To drill or not to drill

AZG · Dec 19, 2017

Soooooo my reef is a little over a year old now. And like all I want/need a sump. I'm sick of looking at the hang on the back skimmer and my media reactors. I really want to drill but am hesitant on emptying my tank. I've held off on the over flow box because I'm just nervous of something going wrong and damaging my floors. So I don't know. I guess I'd just like to hear experience with both and am open to suggestions. FYI I haven't mapped this out at all yet. They only certainty in my mind is I'm going to build a 3 chamber 30g sump for my 55g DT.

Crabs McJones · Dec 19, 2017

I'm Going Off said:
Soooooo my reef is a little over a year old now. And like all I want/need a sump. I'm sick of looking at the hang on the back skimmer and my media reactors. I really want to drill but am hesitant on emptying my tank. I've held off on the over flow box because I'm just nervous of something going wrong and damaging my floors. So I don't know. I guess I'd just like to hear experience with both and am open to suggestions. FYI I haven't mapped this out at all yet. They only certainty in my mind is I'm going to build a 3 chamber 30g sump for my 55g DT.

Definitely go drilled. I went with a hang on back overflow and have regretted it ever since. They're noisy and difficult to tune, you risk it breaking siphon and flooding your home. Drilled tanks use gravity fall, no siphon to transfer water to your sump, and can be set up in multiple ways to he dead silent. I bought a spare tank during the dollar per gallon sale. got an eshopps eclipse overflow and drilled it. Drilling seems very intimidating, but it's really easy to do. I actually started setting it up last night. I made a mistake during the plumbing, but with any plumbing job they say you run to the store 3 times before you get it right, but I was able to rig the emergency overflow to get the tank running for now while I wait for brs to deliver the new plumbing parts, which should be here today hopefully. I'm getting off track, lol, but in conclusion definitely go drilled, and if you have a fellow reefer that lives near you have him come help you. I luckily had a good friend of mine who actually started me in reef keeping come help me transfer everything from the old tank to new and run new plumbing.

Water Dog · Dec 19, 2017

Drill it. I was very apprehensive about drilling through 1/2” glass for my Modular Marine ghost overflow. Once I got it done however, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Go slow and use water to keep keep the bit cool. I used plumber’s putty and made a little water well.

Brian W · Dec 19, 2017

Drill it.

A4goulet · Dec 19, 2017

55g are very narrow tanks and will be hard to fit anything other than a 10g sump underneath. Unless you have a custom stand with no cross braces.

mamedina · Dec 19, 2017

Make sure it’s not tempered

jd371 · Dec 19, 2017

As someone who has a HOB overflow with no issues in the two years I've had it... I say drill it. My HOB over flow is quiet thanks to a Stockman standpipe, siphon starts right back up again in case of a power failure, no chance on flooding because the return will run dry first ( I tested all the scenarios ). I hear horror stories about these HOB overflows but mine has been flawless. The reason I say drill is because a drilled tank is aesthetically more pleasing without all the hardware hanging off the back. I was too scared to drill a new $500 tank, but if I had to do it all over again I would definitely drill, although there is nothing wrong with a HOB if it is set up correctly.

redfishbluefish · Dec 19, 2017

I think the tank is going to be the major decider of whether or not you drill. The overwhelming majority of 55 gallon tanks are tempered.....and you can not drill tempered glass.

PaulPerger · Dec 19, 2017

Many 55s have tempered bottoms, but not sides. If you are not positive about whether or not your tank is tempered, check YouTube for an easy way to test using polarized glasses and your phone. If not tempered, drill it. Just let the bit and the drill do the work, don't go too fast, don't let it get dry. It takes time, but it is well worth it.

KMSReefer · Dec 19, 2017

I wouldn't ever recommend it to anyone but I did drill and plumb my established tank with it mostly full. The risk is definitely way higher but it can be done.

Getting away from the canister filter and adding a sump is the biggest improvement I have made to my tank and I wasn't comfortable with a HOB overflow setup. So I would say drill it for sure. Here is a shot of the tank currently.

Just my opinion.

A4goulet · Dec 19, 2017

+1 on drilling. Tempered glass will depend on tank manufacturer. Aqueon's literature states for 55g only botton is tempered and marineland states all panals are tempered on there 55g. With that said I wouldn't drill without first confirming as i believe i read where aqueon may use whatever glass they have available to make there dpg tanks.

Crabs McJones · Dec 19, 2017

KMSReefer said:
I wouldn't ever recommend it to anyone but I did drill and plumb my established tank with it mostly full. The risk is definitely way higher but it can be done.

Getting away from the canister filter and adding a sump is the biggest improvement I have made to my tank and I wasn't comfortable with a HOB overflow setup. So I would say drill it for sure. Here is a shot of the tank currently.

Just my opinion.

That is actually really nifty! I was looking for something similar to this when I decided to go drilled on my tank, but ended up just buying a second tank during the dollar per gallon sale and drilling that. Where did you find that kit if you don't mind me asking

cracker · Dec 19, 2017

I'm going off, Do You want to drill thru the side or bottom of the tank? I didn't know 55's were most likely tempered. The side panels also?

Crabs McJones · Dec 19, 2017

cracker said:
I'm going off, Do You want to drill thru the side or bottom of the tank? I didn't know 55's were most likely tempered. The side panels also?

This is the easiest way to tell

iemsparticus · Dec 19, 2017

Drill it if you can. Absolutely. Most reefers agree that it looks better (admittedly this is subjective, but it’s a pretty common opinion), and it is typically a lot quieter and more good-proof.

That being said, DO check the glass to see if it’s tempered.

rockstarta78 · Dec 19, 2017

I was on the same boat as the OP over 2 years ago. Tank was full with fishes, coral and what not. But the HOB everything and their mother was annoying me to the point that I decided to drill the tank with everything in it. So I took out about 90% of the water, caught all my fishes, moved them to a 10g tank. Before drilling my tank I covered the rock and everything with a towel so I could catch the glass and all the water. Honestly it was painful, but I am so glad I did it. But I think it's easier to drill if you can lay the tank on it's side.

KMSReefer · Dec 19, 2017

crabs_mcjones said:
That is actually really nifty! I was looking for something similar to this when I decided to go drilled on my tank, but ended up just buying a second tank during the dollar per gallon sale and drilling that. Where did you find that kit if you don't mind me asking

I got a bit and weir kit at a custom tile and glass shop and modified it. I heated the weir up so I could deform it like that and drilled holes in it and formed rigid tubing to make the inlet and drain. That way I could use an aqualifter pump to constantly feed cold water to the drill and glass and the old water and glass dust drained to a second container. I also has a piece of acrylic sealed to the glass on the inside of the tank to prevent anything from going in with my livestock. Kept things very clean and all I had to focus on was the drilling itself.

AZG · Dec 19, 2017

crabs_mcjones said:
This is the easiest way to tell

Thanks I got the tank for free and don't know if its tempered or not. This was super helpful.

Crabs McJones · Dec 19, 2017

KMSReefer said:
I got a bit and weir kit at a custom tile and glass shop and modified it. I heated the weir up so I could deform it like that and drilled holes in it and formed rigid tubing to make the inlet and drain. That way I could use an aqualifter pump to constantly feed cold water to the drill and glass and the old water and glass dust drained to a second container. I also has a piece of acrylic sealed to the glass on the inside of the tank to prevent anything from going in with my livestock. Kept things very clean and all I had to focus on was the drilling itself.

That is an awesome DIY!