Oceanic Aquapod 24 gallon drilling holes for a sump/refugium

[yoki32]

Hi there,

Ok I've just received my 24 gallon Oceanic Aquapod and would like to add an additional 14 gallon sump/refugium acrylic tank at the bottom.

But first, I need to know where I should be drilling the in/out holes. I've gone on the Oceanic Aquapod website and they are telling me that the bottom glass is tempered so there goes the option of drilling the bottom glass. So where else can I drill my 2 holes and what size should I go with?

Would appreciate anyone's advice regarding this.

Thanks

 

[SparKy697]

I would like to suggest 1" bulk heads and plumbing. This is what I used on my 29g and have not regretted it one bit.

You will have to decide how you will get the water to the drain/overflow plumbing. Are you thinking of building an in tank overflow? If so you have some flexibility.

Here is what I did. It's not without mistakes but it may give you some idea of your options.

In the middle of the tank you see the black overflow with the drain plumbing located low enough to allow for the plumbing needed inside the overflow and below the water line. The return is just to the left of the drain in that photo. It should have been higher but I dealt with that by using some locline inside of the tank to keep the display tank from draining too far when the power is off.

Hope this helps give you some ideas....

 

[jcmelski]

Sparky697
What's the other plumbing for? I see the inlet and return or is it returns?

 

[SparKy697]

The other three holes in the tank are for a closed loop. Water is sucked out of the tank through the port located at the bottom right of the tank in that photo. Water passes through a pump and then through a SCWD to help create a wave like effect. The two return lines are located near the top, at each end of the tank.

I chose this method instead of filling the tank with power heads and over the side plumbing.

 

[yoki32]

Hi guys,

Thanks for replying back. So I should be going with a 1" bulkhead for water out and 1" bulkhead for water in? Or should I go with a smaller bulkhead for water in?

Also, I noticed that you drilled the holes away from the aquarium glass, how many inches did you drill your holes away from the borders?

For my water exiting out of the aquarium to my sump, I don't have an overflow box like you do. I'm just planning to add a strainer attached to a 90 degree PVC elbow. Would that work and be efficient?

The hole you have at the bottom right, does it have a strainer attached to it? Also, how do you prevent it from draining your entire aquarium on a power outage?

I'm sorry for all my questions but I wanna make sure I get this right before starting anything.

I appreciate your patience. Thanks