Got a 210 Gallon drilled - Does it sound safe? Building a Stand, Sump, Bean Animal Overflow

[DKAudio]

Hi everyone, longtime fish keeper, first time poster. I belonged to Oscarfish for decades, still sad to see the site gone.

Anyways, I got a 210 gallon with 2 Megaflow overflows (already drilled - 4-1.75" holes) for free! It was at my friends place when they bought the house. The previous owner, who they knew, built it into the wall. My friend did not want the tank so said if I removed it, I could have it! The tank was used for around 3 years and then sat dry, but inside, for a couple more.
Last weekend, I cut all the PVC, unthreaded the bulkheads, removed wall trim and got the tank home. Currently it is sitting on saw horses while I build a stand out of 2x6's.

I did not find a manufacturer, I did see a "F210A" sticker (210 gallon). I know Aqueon used a lot of the Mefaflow overflows for their tanks. Anyways, it does have a pretty beefy black platic frame and seems to be made really well. The silicone looks great, I cannot see any bubbles, keeping in mind there is no water in it. The glass is 12mm, should I be worried? I have read tons of glass thickness threads and am finding answers all over the place. With a tank of these dimensions, I am finding the safety factor to be pretty low, is that correct? Like I said, the frame is pretty beefy which makes me feel better. Are these calculators that are found numerous places for framed or frameless tanks? I am going to be putting this on my main floor rambler, will be installing some posts and beams in my basement. If this thing gives way, it would be a disaster.

dimension including the frame = 72.5" x 24.5" x 29.625", glass is 72x24. It looks just like the Aqueon 210 with dual braces going across the top and bottom.

I currently have a 75 drilled with 29 sump so excited for this upgrade. I might drill through my walls and put a sump in my basement. I have always done Herbies in the past but on this big aquarium I may do the Bean Animal, I have 4 holes. 3 for the drains and 1 for return is my plan...still a lot to think about.

 

[TheWolfman]

Congrats on the tank. I wouldn’t be concerned about the tanks structure considering it’s a factory build. Full it up outside or in a garage and leave it for a week. If it doesn’t explode then you’d good. In order to run a bean animal you would need to have a extra hole drilled in each overflow. I would run a Herbie with the overflows that you have. Just run the return over the top of the tank.

 

[DKAudio]

Thanks, it's winter here in MN so cannot fill it outside unfortunately.

As far as the overflow, I was planning on putting the Durso and Herbie in one chamber, the emergency drain and return in the other chamber = 4 holes total. I read the Bean Animal flows a lot more than other styles of overflows so was hoping this would be enough exchange.

 

[DN328]

Congrats on the new tank. Is the tank height 30" custom sizing? Tank should be abour 224gallons.

Based on my own trial with an external overflow recently I wasn't convinced the durso was able to take on more then a straight pipe. At least not a noticable difference as my gate valve was barely adjusted. Since you already have the durso I would use that.

 

[DKAudio]

I don't have any overflows yet. I was just saying the Bean Animal is a Herbie, Durso, and Emergency.

The aquarium is 29.25" tall but that includes the thick plastic frame.

Here are some pictures... My tank in the background is a 75.

 

[TheWolfman]

A Herbie consist of a full syphon controlled building a gate valve, and a secondary open channel overflow. A bean animal uses the same drains just has a added open channel that stays dry. Two Herbie overflows will flow more then one single bean animal. Setting up a a bean animal with the e drain in the second overflow an the return is pointless imo.

 

[DKAudio]

A Herbie consist of a full syphon controlled building a gate valve, and a secondary open channel overflow. A bean animal uses the same drains just has a added open channel that stays dry. Two Herbie overflows will flow more then one single bean animal. Setting up a a bean animal with the e drain in the second overflow an the return is pointless imo.

Why is it pointless? If the level in the tank rises, the emergency will still drain even though it is in the other chamer. Sorry, perhaps I am misunderstanding. I was just looking for the easiest to adjust, most fail safe, and quietest type possible. I have read that to be the Bean Animal which is a Durso/Herbie/EM style.

 

[TheWolfman]

Why is it pointless? If the level in the tank rises, the emergency will still drain even though it is in the other chamer. Sorry, perhaps I am misunderstanding. I was just looking for the easiest to adjust, most fail safe, and quietest type possible. I have read that to be the Bean Animal which is a Durso/Herbie/EM style.

Your making the entire overflow Useless. A bean animal is no quieter then a herbie. They work the same way with a full syphon and a second open channel drain. A bean just has a backup pipe that never sees water. If your running two Herbies then you would be even more protected in the event of a clogged drain then one bean animal. You can also have more turnover with two Herbies then one bean animal.

 

[DKAudio]

Your making the entire overflow Useless. A bean animal is no quieter then a herbie. They work the same way with a full syphon and a second open channel drain. A bean just has a backup pipe that never sees water. If your running two Herbies then you would be even more protected in the event of a clogged drain then one bean animal. You can also have more turnover with two Herbies then one bean animal.

So you recommend 2 Herbie's? I think the Megaflows were designed to use Durso's, there are kits you can buy. Problem is there's no emergency with them.

 

[Backfromthedead]

2x herbies will definitely give you the most flow, but may not be entirely necessary imo. I would just use two durso type standpipes with valves and two emergency drains. Then run the returns over the back as mentioned before. If you find yourself needing higher turnover/more flow then just convert one or both of the e drains to the herbie configuration like wolfman suggested.

You dont need to buy an overpriced kit, you just need some lengths of 1" pvc, a 90, a tee, a cap, and the valve--probably $10-15 from hardware store. The emergency drain would really just be a length of pvc pipe. When building the standpipe, i would cut the drain to sit 2-3" under the waterline.

I believe those tanks use tempered 1/2" glass though im not sure. Should be plenty sturdy as long as its braced well. I would use caution if youre gonna be placing heavy rocks or other scape in the tank though.