planning to have tank drilled tomorrow

im planning to have my tank drilled for a sump tomorrow, i have been told that i can have a hole drilled in the side of my aquarium without a overflow box...is this true?

 

Yes you can have a hole drilled in the side and put a bulkhead in it. If you go this route it can be hard to figure out where your water level will end up. If your return is near what the overflow hole can handle the water level will be up closer to the top of the overflow hole. If your return is way below the flow rate of the overflow hole your water level will be closer to the bottom of the overflow hole.

Also consider some type of netting to cover the hole with so snails and other creatures cannot go down the hole. a big turbo snail could restrict flow to the point of tank overflow if it gets in there.

 

thanks

 

This is true but there are some advantages to having an overflow box...

• an overflow will give you better skimming of the surface of your tank which can improve gas exchange
• having an overflow can give you some options for reducing noise that you don't have if you drain straight through a bulkhead

Some shots of my overflows. I added these to the tanks myself when I got them drilled.

'traditional' overflow that goes to the bottom of the tank



the overflow in my 30gal frag tank is an (almost) coast-to-coast



one of my sons checking out one of the overflows on my display tank

 

Where do you get the full depth overflow's, and do you just silicone them into place?

 

Yes, (on the 40g) we just cut the acrylic to size and siliconed it in place. It helps to use a table saw or sliding miter saw so that the cut sides are straight and square.
If you're asking about the overflows on the 550, those were done by the manufacturer, although the priciple is the same.

 

I would use an overflow box to get all the surface scum.

Youcan do something like this.
1500 gph complete kit - Glass-Holes.com dope aquarium stuff

 

I just ordered one of these for my 29g (the smaller one than that, but with teeth) and I am really looking forward to installing it. I would also recommend any of thier kits.

My wife is betting me 'favors' that I'll break the tank.

(It's a sucker bet, I've drilled tanks before )

 

I recently drilled my mantis tank with one of their kits. Price was good and the service was better. I recommend their kits.