Drilling Acrylic

Laura and Jim will be hosting the May meeting this Saturday the 12th and it will be the usual of food, drinks, raffle and fun.
 
Doors will be open at 6:00 pm for social talk and the meeting will start at 7:00.  Parking gets a little tight and the city says you can't park on 4th but there is a parking lot a block away.   Meeting is usually held in the backyard so feel free to bring your favorite lawn chair, weather permitting of course.

If you need address/directions, contact a club member.

Best if you park at Mini Mall (where the spaghetti establishment use to be)
 
You will get to see his new frag tank set up in the making.
 
Hope to see you there!

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[leigekiller]

do we have anyone in the club that is good at deciding placement and drilling acrylic?
I am considering buying this tank

but it has not been drilled yet, I would need both the over flow and I believe a circulation system, though I forget the technical name for a straight water mover

Thanks
Daniel

[Ed]

closed loop?

[Nate R]

drilling acrylic is super simple. all you need is a nice sharp standard hole saw drill through one side 3/4 through and move to the other side of the hole and continue as to not blow out the back side.

what size of pump r you thinking about using? this will determine the size of bulkheads you will want to use.

If you really want a nice setup build or have a nice over flow box built and place it in the box so all your drilling will be in the bottom and drop it down through the stand to the sump.

lost yet? or are you familiar with this concept?

[leigekiller]

closed loopp yes, thanks Ed

its got a overflow across the entire back of the tank as its currently built. I am going to look at it sunday so I will try and get some better pictures, the guy selling it is a friend who just had a baby and has decided he just won't have time for it.

assuming my deal works out and doesnt get mushed, I think I will be upgrading to a gen x 40 and a similar sized ilwaki pump, waiting on exact details.

Daniel

[Ed]

I like Closed loops.   They do take extra space at the back of your tank.  You do not have to worry about cleaning powerheads.    Your external pump should be clean as recommended by a few manufacturers every year and half or less.   Two Manufacturers recommend isolating the pump and running muractic acid or vinegar to clean calcium build up and prolong life of pump.   

External pumps are becoming more and more efficient.   If you want to spend the day looking at a few external pumps give me a call.   

[Nate R]

that's cool it has a overflow i think i can see it now that you mentioned it. the picture is only 1" on my computer here didn't catch it at first.

how many holes are in the tank now?

[leigekiller]

nada none and zip

its custom made and they never got that far. so its a clean slate for a well designed flow as far as drilling goes.

Daniel

[leigekiller]

These should be better images.

Daniel

[Ed]

Very nice looking tank! 

[tropicalqualities]

if you still need it drilled give me a shout out i will gladly come help you i do it all the time!

[leigekiller]

ok I have the new tankness here are some pics, now I need some






am looking to drill and set up overflows return, and a closed loop system on it.

what sized bulkheads should I get, is there a reason to go above 3/4 inch?

Daniel

[jimbo]

Dan,

 I would go with at least 1" for the over flow and may be bigger for the closed loop. It all depends on the pumps you plan on using, But you can always throttle down with a ball valve. Once you drill it gets more difficult to make a hole bigger if you want a bigger pump later on. Food for thought

                                         jimbo

[leigekiller]

ok so 1.5 then seems to be common, and put ball valvues on each one.,

thats 2 for each overflow area, in and out,

2 intakes and 2 or 3 outpits for teh closed loop? does that sound about right?

go with the same size for drilling the sump? its acrylic as well.

Daniel

[BEAU]

I also know the guy that built the tank and I believe he may still have the canopy but it's not finished.  Last I seen of the tank it was a very nice piece that just needed to be set up.  Good luck

[leigekiller]

I would probably be interested in the Canopy if he knows where it is, I had heard that he didnt but things get garbeled sometimes

might end up with 1' instead of 1.5 seems to be more common, for the bulkheads, gonna order them and the sand soon so I can get it started with its self percolating

Daniel