Drilled holes in floor?

Hi All,

I am taking my time to set up a new 85 gal. glass reef tank. My 150 lb of live rock is into the second week of curing (32 gal. plastic can) and the ammonia is going down so getting close.

My tank has a glass bottom without any holes. I have read some comments that a hole(s) need to be added in a tank bottom for some plumbing. My question, for what and can you get by with just overflow and tubes behind the tank? I will be adding a sump with some of the hardware.

Thanks for your help.

 

Thanks, the tank will be across a room corner so plenty of room behind. Getting into the corner will be tight.

 

Make sure you buy overflow tubes that are flow rated for the size of pump that you will be running in your sump. I would probably go with a mag 9 pump and 900 GPh overflow tubes. If you have to lift the water more than 4 feet I would go with a mag 12 instead. If you missmatch your gallons by getting oversized overflow tubes it can cause air bubbles to form in the tubes reducing their ability to keep primed.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely consider sizing of tubes and pumps.

I have one more question that I guess was not clear in my first inquiry, what would holes in the bottom of the tank be used for? I can understand a drain but not many other uses because there is such a potential for a leak and loss of all water?

 

for an overflow is the only thing, unless someone runs return pipe from there.

 

Is the tank already drilled or were you exploring the option? After doing it myself I'm all for drilled tanks. I was able to increase my flow with the same old pumps and get rid of the dreaded gurgling noises those external overflow boxes made... which are for sale by the way...

 

ok, if you have the money to buy a new tank in case of breakage, I would get some glass hole saws and drill and plumb the tank rather than using an external overflow. (DO NOT DRILL THE BOTTOM) The bottom on most tanks is tempered and will shatter, can't be drilled. However it's really easy to drill the back of the tank for your plumbing and youj don't have to worry about losing syphon. Just a thought for ya.

 

Now I understand a little better. If the bottom were drilled than there is probably a stand pipe for overflow up to where you want the surface. If the back is drilled then the hole(s) should be at the surface level.

My tank is new and not drilled. I imagine the bottom is tempered so will not drill that and will take some serious thought before I drill the back. Obviously something that is not easy to do after it is filled with water, even with the surface dropped down.

Thanks for making this more clear and the advise about the back holes.