Aquastudent December 17, 2022 Share December 17, 2022 I'm going to be moving my 150G soon which means I will have to drain the tank. Everything will be in transition which got me thinking of switching out the overflow system. The aquarium is an Oceanic 150G (5'x2'x2') with two overflow towers each with holes for two 1" bulkheads. The system was originally designed for one drain (durso) and one return in each overflow. The durso drains are far from silent driving me to find a better solution. Option 1: Keep the internal overflow and convert both overflows into herbie overflows. Drill 1 or 2 new 0.75" bulkheads in the back glass for returns (or run them over the trim). This is the easiest solution but in concerned with trying to balance between two siphons. Option 2: Remove the two internal intakes and try to not damage the seal silicone. Then patch the holes in the bottom with bulkheads and plugs. Drill the back glass for a larger external style overflow box and return bulkheads. A disadvantage with this option may actually be a benefit. In removing the towers, I may need to reseal the entire tank to get a good seal. The silicone looks to be in good condition which is surprising since I think the tank was manufactured in 1994. I don't want to fix something that isn't broken and induce new issues. BUT, I want to do it right the first time. I have resealed a large aquarium before so that's not a huge issue, just more of a potential roadblock. I would prefer having a beananimal overflow like on my reef tank and it opens up a lot more space inside the tank and looks sleeker, but would also mean I now have extra bulkheads in the aquarium. I prefer having the back drilled to minimize some flooding risk but since the tank is already drilled in the bottom, that point is moot. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime December 17, 2022 Share December 17, 2022 If you can, I'd go with option #2. If you have space for the livestock/rock/corals, etc, and can get it dry and cleaned up, I would absolutely do that. I'd make sure of a few things first, like making sure the glass isn't tempered. I'm of the opinion that most tanks should be done this way, those old school overflows take up so much space, and option #2 is soooo much cleaner looking. I recently did this, but with a tank that was dry and I was not in a hurry to get setup. I took my Deep Blue 80g rimless, and pulled out the internal overflow. I plugged the holes with bulkheads with the intention of aquaspacing over them so they were not an eye slight. I drilled the side of the tank (wanted to run a peninsula style) and used a Fiji Cube overflow. The original tank format: Cleaned up, drilled, plugged: [/url] Nobody ever notices the plugs: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquastudent December 18, 2022 Author Share December 18, 2022 (edited) That looks fantastic and exactly what I was thinking. I was also debating between doing bulkheads and silicone plate glass over it but I feel like getting schedule 80 bulkheads is better. Maybe I can even hook up a drain to it. Did you end up having to reseal the tank after cutting out the weird? Also, thank you so much for uploading the photos. It's a gorgeous tank and the visuals help! Edited December 18, 2022 by Aquastudent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime December 18, 2022 Share December 18, 2022 1 hour ago, Aquastudent said: That looks fantastic and exactly what I was thinking. I was also debating between doing bulkheads and silicone plate glass over it but I feel like getting schedule 80 bulkheads is better. Maybe I can even hook up a drain to it. Did you end up having to reseal the tank after cutting out the weird? Also, thank you so much for uploading the photos. It's a gorgeous tank and the visuals help! Thanks. I just did the plugged bulkheads. You can order them on BRS. i don’t know how old the tank was, but I didn’t have to reseal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh36 December 24, 2022 Share December 24, 2022 I recently did the same thing with my 210 I put 2 vectra s2's in the place of the bottom holes and currently use them for a closed loop system.. works great. drilled the back for modular marine overflow and 2 returns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquastudent December 26, 2022 Author Share December 26, 2022 Thanks! I'm glad that was successful! I saw some of the closed loop systems. I am currently using the tank as a freshwater setup and I don't want to increase the flow that much but if I switch it to a Reef in the future, I think that's definitely a good option. I'll just have to replace the bulkheads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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