Customize a standard 180

With my tank being in-wall, I'm finding it hard to justify the cost of a custom rimless tank for my upgrade and I want to go a bit bigger than the 125 I recently purchased. However, I would like my next tank to be clean with a hidden overflow, and I would like the overflow to be on one side of the tank. So, I'm thinking of purchasing a standard 180 with no overflows, silicon a piece of 3/4 glass on one side to the height I want the water in the tank (similar to a baffle in a sump), then add a piece of black acrylic in front of it to hide the overflow plumbing.

For the overflow I would drill that side of the tank and install 2 diy stand-pipes, the return would go right over the top of the tank. The overflow section of the tank will be hidden behind the wall and only the rest of the tank would be visible from the front.


Question: What do you guys think, would this baffle be able to support the force from the rest of the tank? The water line in the overflow section would only be about 4" below the water line of the rest of the tank. I could also glue a few pieces of glass between the baffle and that side glass to reinforce it a bit.

 

3/8" or 1/2"

I don't know how wide your tank is but 3/8" or 1/2" glass will span it for your overflow. Just match the seams already on the corners of the tank install your acrylic face and go. Have done it many times thru the years, you may want flow on the far side of your tank going back towards your overflow just hide plumbing under sand.

Happy ReefN,

 

here's a visual of what I'm thinking of doing....

 

Why not an acrylic overflow with teeth? A baffle is a negative because it allows a lot more critters into it

 

I don't think acrylic will form a strong bond to glass with silicon to hold that kind of force. However, that's the reason for the black acrylic insert I would be putting infront of the glass baffle. I would make it a bit taller than the glass and cut teeth into it.

 

Acrylic won't bond well to silicone yet glass aquariums have acrylic overflows. This is because the force of the water is being carried by the acrylic itself butting up against the glass side. The silicone is for water tight seams, not structural support.

If you definitely want to go across the width of the tank then glass is the safest bet, but I think you'd find that installing an acrylic overflow that doesn't cut all the way across to be:

- cheaper
- easier
- more attractive
- more capable of being resold

 

I agree with you...to some degree, don't get me wrong, I do appreciate your input and ideas ....if I install a standard overflow, you're right, however I'm hoping to hide the overflow, similar to it being on the outside of the tank. With this configuration, I think the silicon would be part of the structural integrity of the baffle that would be spanning the depth/width of the tank when ~150 gallons are up against it. As far as being attractive, if I go through with this, I think I'll change the your mind Still exploring and open to all options and suggestions.

 

So I have the 125 w/ dual corner overflows that I was planning on upgrading to....however, as mentioned above, I wanted to go bigger and also hide the internal overflows, that's one of the things I don't like about my current tank.

I found a used 180 if excellent condition, no scratches and the silicon looks good, tank looks new...but I tested it anyway, holds water OK. It doesn't have any overflows so I'm thinking I should be able to customize it with the baffle and side overflow as described in my post above.

Here's your chance to jump in and let me know if this is a bad idea. Would the silicon and a glass baffle that would span the entire width of the tank hold the pressure of ~150 gallons? Or should I go with Rocketman's suggestion and install an acrylic overflow on one side of the tank? thanks.

By the way, I'm getting the 180 All glass for $400, is that a good deal?