glass vs. acrylic

[Anonymous]

He did say top notch though, and he could specify the spec (external overflows etc) to his own preference/design.

 

[Anonymous]

That is true. However some people say top notch, then they hear how much that costs and it makes them settle for something thats "good enough"

 

[Anonymous]

I'd order from Envision if it weren't for the not being in the US thing. I'll probably end up ordering from a Japanese acrylic specialist, with far fewer options (no external overflows, probably not rimless etc). I think it'd be worth it to have my ideal tank.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, but a lot of those things do fall into the "custom" category, which he said he didn't want.

I know for damn sure if I was paying someone to build a tank, and they were unwilling to do what I wanted (with reason of course) I would find someone else to do it, especially if I'm paying top notch dollar too. I mean otherwise why am I getting a tank custom built?

 

[Anonymous]

I'd agree, but for the hassle of getting someone to do something that no-one else is doing where you live and in your second language (which is rather rusty in my case).

 

[Anonymous]

Why not ask? Or at the very least give some sketches. Who knows maybe you can start a trend over there

I mean hell it's not really that much more complicated to do external as it is to do internal.

 

[Anonymous]

I thought about it, but don't think I can be bothered to invest the time. I also suspect it would jack up the price considerably (and, yes, I know I said I'd pay extra earlier, but I think I'd be willing to do one or the other - spend the time or the money).

 

[Anonymous]

*shrug* You never know unless you ask

 

[Anonymous]

If you go with a custom acrylic job, might as well go with an external weir box rather than an internal overflow. I'm super surprised more tank manufacturers aren't offering this as part of a standard tank yet.

 

[Anonymous]

Probably don't want to make a new jig

 

[mathman7728]

what is a external weir box?

 

[Anonymous]

It is just a box on the back (or rarely, on the side) of a tank that catch the water spilling over the tank's overflow. The old style is that you install a overflow box inside a tank, the external weir box is the opposite. It is install on the outside of the tank, and the tank is cut for the water to spill over.

 

[mathman7728]

i know this is unrelated to the original question, but what is your thought of having an external overflow (weir box) along nearly the entire back of the tank (assuming a 48in tank then the overflow would be somthing like 38in long). The idea is the have two returns, one on each side of the overflow

Also, how tall and wide should the overflow box be? i think i would have two holes drilled at the bottom of the box--one to the skimmer and one to the side of the sump with liverock)

finally, i would appreciate your suggestions for other finishes/touches i should have (i've read alot of euro bracing but dont know what that is)....

thank you

 

[Anonymous]

i know this is unrelated to the original question, but what is your thought of having an external overflow (weir box) along nearly the entire back of the tank (assuming a 48in tank then the overflow would be somthing like 38in long). The idea is the have two returns, one on each side of the overflow

Also, how tall and wide should the overflow box be? i think i would have two holes drilled at the bottom of the box--one to the skimmer and one to the side of the sump with liverock)

finally, i would appreciate your suggestions for other finishes/touches i should have (i've read alot of euro bracing but dont know what that is)....

thank you

I think that is the very best way you can drain water from your tank to your sump.

As for dimensions, I made mine about 5" wide x 5" deep. Also check out the bit about configuring your drains to minimize noise.
topic106697-20.html

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah you want to try to maximize surface area to skim from. For my tank I foolishly went forward and did the ENTIRE length of the tank... then I asked myself how do I get the return water back? DOH! Oh well a couple of PVC 90s and I got over it, not as clean looking as plumbing to the back.

As for depth not terribly deep, I think mine is 3 or 4 inches by 4 inches, the idea is you want more than enough drainage so that not much water stays in your overflow.

Another option I added later (about the only good thing I love about acrylic ) is I made a section of the box about 12" deep (literally cut a hole out added another box section under it), put 2 holes in the bottom so I could have a flooded drain, which IMO is pure genius whomever originally came up with it (i.e. not Herbie ), its very quiet, and best of all no bubbles come out of the drain into the sump (provided the drain pipe is under water)... I had an issue with a bit of random salt spray costing me over $100 to replace my controllers power strip! (and it was easily 2 feet away from the water source and higher!!)