Bulk heads in bottom or sides?

takagari

Candiru
MFK Member
Jan 13, 2009
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Manitoba
I got a good deal on a plywood 100 gallon tank.
not sure what they used to seal it, but it's a hard epoxy of some sort.
Was not applied overly smooth so I'm likely going to put a little silicone under the bulkhead to ensure it fill's the uneven surfaces.

that being said, side or bottom? I wish to flush mount this to the back wall, so they'd come out of the side.
I'm likely going to run it off a canister filter until I settle on a sump design.

But for looks, If it came up the bottom he sides would be clean.

Help me pick where to drill guys. I know the downside of a bottom drill. That's a 100 gallon leak instead of a 15 gallon leak...

Thank you.
 

Ihsnshaik

Giant Snakehead
MFK Member
Aug 20, 2015
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Windy CIty
I got a good deal on a plywood 100 gallon tank.
not sure what they used to seal it, but it's a hard epoxy of some sort.
Was not applied overly smooth so I'm likely going to put a little silicone under the bulkhead to ensure it fill's the uneven surfaces.

that being said, side or bottom? I wish to flush mount this to the back wall, so they'd come out of the side.
I'm likely going to run it off a canister filter until I settle on a sump design.

But for looks, If it came up the bottom he sides would be clean.

Help me pick where to drill guys. I know the downside of a bottom drill. That's a 100 gallon leak instead of a 15 gallon leak...

Thank you.
Here's the thing bottom drill bulkheads are great because you can insert an elbow then run a PVC to the top. You drill from the top and make a mistake you're limited and can't bring it down.

I would do it from bottom and run a PVC up to find the perfect spot
 

duanes

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I agree with Ishnshaik, if they are on the bottom, then you really need to also put a standpipe in, which unless totally hidden, doesn't look that great, and can also get in the way if you're trying to catch a fish. I had a few bottom drilled tanks, and this was the problem for me. But the standpipe also helps maintain a water surface level, without it, in a power outage all water from the tank can just simply flow out like an open bathtub drain.
below is a standpipe with a strainer added to prevents plants from sliding down, I'm holding a PVC cap I used to temper the gurgle sound, it rested on top the strainer.


the tank below has 2 standpipes, 1 in each corner, I believe you can see one if you look hard enough, you can also see th plumbing running underneath. I added a bunch of unions to make maintenance easy, the sump is to the right, not visible in the photo.
 
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takagari

Candiru
MFK Member
Jan 13, 2009
221
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Manitoba
That's my thoughts as well, and the ability to remove the standpipe to drain if needed. I was planning on two out pipes, had though about running the return up the bottom but I think I may run that over the lip to simplify things and limit clutter inside the tank.
 

DN328

Potamotrygon
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Aug 14, 2014
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Food for thought...if you plan to eventually move to sump filtration consider how the bulkhead and plumbing will be. Else you may end up having to redrill to optimize your sump set up.
 
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