DIY Overflow Boxes

[rdbrown]

The Tenecor acrylic aquarium that I purchased used did not have built in overflow boxes, so I decided to make my own. I made some DIY overflow boxes out of 1/16" black ABS Plastic. I drew what I wanted in Illustrator and used a laser cutter to cut the sides and front out. I am going to be putting them in my 180 acrylic tank. I chose the ABS over acrylic because of the texture. I then welded the sides to the front using Weldon #4. I can post pictures if anyone is interested in seeing them before I put them in the aquarium. I can also post pictures of the process of welding them to the aquarium and drilling and plumbing also if interested.

This is the drawing for the front.

This is the drawing for the sides.

 

[rdbrown]

Sorry that I didn't take pictures of the box being laser cut or the welding process. Here are some pictures of the box after being welded.

The inside of the box is smooth.

This is where the laser cutting comes in handy. I am able to make nice cuts like this that I don't think could be achieved using power tools. Also notice that the outside of the box has a texture.

Here is the side view of the boxes.

Here is the front view of the boxes.

 

[rdbrown]

Here is the tank empty, and cleaned ready to put the boxes in.

Here is the box put into place and measured for placement. I then applied the Weldon #4 using a syringe. After that dried I went over the seem with weldon #16 to fill in any gaps.

I placed some weight on it and let it dry. I then repeated for the other side.

 

[rdbrown]

here is my home made durso using 1 1/4" PVC and I took it down to 1" for the make shift bulkhead.

Here is the drain and return pipes. I routed the return through the overflow housing.

 

[rdbrown]

This is the return line routed through the overflow housing.

Here is the top above the overflows where I used a router and cut the opening over the overflow for access.

Here is the return line again.

 

[rdbrown]

I painted the back and side of the tank up to the front of the overflow boxes with black paint.

Just some images of the tank after the completion.

 

[Cdog]

That's some sweet handy work with the laser cutter and router. The black looks great! The fish look happy too. Cdog

 

[Dr Joe]

I guess it's ok is you like ... PERFECTION

So do you have full access to this laser? HHmmm?

Most Excellent.

Dr Joe

.

 

[rdbrown]

Yes, I have access to the laser.

 

[Ric Foster]

WOW nice work