Overflow in a glass tank

[Christeon]

Hi,
I have an oceanic 75g that I'm pretty sure has a tempered bottom. I purchased it in the late 80's and it's finally getting converted to a reef tank. I want to put in overflow in both the rear corners, the center is blocked by a 10" wide brace.

How do you cement an acrylic overflow to the glass or is there another material that I should be using for the box. Since the overflow in coming out thru the rear is there any reason to run the box all the way to the bottom of the tank?

 

[Anonymous]

See if you can get glass panel that have the comb sand-blasted out. It is much better if you use silicone to glue glass onto glass. But if you only can get acrylic, you can still get the overflow installed. You may need to silicon a thin stripe of glass on the back of the acrylic to security it, but it is not always done.

Having the box all the way to the bottom have some pros and cons. You will be lossing valuable floor space, cost more in material and it traps dirts. However, it is usually easier to install, and slightly more flexible when it comes to where you want to drill the hole, and it often looks better and more professional.

 

[Anonymous]

Meh, just make a 3 sided box out of acrylic and silicone it into the tank.. The water pressure will hold it. Besides, if it leaks, what really happens? your tank level drops a bit and you notice.

Here's one I built for a friend.

Cost $2.50 in acrylic and time to make it.

B

 

[Anonymous]

Well, it may hold from the pressure, but if someone drill the hole on the back too low, the entire tank water can dump to the sump when it give away.

 

[SnowManSnow]

dont put your holes in the back of the tank.

put them in the bottom and use a standpipe to control the level in case of a leak


b

 

[Christeon]

Te bottom is tempered from what I have gathered.

 

[Anonymous]

You also could make an overflow from pvc pipe. No boxes inside or out would be required.

.02

 

[Anonymous]

I would get some pieces of glass and use a glass cutter (simple tool) and make an overflow out of that. If you absolutely must make it out of acrylic I'd superglue it into place, although on glass you're going to need a lot of superglue to get it to stick properly.

 

[Christeon]

I guess I'll try to machine a piece of greylite and if that doesn't work make an acrylic shade strainer to keep critters out.




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[Christeon]

Now I find the edit button. This might be a good excuse to buy a water jet machine!





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[bleedingthought]

Te bottom is tempered from what I have gathered.

I have a 75G Oceanic and the bottom is not tempered. How did you gather this? Just wondering, really...

 

[Christeon]

From this site:
http://www.wetdryfilter.com/drilling_holes.htm

which links to this one:
http://www.all-glass.com/services/techinfo.shtml

I emailed Oceanic since my tank is older circa 1988-1989 and those links may be just for newer tanks. This was my first saltwater tank I ever owned and would hate to kill it on a hunch.

 

[bleedingthought]

Back up a second though, is your tank an Oceanic or an All Glass? AFAIK, Oceanic owns All Glass and therefore makes their tanks but not vice versa.

 

[Christeon]

Oceanic why I emailed them to clarify

 

[Anonymous]

if you have polarized sunglasses, you can see if the bottom is tempered. Put the glasses on and look at the back window of a car. See that nice pattern? it's from the tempering.

Now look at your tank from a bunch of different angles. you'll be able to see if it's tempered or not

B

 

[bleedingthought]

if you have polarized sunglasses, you can see if the bottom is tempered. Put the glasses on and look at the back window of a car. See that nice pattern? it's from the tempering.

Now look at your tank from a bunch of different angles. you'll be able to see if it's tempered or not

B

I knew there must have been some way to do it! This is a great tip!!! Now, where do you get polarized sunglasses?

 

[midgetwaiter]

Walmart had quite a selection last time I looked. They are very popular with fishermen and can be purchased for < $20.

 

[Christeon]

Very Nice tip! thanks a ton.