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Homemade overflow box11/23/2023 ![]() If you just want to move 100-150gph through a sump - all you need is 3/4" drains. If I were you, I'd shoot for 1000gph flow and circulation - combined between the sump and the in-tank power heads. You'll need some powerheads to make enough water movement in the tank. So for a 55g tank you want between 550gph - 1650gph. I've seen and had LPS and softie tanks with 30X turnover. So, you want about 90 - 150gph going through your sump.īut you want at least 10x flow/circulation rate in your tank. Typical sump movement is 3x - 5x the tank volume per hour. Here is a bulk head flow chart that you can use to size it all. I always buy 1mm larger than suggested by the bulk head manufacturer. They come in every size with increments in mm. Buy the diamond coated hole saws in the correct size for the bulk heads you select. But they are cheapo as hell and they work perfectly. They are sent in tiny boxes with chinese stamps. They are from hong kong and take a week or 10 days to arrive. Richon Tools dot com is a great place to purchase hole saws for a couple bucks. ![]() FlexPVC dot com is a great place to purchase bulk heads cheap. A 1" bulk head does not fit in a 1" hole. There's a hundred videos on youtube for how to drill a glass tank.īuy your bulk heads first. I attached the original drawing so that everyone could get an idea as to what I am talking about.Just drill it. If anyone is interested, I don't mind to explain in more detail or give some pointers. I just held it in place as I pulled the tape off.Īfter curing for 72 hours, I filled the overflow up to the holes and made sure there were no leaks. Taking it off of the box was a little tricky because the box wanted to move with the tape. I was careful not to move the box at all. I put on a pair of disposable rubber gloves and used my index finger to smooth the sealant out (inside and out). I then put the overflow box in place and pushed it firmly. After taping, I ran a healthy bead of sealant along the sides and bottom of the tank where the lines that I drew were. I didn't put tape on the bottom of the tank because I hefty sand bed and it would be hidden from view. This will keep your seals looking nice and neat. I made sure not to get tape anywhere that would be sealed to the tank. I also did thins 1/2" away from the sides of the overflow. I then placed masking tape inside the tank about 1/2" away from the lines on both sides. I cleaned the inside of the tank (along those lines) with denatured alcohol. I drew on the outside of the tank with a sharpie so that I would know where to put the sealant. I placed the box in the tank and lined it up exactly where I wanted it to be. When the smaller section was pointing straight down (90 degrees from the larger section), I removed the clamps and held it in place at the 90 degree angle until it cooled down. When the acrylic heated up, it started to bend. I clamped the larger side down and used a heat gun to heat the acrylic sheet up along the line where the 8th hole should have been. ![]() I would probably have had to drill smaller holes to keep wondering bodies out of the overflow.Īfter drilling, I removed the protective film from both sides of the acrylic and clamped it down on my work bench. Also, I could have drilled the 10 holes then cut the acrylic down from the top to make slots, but again, I wasn't sure how fragile it would have been. I could have drilled all of the holes on the water line, but I wasn't sure how fragile the acrylic would have been. I then drilled 3 more holes above those holes to act as a surface skimmer. ![]() After that, I measured my tank to see exactly where I wanted my water level to be. I used a grinding bit on my dremel that was about 1/2" in diameter. I measured over 1" from the side, drilled a whole every 1", skipped the 8th hole spot, then drilled 3 more holes. I was very careful and slow with the saw so that it would not break the acrylic.Īfter I cut it, I measured down 1" on one of the 12" sides and I drilled a whole every inch, but I skipped the spot where the 8th hole should be (this is where the bend would be). I left the protective film on before I cut. The section that I cut off was 12" x 19.5". I cut a section of the sheet off with a jig saw. I bought a 4' x 4' sheet of 1/8" thick black acrylic and a tube of aquarium sealant. I thought I would mention that, because if build one for the right, the holes would be in different places. These overflows are positioned in the back left corners of my tanks. I just finished my second one for my second 55 gallon tank. I should have taken some pics, but I forgot. Thought I might pass this on just in case someone out there was thinking of building their own corner overflow box. ![]()
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