HOB overflow vs. drilled in tank overflow

J

jammerz

Large Fish
#1
Feb 28, 2005
308
0
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45
Boise
#1
ok...im having a hell of a time with my LFS. They are telling me that for my sump/refugium that i want to turn my tank over 20 to 30 times per hour!! so in order to do this they want to come drill a hole in my tank and put an in tank overflow in. No guarantees on the drilling the've done it a lot with only a few tanks breaking but if mine breaks no guarantees. What do you guys think of that? Any experiences? they will come and drill/plumb for $125

Or i could have them build me a HOB siphon overflow that would be the length of my tank in order to keep up with the turnover that they reccommend and possibly deal with the gurgling noise and have that 48 in HOB overflow for around $200.

The answer seems obvious the better setup for cheaper but if my tank breaks it won't be cheaper. you see the risk?

Do i really need to turn my tank over that much cuz if not i can buy like an 800g/hr HOB overflow off the net for like $100 , but that would only turn my tank over 10 times/hr if i got the full 800g out of the overflow i hear that its kinda like watts on an amp 1000w amp really only gives like 600w so 800g overflow would maybe only get 600g/he then my tank would only be turning over less than 10 times/hr.?

Whats do yall think is the best bet.I want tot do the in tank setup ( i think??) but im scared to drill???

driving myself nuts my nitrates areso high and my tank is starting to look like crap so i'am also being somewhat urgent and rushed. plus i wantto get theconstruction of my tank done so i can start enjoying it and buying livestock. thanks fer all yer input guys!! :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#5
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
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42
San Ramon, CA
#5
your tank is a 55 right? maybe you should consider buying a new 55 which is already drilled...all-glass makes these for around $155 or so = virtually no price difference...then you can sell your old 55 to recoup some of that or set it up as something else. and 20x sounds good, 30x is a bit extreme
 

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J

jammerz

Large Fish
#7
Feb 28, 2005
308
0
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45
Boise
#7
yeah my tank is an 80g. There is a few others stores in the area but they sell yer basic LFS stuff. these guys do custom tanks and are the only ones that do drilling. I think buying a plumbed tank is a little more than i want to spend now. Although if drilling breaks my current tank im back to square 1 in a hurry. its gonna be a situation where the fish and LR will be waiting in buckets for the drilling plumbing and initial setup of the sump/overflow. So if it breaks im SOL quick!!! Hmmm.... what to do??
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#8
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#8
can you get them to just drill it and sell you the bulkheads then you can do the plumbing...its really easy and it might save you some cash in terms of labor or whatever it is they are charging you for
 

OCCFan023

OCCFan023

Superstar Fish
#9
Jul 29, 2004
1,817
5
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New Jersey
#9
if they break the tank do you still have to pay for them trying to install it? because as someone else said you can buy nice pre drilled ones for about the same money so if it breaks and they dont charge you, you can buy a new one, but i guess if they would charge you it wouldnt work, but I dont see them charging you if they break your tank.
 

AndyL

AndyL

Large Fish
#10
Oct 22, 2002
908
1
0
47
Calgary AB
#10
Go to reef central and look up the thread on the DIY external overflow.

External overflows are way better anyway - no loss of space in the tank, and you can easily DIY with nothing more than a dremel to notch the top of your tank.

Andy
 

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