One of the Reasons I Don't have a Sump

[LostMind]

If I recall correctly, Pikey's bottom glass was drilled for a closed loop, not sump return.

But yah, I thought putting holes in the bottom pane of glass is strange. Who wants to tempt fate that much?

[mr_alberta]

Should I be worried? I have 3 holes drilled in the bottom of my tank (2 for 3/4" bulkheads and a single 1" bulkhead). My tank is ~50G cube (24"x24"x23.5") made with 1/2" glass, BB and about 40lbs of rock. There is no trim on the tank, and it is a floating bottom style tanks. I don't have foam or plywood under the tank either.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by newguy

Should I be worried?

No, you'll be fine.

[muck]

Originally Posted by newguy

Should I be worried?

I'd be sweating buckets if I were you...

[Willow]

Originally Posted by LostMind

But yah, I thought putting holes in the bottom pane of glass is strange. Who wants to tempt fate that much?

why is that strange? every reef ready tank is drilled on the bottom.

[muck]

Originally Posted by Willow

why is that strange? every reef ready tank is drilled on the bottom.

nope. mine is out the back...

[Willow]

you bought a predrilled tank from a shop with holes in the back or you had the holes drilled to speck? big diffrence.

[muck]

I got the holes drilled locally.

[LostMind]

to clarify - I thought it was strange to have that many holes in the bottom of your tank. I think putting drains thru the bottom is great... ease of plumbing and all that. But I'd get scared if I had a bunch of holes in my tank bottom. 1 or 2 I am cool with.... 5 or 6? tempting fate too much

[Fish]

Originally Posted by megatron_55

?? Listen to yourself Anyhow . . . if you do your research there are some overflow boxes that has a pump so that there is no syphon break when a power outage occurs . . . EVER!! . . . Or you can DIY as long as you now which pump will work . . . RESEARCH IS KEY IN THIS HOBBY . .

Thanks for coming out . . .

Ironically, before I went with a drilled overflow I did A LOT of research into external overflow boxes and the consensus is that the designs that incorporate the powerhead pump to prevent siphon break are NOT the reliable ones because they 'depend' on the pump to come back on after a power outage - and they don't always come back on (eg CPR). The more reliable models are those that don't depend on a pump to function properly (eg Life Reef or Amiricle). Just wanted to correct that for anyone who might be in the market. The second type of overflow box is safer, and a drilled tank is safe'est, but no design is 100%.
I do agree that research is key in this hobby though

I think that the glass was probably too thin for a drilled tank bottom. My 20gal is built with 3/8" glass 'cause I was worried about it when I was away (probably over-kill though). This guy obviously had concerns himself because he was checking the bottom every day - not normal behavior. A good lesson to all of us though. If there is something in your system that has you fretting constantly, best fix it while you still can - even if it is over-kill. After all, this "relaxing" hobby is stressful enough!

- Chad