Should I block bulkhead holes? Bulkhead placement?

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Mc_RobZ

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 1, 2011
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Sydney, Australia
I am in the middle of setting up my tank and sump/refugium.

The tank I am using is a 7' x 2' x 2' glass tank that I bought second hand from a LFS.

As per the two photos I have attached, the tank has the standard overflow in the back corner with a 1" bulkhead hole, but instead of just having one return hole up the other end of the tank, it has three more.

It has another 1" bulhead hole up the same end as the overflow, about 10 or 12" in from the end, right in the centre of the base.

It also has two 1" bulkhead holes up the other end, but instead of being near the top, they are right near the bottom of the back wall, one above the other.

I plan on running a sump/fuge, with an in sump skimmer, from the overflow and back to the tank.

Should I block the two un needed holes with a piece of glass and silicon, or is there a better way?

Also would it be better to block the return hole and drill another return hole towards the top of the tank?

Thanks for your thoughts.

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I'm not 100% on the location of the extra holes from your pics, but I would at least consider the use of some of the holes for a canister if you planned on using one.
 
The first pic shows the extra hole near the overflow on the left hand side of the tank. The second shows the two "inlet" holes on the opposite end of the tank.

I was not planing On using a canister. Would this be recommended in conjunction with my sump/fuge.

My sump will have two 4" sock filters and a skimmer in one section, and a 24" x 12" x 12" refugium both flowing back to a return pump area.
 
Ohhhhh I see it now. It threw me off that the overflow was clear. Sorry about that.

I honestly have no idea if you should use a canister on a saltwater tank. I'm all fresh, and for that I would say definitely yes. You would have to check with some salt guys on that.

It you decide against a canister I see two options for you. You could put a piece of glass over it and silicone it in like you said, or you could do what I did on one of my old tanks. I just put in bulkheads and caped them in case I decided to use them later and didn't want to have to scrape silicon.

Whatever you do, Good Luck.
 
I would use bulkheads and PVC caps to cover the extra holes. If you ever decide to use them, they will be ready to go.

Putting glass and silicone over the holes seems sloppy. That looks like a nice tank. I wouldn't go the short-cut way.
 
I already have the bullheads so I think I will install them and cap off the extra holes as suggested.

As for the return hole. I am thinking that the inlet
Should be closer tO the top of the tank. How should I go about achieving this? I was thinking coming out of the bulkhead on th inside of the tank with an elbow facing upwards, running a length of pipe and another elbow at the top, a couple of inches under the water line. Does this sound like the best option or is there a better way.
 
Joe M mentioned that he was thrown off because the over flow was clear. I was thinking about painting it to hide that area from view.
What color would you guys recommend for this and what type of paint?
Should I paint the inside of the overflow or the outside.
 
Mc_RobZ;4981053; said:
Joe M mentioned that he was thrown off because the over flow was clear. I was thinking about painting it to hide that area from view.
What color would you guys recommend for this and what type of paint?
Should I paint the inside of the overflow or the outside.
Click to expand...

Is the overflow glass? If so that Im not sure if you can safely paint it.

RabidSheHamster;4983284; said:
what kind of caps do you use to stop up holes that are fitted with bulkheads??? (poor little lost noob here)
Click to expand...

If the bulkheads are threaded you can simply screw a threaded PVC cap into the bulkhead. If they are slip fitting bulkheads you could just glue a piece of PVC pipe into them, then a threaded adapter onto the piece of pipe, and then a cap into the adapter.
 
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