Overflow Question - Attaching it to acrylic tank

[BillyKVT]

Hello all! I am expecting my clear-for-life 60G to arrive this upcoming week and I am trying to finalize my overflow design before I start cutting on the waterjet.

Since the tank is acrylic, I was thinking of just fusing the overflow box to it using Weldon 4 acrylic. This is my first serious build and I haven't had any experience with overflows before. My question is if I'll ever need to remove it for cleaning purposes.

Assuming I've made the permanent bond and something happens down the road where I need to get in there, how would I go about removing the box?

Thanks in advance.

 

[T-J]

My question would be, why?
Is there a need to permanently affix it? My suggestion would be to just drill the hole(s) and use bulkheads to attach it. That way you can always remove it if needed. What would you do if it cracked due to a pipe being pulled or something? Kinda screwed if it's a permanent piece of the tank at that point.
Just my two pennies.

 

[BillyKVT]

My question would be, why?
Is there a need to permanently affix it? My suggestion would be to just drill the hole(s) and use bulkheads to attach it. That way you can always remove it if needed. What would you do if it cracked due to a pipe being pulled or something? Kinda screwed if it's a permanent piece of the tank at that point.
Just my two pennies.

It's being installed on the inside of the display tank. Pipes are going straight down into the sump area through the bottom of the tank.

 

[T-J]

It's being installed on the inside of the display tank. Pipes are going straight down into the sump area through the bottom of the tank.

Ok, so you're doing a full height overflow inside the tank? Then I guess I kinda understand wanting to fuse it. Tanks that come from the manufactures with full size overflows do both silicone and permanent bonding.
My last bit of advice would be to consider doing an external box. After 20+ years of reefing, one of the things I hate the most is having a huge full tank height overflow. Hard to scape around, and not pretty to look at. Plus, I'm an idiot and have dropped things into the bottom of them, which is always fun fishing out.
My newest tank has a ghost overflow. If you're open to ideas, I would suggest taking a look!

 

[BillyKVT]

Ok, so you're doing a full height overflow inside the tank? Then I guess I kinda understand wanting to fuse it. Tanks that come from the manufactures with full size overflows do both silicone and permanent bonding.
My last bit of advice would be to consider doing an external box. After 20+ years of reefing, one of the things I hate the most is having a huge full tank height overflow. Hard to scape around, and not pretty to look at. Plus, I'm an idiot and have dropped things into the bottom of them, which is always fun fishing out.
My newest tank has a ghost overflow. If you're open to ideas, I would suggest taking a look!

I considered doing an external but due to size constraints of where this thing (the entire tank) will be permanently placed I simply can't. I've also decided to put the overflow off to the the far left side and aquascape so it's mostly hidden. I'm leaning towards the permanent bond with enough room for my wife's tiny hands to fit in. Thanks for all of your advice though!

 

[BrandonS]

I considered doing an external but due to size constraints of where this thing (the entire tank) will be permanently placed I simply can't. I've also decided to put the overflow off to the the far left side and aquascape so it's mostly hidden. I'm leaning towards the permanent bond with enough room for my wife's tiny hands to fit in. Thanks for all of your advice though!

I have always done permanent bonding as usually once you do an overflow you don't want to go through the steps to remove. If you did silicone instead it could be removed. But that would require cutting the silicone with a knife. And to re attach would be a tank drain, clean old silicone and re silicone when dry. On the other hand once you bond acrylic it's very hard to separate cleanly.

 

[KorD]

Also another thing to remember.. water jets and lasers cut angled lines. You will need to sand and level out your cuts before using Weldon. You will end up with 87 degree cuts if just left alone.

Personally I would just bulkhead the tank and run PVC to the sump unless there is a reason you want to have an overflow