventually work my way into inverts.

I dont plan on having a high bio load at all. def gona have a clown fish or two and a blenny for now thats all i have planned for fish.

Im gona take it to get drilled im pretty handy but the tank was a gift and wouldnt want to have to invest in new.

[scubadude]

Well if your gonna have sum1 else drill it ask them how many tanks that have drilled with the particular drillbit they will be using you dont really want a brand new bit that hasnt touched glass b4.......they are more prone to break/crack glass easier than a seasoned bit. That is another reason why ppl that drill themselves practice a few times w/a new bit on a piece of scrap glass