A.J.'s 125 gallon reef

[Anthony.Luciano710]

ok thanks

Plastic part up.

 

[Imbarrie]

Drilling a tank while it is set up?

I havent heard of anyone doing this successfully. There is a recent post of someone losing everything when the tank broke.

This is a train wreck in slow motion but I cant bear not to watch.

 

[fishman1069]

Ive heard of people drilling their tanks with water in it. You just have to bring the level down, at least 2/3 or 3/4 of the total volume. Its been done successfully before

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

were going to train the water so its only enough for the fish to move of just be under water and not even move just stay in like a part where theres low sand and spray a powerhead or 2 while drilling it and go slow. lol your like my parents. there so scared it might break but i dont think it will. i look at the tank and i just cant see that happening so im not really that worried about it. i think the glass is to thick for it to crack in any other place other then where its being drilled.

Drilling a tank while it is set up?

I havent heard of anyone doing this successfully. There is a recent post of someone losing everything when the tank broke.

This is a train wreck in slow motion but I cant bear not to watch.

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

yea im bringing it down to about an inch. or wherever i see the fish are ok with.

Ive heard of people drilling their tanks with water in it. You just have to bring the level down, at least 2/3 or 3/4 of the total volume. Its been done successfully before

 

[reefs4life]

We'll be fine...I'll go really slow. Oh and I forgot to ask, you have a drill right? LOL

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

ohhh i have everything you can imagine. just wait till you see the garage its like home depot lol.

We'll be fine...I'll go really slow. Oh and I forgot to ask, you have a drill right? LOL

 

[Imbarrie]

OK First off, Im not like your parents, I have a lot more experience than you and Im still a noob.
When you describe how smoothly this will run, I think about your experiences so far, and you should expect me not to be convinced.

I have a lot of respect for reefs4life. After reading the posts about his seahorse tank it has given me some inspiration to try something similar. I think this is the closest encounter you will have with anyone who will be able to steer you into the right direction.

If it were me, I would loan out the livestock, empty the tank and then drill it. This will help you start from a more stable point. Since this tank is still new, you are not losing anything you cant get back.

Dont take this the wrong way, I want you to have the tank you want. It just seems from reading your posts that you are all over the place and not focusing on what is important.

Either way, good luck. For your fish's sake.

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

thanks but i really am confident about this i just cant see how the glass could crack from drilling it. maybe on a small tank but on this tank the glass is thick. drilling a whole just doesn't seem like it will crack the glass. and i have big containers ready if anything. and petland discounts is a 5 minute ride and they gave 125's in stock so i would just go really quick and get another one or if it cracks i would upgrade to 180 gallon because i think this is to thin and just start fresh with a 180 but i am 99% sure nothing will happen. the water will be lowered so much that some parts of the sand will be exposed. the fish will just stay in like a little pocket of water and there will be almost no pressure on the glass and it will be cooled by a powerhead just continuously pumping water on it.

OK First off, Im not like your parents, I have a lot more experience than you and Im still a noob.
When you describe how smoothly this will run, I think about your experiences so far, and you should expect me not to be convinced.

I have a lot of respect for reefs4life. After reading the posts about his seahorse tank it has given me some inspiration to try something similar. I think this is the closest encounter you will have with anyone who will be able to steer you into the right direction.

If it were me, I would loan out the livestock, empty the tank and then drill it. This will help you start from a more stable point. Since this tank is still new, you are not losing anything you cant get back.

Dont take this the wrong way, I want you to have the tank you want. It just seems from reading your posts that you are all over the place and not focusing on what is important.

Either way, good luck. For your fish's sake.

 

[reefs4life]

So to update the progress of this "fix" (idk what else to call it lol)...I picked up a sheet of 15-3/4"X23-3/4" black acrylic from AJ and made these two overflow boxes for him. The dimensions of these are 9" long by 8" tall by 6" wide with teeth about 1-1/2 tall and 7/8" apart. I know they're a little big but I wanted to use up all the acrylic, only made two small pieces of scrap. Since there is the space in it, should I drill two holes for dual 1" drains in each overflow box or is one 1" drain for each enough?

 

[BobNY]

Reefs4life, Nice work on the overflow boxes!!
You are a good man helping AJ out as much as you are.

 

[pauliwalnuts]

+1, on what Bobby just said.

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

i was just thinking about this and i released that im basically restarting the whole tank... draining all the water taking out all the rock, adding more sand, and letting reefs4life hold my fish. then drilling the tank and making a new sump, redoing plumbing and electric, getting new equipment like a vortech i got 2 days ago and maybe a new return pump and making my leds and a canopy to put them in. and recycling the whole tank then seeding the new refugium with rotifers and copepods. so this really is like a fresh start and i didn't realize it was this big until i was thinking about it now.

 

[Arati]

http://www.glass-holes.com/

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

thanks but i got all the bulkheads and everything already and were set to drill it on friday.

http://www.glass-holes.com/

 

[Arati]

ya i saw the picture , that why i posted the link. you may want to reconsider. at least look at how thiers are built .. then look at yours. then think about it a little.

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

they look kind of the same?? black acrylic with slits in it. what exactly do theirs have that diy ones dont? i couldn't find a difference.

ya i saw the picture , that why i posted the link. you may want to reconsider. at least look at how thiers are built .. then look at yours. then think about it a little.

 

[Arati]

two more sides unless im just not seeing them in your pictures.

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

ohhhh thats because there going to be mounted on the corners.

two more sides unless im just not seeing them in your pictures.

 

[Arati]

How much water will your overflows handle? how do you know?

Does corner mounting like you plan to do put uneeded stress on the thank? will the seams handle that?

How will you stop the gurgle in the overflow? do you have baffles in it for that?

Do you realy need your box to be that thick from front to back?

Im not saying it wont work, infact they look pretty cool. if it wasa 40breeder i wouldnt worry a bit. however, you have alot of surface area that is alot of water pushing against your box. would it not be worth it to spend a little more and have piece of mind knowing its tried and true and well tested. to know what size pump it will definetly work with.

I think its great you are willing to take the time and redo the system to get ti right. i just dont see the point of cutting corners on something so cheap.

not saying Do it liek I say... just saying think about it alittle more.