Drilling a tank

[roddey]

OK I found a glass company to drill my 75 gallon all-glass aquarium with 2 -1.5 inch bulkheads,one in each upper corner. I am a little confused about the return though.It is going to be draining into a 40 gallon sump. I will have a protien skimmer in the inlet side then overflowing into a deep bed refugium then that overflowing into a compartment to hold a return pump.I think I got the tank config. close. But on the return what size pump should I use(submersable) and how should I plumb it back into the tank. Can I just use return U tubes like they sell for the squid?Or should I drill more holes with bulkheads(Hope not)
Which is best?

[roddey]

Ya I know I am a newbie to reef. But I am trying to do it right from the start. When I first got into saltwater fish years ago I failed because I went for tanks and not the support equipment behind them. I failed and got out for 5 years.. Then I returned and the next time I went for the good equipment and had a tank set up for years successfully before a move required selling it. Now 8 years later I am back except this time I am going reef.Theres is a lot more info out there I see. Any help though would be apreciated because when I did it before I did not use a sump or wet-dry as they were called back then, I used a canaster filter,fluidized bed filter,Protein skimmer,UV,and a dual Bio wheel and had happy fish.A lot of water flow for shure.(It was considered a lot back then anyway).Thanks all for any info, Rodney

[sihaya]

Well, welcome back to the hobby!

First, note that keeping a fish only tank is a bit different than keeping a reef tank. For reef tanks, generally, the fewer the fish, the better. And I wouldn't use a wet/dry filter for a reef tank. Sumps are helpful though. And if you have a sump set up such that you can use it for carbon (and other chemical and mechanical filtration), then you shouldn't need a cansiter filter.

And you might already know this... but don't go too crazy with the live rock. Too much rock will leave you with too little water in the tank and will make it harder for you to get good water flow.

[roddey]

Ok thanks, I was thinking of starting with about 100 ibs of rock.

[sihaya]

It depends on how light or dense the rock is, but generally I'd say start with even less than that. I hate "rules of thumb," but I think you should start with ~1lb/g or less. You can always add more later.

[roddey]

Well I am favor of your pricing. 1 lb per gallon is it. Thanks

[reseter5]

i did custom glass work and fish tanks for 4 years.. be aware that drilling a hole makes a stress point.. how thick is the glass???? and were exactly are you getting holes drilled???

[roddey]

i did custom glass work and fish tanks for 4 years.. be aware that drilling a hole makes a stress point.. how thick is the glass???? and were exactly are you getting holes drilled???

I am going to put the holes in the top corners and stay a minimum of 3 inches from any edge.Also the tank is at the glass company waiting for the bulkheads to be mail ordered so I dont have the tank with me to measure the thickness. I can say its a 75 gallon All Glass Aquarium(bought new about 2 weeks ago)Thanks, Rod

[reseter5]

its probably 3/8 to 1/2" thick.. 3 inches in will provide enough glass for strenth .. also the bulkheads will provide extra support around the holes...