Oh, I forgot about your overflow question...for DIY overflows you can get glass cut for it, and then silicone some black acrylic to the tank side of the overflow so you can't see in. You can't just silicone an acrylic overflow in because as you've heard it doesn't work perfectly, and you need that overflow to be 100% water tight or you will have a big flood when the power goes out. If your overflow has a straight top (no teeth) you can use eggcrate siliconed to the top for the water to flow through. If you need some pics of all this my tank is done like this and I could take some pics tomorrow when the lights are on...same with the Herbie.
Holes are easy to drill...you could always practise on a spcrap piece of glass before you try the tank. The biggest challenge is holding the bit in the right spot while you start it. You always have to start on a bit of an angle too, get it going a bit and slowly get it all th way around. I always drill outside and use the hose turned on the bit, you have to drill wet, not dry. Oh, and go slow! A 1" hole will easily take 15 minutes of drilling or more. I have bits from BRS, and they work well, but they are cheap because they are only good for maybe 10 holes or so.
I personally put out the extra few bucks for the Spears gate valve because being able to clean it really helps once the tank has been up and running for a year or more. It's worth the extra bucks.
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~ Mindy
SPS fanatic.
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