Acrylic 240 help

[iap]

I just picked a 240 gallon tank with 6 holes drilled on the bottom of the tank. 1 in the back left corner and 1 in the back right corner and the other 4 are spaced out in the middle. When I got the tank the guy gave me some kind of homemade tray/filter cover thing to lay on the bottom to cover the drains up so that fish or gravel don't get sucked down into the filtration system.

The tank has this pentair lifeguard system on it. 2 sets of 4 canisters. 1 set is connected to the 3 holes on the left, 2 drain and the 1 in the corner is the return. Well I'm not to keen on this lifeguard setup so I want to scrap this set up and throw on a sump + canister filter.

Now my question is can I utilize these holes for the new filtration that I want to setup. Can I use the 2 in the back corners for overflow just by putting an extended piece of PVC so I am at the top of my water line. If I can do this, since it is just gravity and not a siphon (like the homemade PVC overflow) will it be any quieter?

OR will I need to build that durso standpipe and build an overflow box to encase it in?

OR am I going to have to plug these 5 holes up, because I will obviously keep one for easy draining, and drill new he's on the back of my tank. I am really at a loss so any help is appreciated. I've always just used hob and canister filters and never had a drilled tank.

Thanks

 

[john73738]

I am no expert in drilled tanks, however IMO I would just figure out the plumbing. I would think that an overflow box would only really be needed to skim additional surface area (as I read elsewhere)

I would not want to be creating more holes in the tank for strenght integrity reasons.

Good luck, and cant wait to see pictures

 

[cdc]

My 300 has two drilled 2 inch overflows one on the back right and one on the back left. It also had two 1 inch holes drilled through the bottom.

I blocked one of the 2 inch holes up and just used one as my overflow, I also blocked one of the 1 inch holes in the bottom and used the other 1 inch hole as my return, so my return pump sends water into the bottom of my tank.

edit: the tank also had four other 1 inch holes that were already blocked up when I got it. Pictures of my tank are in the photo section.

 

[iap]

 

[Egon]

So......you want to make your sump overflow proof so if you loose power you wont drain your tank. You have 6 holes, that's a good thing. Making holes sux, you already have yours so lets use em! If you want to keep the tank looking clean with out plumbing showing then you need to run your over flows on the out side of the tank.
First part is get a bulkhead fitting that fits your holes and put a strainer on the inside to keep the fish and gravel from sucking in. I use threaded bulkheads so it's easy to add a threaded strainer.
Now run plumbing from the bottom/out side of your tank and loop it up the back all the way up to where you want the water height to be. Put a T fitting at the water surface height behind the fish tank and then add about 3 more inches of pipe above the T fitting for a siphon break. The horizontal part of the T fitting run back down to your sump. Now the water will flow through the strainer down through the bulkhead and up the back of the tank to the height of the T fitting, then it will spill over into the pipe going back down into your sump. I would do this same system on 5 of the holes in your tank, that way you have enough drain capacity for a very large pump. The last hole put a valve on and use it for easy water changes.
The sump return you can fit a spray bar or something to skim the surface of the tank and keep that agitated and clean. With this system any power outages you wont drain your tank and also no need for check valves to fail. It's a fool proof system and very clean looking. All your heaters and plumbing will be out side the tank. Also this system will suck poo from the bottom of the tank where an inside the tank overflow system can only skim the surface of the tank.

Good luck!

 

[Egon]

Oh yeah, under every bulkhead I always put a ball valve just in case. You may go years with out using this valve but if you ever need to you will be happy you put one there. The valves are not necessary and they are pricy so it's an option.

 

[iap]

Wow. Thanks Egon. I have one question, well only one that came to mind immediately, when I run the PVC from bulkhead and do the tees and all of that. When I am done doing that to all 5 holes will I be having 5 drains into my sump or should I connect them somewhere to 1 single drain? Thanks again

 

[iap]

Actually, should I connect all the bulkheads below the tank then run one single pipe up the back with the tee and back into the sump. Or do I need to run 5 pipes with 5 tees in the back?

 

[Egon]

What ever is easier really.
My system I have 1.5 inch pipes going to the T fitting and then just below the T they spill into a 3" line that runs the length of the back of the tank, slightly sloping towards the sump but that's not necessary. Then at one end of the tank my 3" line takes a 90 and drops straight into the sump. I always wanted to put a bio tower there because it's a 6 foot drop from the water level to the floor. The other end of the 3" line is capped. Lowes or Home Depot will sell all the plumbing your going to need. You can easily come up with fittings for a 1" line to go into a 3" line. I think a 3" line will be large enough? You have to go bigger as you start combining your drains of course.

 

[Egon]

Thinking about it I would run all the pipes separately to the T fitting then drop the water into a main 3" line. It seems like it will flow better, I don't know why but that seems better to me. Sorry I don't have any scientific references it's just my opinion and that system works for me.

Now if ya want to get fancy: Your last hole for the drain (hole #6) I would run that the same way as the rest of the holes. But I would add a T fitting with a ball valve at the 10% water level, just measure the height of the tank and divide it by 10 and put a T at the top 10% level (or what ever height you like). Now the horizontal part of the T will be at the 10% water change level, just open that ball valve and the water will drain to that level for water changes. No worries about over draining or siphoning water, just open the valve sit back and have a beer when the water stops flowing you removed exactly 10% of the water. You can attach a hose to that drain and run it out a window or door and water your plants. You can even put another T at the bottom with a ball valve so you can drain the whole tank if needed. LOL Yeah I love plumbing.