Ideas and help needed on sump plumbing

Hi All

Want some of your thought and ideas

Recently someone builded a 1.5 x .70 x .70 tank for me.

Wanted a 40mm hole drilled in corner with a overflow box with plumbing towards my sump as I did with my other big tanks.
Some specifications was lost in translation and I ended up with a 40mm hole about 17cm from the side and 15cm from the back.

Now I have 4 options

1. Build my overflow box around it wich will look odd and big and take away water space
2. Close hole with silicon and glass and drill new hole and build box around it as I wanted it
3. Close hole and build a diy pvc hang over the side plumbing as Prof described in one of the threads.
4. Use hole as is with no box around it and just put a pipe straight up where water can overflow into down to sump wich would look odd one side in the tank.

What would you guys do,and have you used no.3 before?
I am just worried that those pipes in no.3 might look just as ugly as no.4

Hope to hear from you soon

Kind Regards

Charles

 

I can't visualise where the hole is exactly. Was your original plan to have an internal corner overflow, at the back of the tank? Will there be durso standpipe inside the overflow?

 

I prefer external overflow boxes, so personally I would glue the hole closed and go that way. I like to see as little equipment as possible inside the tank.

 

Ok,im going to add a simple drawing.
1 drwaing is what I wanted and the 2nd is what I got
Also adding a pic of what my other tank look like and that is what I wanted

 

Charles, I would definately go for option 3. I run two of my discus tanks with syphon boxes as designed by Dirk and they work like a bomb. I will never drill a tank ever again.

There are also other advantages on a discus tank NOT to go for skimming action overflow chambers.

I could post some photos if you'd like.

Andrew

 

Hi Andrew

Thanks for your input

Will be great if you can post some pics please!

Thanks

 

Ok, I'm out of town at the moment, so will only be able put some pics up tomorrow.

 

Take a look at how skinny overflows is built you can use the hole there

 

Charles, just an observation. What's up with that dark discus bottom left hand corner in the photo?

 

Hi Andrew

That is one of my oldest fish
He is a very dark brown bareless fish
When eating or chaseing other fish he almost turn black

Nothing wrong with him,he is only in the corner there because there is food
there

 

If you do leave options 4 - use clear acrylic pipe ... only bugger will be to wipe it clean every so often.

As skinny is actually not a bad suggestion . some 6mm glass strips and you are good to go.

Borrowed this from MASA ... you want to do the one on the right.



http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/imagehosting/10944cb5f4fa4d617.jpg

Later Ferdie

 

Or you could just angle a durso standpipe into the corner. The only visible pipes in the tank wil be the section running from the hole to the corner along the bottom, then the pipe wedged into the corner, up to the surface. Standard durso on top. I've done this before, and it worked fine. Still prefer an external overflow though.

 

Thanks for all your input and thoughts,it does help me with some new ideas,as I am not the most creative person around!
Ive got another week at sea and once I get home ill make my mind up!
!

 

Hi Charles

Ok, here is a photo of how the syphon overflow system looks. Please note I take no credit for the design, this is purely the genius of Prof Dirk.

 

Thanks Andrew

Just one question,with all the loadshedding lately does it stay primed or do you have prime it again every nou and then?

 

Hi Charles

All good. Because there is water in the weir outside the tank, and the pipe that enters the weir is below the outlet to the sump, the syphon is never broken. So no, you don't need to worry about the loadshedding in this regard.

Andrew

 

@pHish_man and Prof. Would it be possible to share the design? Would love to try it out.