Bottom Drilled Tank

I’ve been trolling Facebook and sales groups for bigger tanks so I don’t have to regime some of my fish... I found a 55 gallon bottom drilled tank for $50... why are they drilled and what will I need to be able to use the drilled parts. I was thinking canister filter attachments but I’m unsure

 

Is the bottom drilled? You can close it off with some PVC pipe and a ball valve.

 

Is the bottom drilled? You can close it off with some PVC pipe and a ball valve.

I was looking it up and a lot of sw tank stuff came up... I was hoping it would be useful for fw tanks too

 

Best thing for that is a bulkhead (look on amazon) and a standpipe weir for a sump. With some plumbing you could do a canister, I'm just not a fan of canisters. There's a lot of fish keepers here that are and if you choose that route they can steer you right.

Ulu and I can help with sumps.

 

Best thing for that is a bulkhead (look on amazon) and a standpipe weir for a sump. With some plumbing you could do a canister, I'm just not a fan of canisters. There's a lot of fish keepers here that are and if you choose that route they can steer you right.

Ulu and I can help with sumps.

I love the concept of a canister... mixed with an under gravel filter... but what is a standpipe weir and what is it used for? Sump? As in the flooding pumps?

 

So the bulkhead is a watertight connection on the tank. The standpipe comes up through the bulkhead to the surface of the water. The weir is nothing more than "teeth" at the top of this pipe that allows for surface skimming to fall down the pipe into your filtration system.

Sumps are effectively a separate tank usually below the display tank that has a varying style of filtration system but also adds significant water volume to the aquarium system. Depending on which style you use is up to you. There are 3 main styles but even those can ve combined. The best way to learn about them is check out uarujoey (king of diy) on YouTube. He has some great videos of how they work and how to build them.

 

If you don't want to use a sump, you could just seal the hole from the inside with glass & silicone.

 

If you don't want to use a sump, you could just seal the hole from the inside with glass & silicone.

I’m intrigued by the whole setup and would love to mess around with it... I’ve actually got a few ideas on how I would want to set it up... I’m just not sure if it would be overkill or if I would be missing pieces

 

As far as bulkheads go I use Lifegard Aquatics bulkheads. Do you have a picture of the tank and where the drilled hole is?

 

As far as bulkheads go I use Lifegard Aquatics bulkheads. Do you have a picture of the tank and where the drilled hole is?

Not yet... looks like the OP on Facebook had quite a setup... they are selling 2 canisters, 2 sumps, and like 30 other misc items associated with a tank... haven’t heard back if the tank is still available but they didn’t have pictures of everything... mostly the filters and the sumps

 

I trolled FB in your area and there's some decent tanks going cheap. Offer Up is also a good source.

 

The nice thing about having a sump is that any real filter maintenance is easy and infrequent. I have enough media in the one I built that it will keep my tank bacteria stable enough through just about anything.

The other thing is that you can add and subtract water from the sump without sticking your hands in the tank and disturbing the fish.

Some people say it allows you to Overstock your tank because you have increased water capacity for the fish. All other things being equal, more water means healthier fish.

 

Tbh part of me is thinking about having a canister draining it out of one side into a second tank... an under gravel filter in the extra tank and a second canister pushing the water back lol

 

So overflow weir to canister discharge to sump then pump to a canister and back to the display tank? The second canister is going to be tricky as far as water inlet. You will need a pump to pump it in unless the canister has a suction pump and discharge pump.

I haven't played with canisters much as I deem them over priced for the filtration they provide. I know a lot of people swear by them but unless you are building one it doesn't seem worth it.

 

So overflow weir to canister discharge to sump then pump to a canister and back to the display tank? The second canister is going to be tricky as far as water inlet. You will need a pump to pump it in unless the canister has a suction pump and discharge pump.

I haven't played with canisters much as I deem them over priced for the filtration they provide. I know a lot of people swear by them but unless you are building one it doesn't seem worth it.

I hadn’t thought about that... I’ll probably just stick to one going in then lol I thought canisters has a built in pump (can you tell I don’t have one lol)

 

Not all of them do.

 

55 Gallon, drilled tank. Do you remember if it had over flows (NavyChief20 has been calling them weir's)? If it doesn't, you'll either want to just plug the holes, or use bulkhead fittings and close them off for later if you choose. If it has over flows, you could easily plumb the over flows as your intakes. The down side to this, is you'll need power heads for water column movement, and to keep everything floating for the over flows to do their job. I use the over flows in my 175 as water polishing with my FX4. I have a FX6 plumbed normally for the heavy work.

The pictures I'm posting are my FX6 plumbing before I switched to the FX4, and added ball valves.






Same concept would apply to a sump, but you would need the sump tank, and a return pump.

 

55 Gallon, drilled tank. Do you remember if it had over flows (NavyChief20 has been calling them weir's)? If it doesn't, you'll either want to just plug the holes, or use bulkhead fittings and close them off for later if you choose. If it has over flows, you could easily plumb the over flows as your intakes. The down side to this, is you'll need power heads for water column movement, and to keep everything floating for the over flows to do their job. I use the over flows in my 175 as water polishing with my FX4. I have a FX6 plumbed normally for the heavy work.

The pictures I'm posting are my FX6 plumbing before I switched to the FX4, and added ball valves.

View attachment 404879View attachment 404880View attachment 404881

Same concept would apply to a sump, but you would need the sump tank, and a return pump.

I called the top of the stand pipe a weir. He needs a bulkhead to put the standpipe in like I said in my first post. A pic of where the drilled hole would be helpful. A sump tank can be as simple as a $6 plastic storage container.

 

I called the top of the stand pipe a weir. He needs a bulkhead to put the standpipe in like I said in my first post. A pic of where the drilled hole would be helpful. A sump tank can be as simple as a $6 plastic storage container.

I'll be honest and admit I don't know the linguistics of over flows, lol. Any rate, there are multiple options available, all of them have benefits and downfalls. It's up to you to pick which one.

 

Yeah filtration systems are a personal preference. We need a pic to point you in the right direction either way. Rythmyc can help you if you go the canister route. I can help with the sump plumbing logistics.

 

Yeah filtration systems are a personal preference. We need a pic to point you in the right direction either way. Rythmyc can help you if you go the canister route. I can help with the sump plumbing logistics.

Well I haven’t heard back from the seller for a few days so I’m not sure what’s going on. However I am looking at another tank and after all this talk I’m thinking about trying to drill it out myself

 

Well I haven’t heard back from the seller for a few days so I’m not sure what’s going on. However I am looking at another tank and after all this talk I’m thinking about trying to drill it out myself

Be careful, because most tanks are tempered on the bottom, and the ones that are drilled are done professionally

 

Be careful, because most tanks are tempered on the bottom, and the ones that are drilled are done professionally

Rythmyc is absolutely right. Drilling your tank is very risky. You can easily mess it up. And then you have a blown out bottom. You can fix that but I wouldn't recommend it

 

I don't know what you're going to stock in this 55 gallon tank but if you put dirty fish in it ( I keep a juvenile Oscar and a Pleco in a 55 long. Both very dirty fish...) you will be very happy if you have a big sump which keeps you from changing the water every other day. There are so many benefits to running a sump that I can't imagine not doing it if it's possible and practical under the circumstances.

I hope the canister folks don't take offense, but IMO canisters are for people who value convenience above cost. They are quick and easy but you spend a lot for the supplies. $400 canister filters have far less filtration capacity than a $100 homemade Sump System.