Drilling tank

[zoasandpalys]

I’m going to be drilling a 220 gallon marineland aquarium. I checked with the company it can be drilled in the bottom but not the sides. so imma drill it in the middle so it’s visible on all four sides as I’m using it to separate two rooms. but the problem I have is I don’t know what size holes i should drill to accommodate for everything with the water flow. Or should it be one drain and one return OR one drain and two returns, I have no idea. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also would anyone know where I could get a 30” over flow round or square?

 

[chaples55]

I would recommend at least two drain holes. A single drain is hard to tune right to run quiet and can be very prone to flooding if it happens to get blocked by a snail or something. Try to do either a Herbie or a Bean Animal style overflow:

 

[chaples55]

The size of your pipes and the number of returns will depend on how much flow you want to run through the tank. You can reference this chart for a rough idea:



You'll want to use the numbers from the green column for your drains (and keep in mind you want almost all of your flow to go through just one of the drain pipes). Use the yellow column to determine the minimum size and number of returns. It's fine to oversize the returns.

 

[chaples55]

If I were to design a 220g I would probably go with two 1.5" drains in a Herbie configuration and two 3/4" returns.

As far as the overflow box goes, there are a few sellers on eBay that can make custom ones for you for very reasonable prices.

 

[zoasandpalys]

Thanks for the info, I’m going to do that exactly, two 1.5“ drains with the Herbie. I already ordered the overflow 8x5x28, now I I think I’m going to change the plan. Thinking about drains on left and returns on right.

 

[zoasandpalys]

Ok so I have talked to a couple of people now, and I’m not sure what I’m going to do I know I need to be careful but what is everyone’s thoughts on drilling it really. Should I be worried about the pressure of the water and Rock busting the bottom out? It is half inch glass. It’s just got me worried now. I’m almost to broke to be in this hobby this would be the only way for me to get a reef tank of this size without an over flow hanging down the back and a ghetto return.

 

[zoasandpalys]

And why does my name say market? Does that mean it’s time to re up?

 

[BerghiaFact]

I always do 3 Holes 1 drain, 1 tuner, 1 emergency that is just below the top of the tank. For my returns I have 2x 3/4", so my 3 drains are 1 1/2.
I use a drill guide and just let the weight of the drill do the cutting while keeping the bit cool with running water. Good Luck!