Overflow Placement

[Stripey]

After several years, I am setting up a new reef tank. I have decided on 150 gallons. 72 x 18 x 28. I was going to buy a new Oceanic with Starphire glass. However, there are two big problems with the new Oceanic. The first is the glass center brace which is now 24 inches wide! On my old Oceanic center brace was 18 inches and tended to collect a calcium film which baked on and was hard to clean. This obviously cut down on light transmission to the tank. The new brace now takes up fully one third of the water surface. The second problem is that the overflows are no longer in the corners, but on the back wall. I have found several posts decrying this placement as inhibiting flow and making stacking the tank a real problem. Apparently positioning the overflows here is standard with All Glass aquariums now with Oceanic being a subsidiary. Does anyone have any advice about these issues? The tank has been delivered to my local aquarium store and the overflow position and size of the center brace surprise us all. Should I send it back? If so what should I get? Perfecto? Glass Cages? Somebody smart answer quick! Thanks very much

 

[ccCapt]

I have a Perfecto 125 that has both overflows in the corners. I love the setup. The only thing I don't like is, it has 1 center brace (about 3" wide plastic) and I run 3 MH bulbs, so 1 of the bulbs is directly above the center brace, but it hasn't been an issue as far as shadows or the plastic warping from the heat.

 

[Stripey]

I am concerned about the backwall off center placement of the two AllGlass style overflows being hard to clean (double wall) and hard to stack around. You should not complain about the center plastixc brace. The Oceanic brace is 24" glass! It wont melt but it sure gets crusted and is hard to clean once it does cutting down on light transmission.

 

[InfernoST]

Why don't you get a 150 oceanic and drill it yourself, I personally love their tanks but not the RR version.

 

[Stripey]

On my old Oceanic 135, there was an 18 in glass brace right in the center of the tank. It was tough to clean and eventually became almost opaque with Ca salts which would not scrape off. The new Oceanic 150s have a 24 in brace, 1/3 of the surface area! How have you dealt with this?
Any one else have experience with stacking around overflows on the back wall instead of in the corners?

 

[T Dawg]

One of the local fish club members wraps the glass centre brace with saran wrap and replaces it as needed. It seems to be a patial solution, but not an ideal one. He has talked about using clear tape and is trying to find one that does not leave much residue.

 

[Stripey]

Saran Wrap

That's a novel idea. I plan to use 400Watt metal halides for light. I wonder if the Saran Wrap would just melt to gooey.

 

[Stripey]

Perfecto

Have you been happy with the build quality of the Perfecto?

 

[T Dawg]

Very happy. I have seen a few other 90's that I do not like nearly asmuch. The plastics are well formed, the caucking is well done. The plastics seem easy to keep clean. My only issue, if you could call it that, is that the thick tempred glass causes some distortion when viewing off angle, but that is not specific to pefecto.

 

[InfernoST]

The distortion in my 120 very noticeable on off angle close up viewing as well.