Bought A Retired Salt Water Tank

hello, so last night I bought a 50 gallon and two 20 gallon (one is sump for other) salt water tanks. I want to do freshwater though. I will grab some photos after work, but I need to know how to sell drilled holes in tanks.. they are not small either. I think I might be able to convert the 50 gallon plumbing into plumbing for a canister filter but I'll show pictures later. Hopefully this purchase wasn't a complete bust... Only paid 66$ tho and both the 50 gallon and 2x 20 gallon came with stands

 

I not sure you can drill glass aquariums, only acrylic and then again only certain types.

 

Oh you can drill glass. People have done it for decades.

Do you not want to continue using the one 20 as a sump for the 50? A sump is a very good filtration system that can be run both fresh and salt water. Just give it a thorough clean out and rinsing and re-cycle it with fresh water.

 

I not sure you can drill glass aquariums, only acrylic and then again only certain types.

You can drill any aquarium

You would be crazy not to use the sump.

 

The 20 gallon sump I believe is for the 20 gallon tank.. and I don't know if I'd rather use it or just convert back to a normal tank.

 

My thoughts on trying to seal the holes....There is no way I would even consider doing it but I live by the thought that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. My greatest fear is a blow out and 50 gallons of water ruining my floors and possibly even the wall close to the tank.

There may be folks that have done exactly what you are wanting to do though and can tell you exactly how to do it.

 

Which tank has the holes drilled in it? That's the tank the sump is for. It sounds like the 50 is the one that is drilled, although sometimes these things can get lost in text.

 

My thoughts on trying to seal the holes....There is no way I would even consider doing it but I live by the thought that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. My greatest fear is a blow out and 50 gallons of water ruining my floors and possibly even the wall close to the tank.

There may be folks that have done exactly what you are wanting to do though and can tell you exactly how to do it.

So this is my thought on it. I'd like to seal up the 20 gallons and make the tanks breeders or planted tanks.. and the 50 gallon I think I could just use the umbing and hook hoses up to it and then run a canister filter.. but one of the connections is bigger then the other and I think both connections are different sizes then what my current canister filter uses... So I'd have to figure that out.. and if I can't the holes are on the bottom of the tank so my thought is if I cut some glass or something I should be able to silicone it to it and it will be good but not sure yet..

 

Which tank has the holes drilled in it? That's the tank the sump is for. It sounds like the 50 is the one that is drilled, although sometimes these things can get lost in text.

Both are drilled actually.. the 20 gallon was the one using the sump and the 50 gallon I think was umbed to the basement and had overflow and everything so their are two holes in it

 

Which tank has the holes drilled in it? That's the tank the sump is for. It sounds like the 50 is the one that is drilled, although sometimes these things can get lost in text.

I agree. I may have misunderstood which tank (s) have the holes drilled in them.

 

So this is my thought on it. I'd like to seal up the 20 gallons and make the tanks breeders or planted tanks.. and the 50 gallon I think I could just use the umbing and hook hoses up to it and then run a canister filter.. but one of the connections is bigger then the other and I think both connections are different sizes then what my current canister filter uses... So I'd have to figure that out.. and if I can't the holes are on the bottom of the tank so my thought is if I cut some glass or something I should be able to silicone it to it and it will be good but not sure yet..

I was seeing holes in the sides in my mind. Sealing the bottom should be doable. A piece of glass bigger than the holes both glued with the proper glue for glass and then silicone to finish sealing it should work as long as the patch is on the inside.

 

You can either seal a plate of glass to the bottom (of the inside of the tank not the outside) with silicone ornyou can got get bulkheads at any gome depot or lowes and then put end caps on the bulk heads.

 

This was done on my phone so hopefully link works fine. Here are photos of the 50 gallon plumbing and then the 20g. I'd like to seal up the 20g. My plan like stated above is to try and get hoses hooked up to the 50 gallon for a canister filter.. but like I said the connections are not the same size as my current hoses for my current filter.. are their hose adapters?

Forgot to link imgur for photos.. here's link for that

 

Here are photos of the drilled holes

Imma keep the holes in the two 20g. Is their some kind of screw on cap I can buy for this?? That would be so super easy and awesome haha..

The two tanks cleaned out super nice and look close to flawless.

 

Here are photos of the drilled holes

Imma keep the holes in the two 20g. Is their some kind of screw on cap I can buy for this?? That would be so super easy and awesome haha..

The two tanks cleaned out super nice and look close to flawless.

Home depot plumbing section.

 

Sweet setup. It is kind of scary having a hole in the bottom like that. That's pretty cool. Is that corner divider water tight?


On the pipe that goes to the top, that won't leak like it is. Undoing a plumbing arrangement like that would make me reconsider changing it to a canister filter, as it may cause issues down the line with leaks, and like someone said, that setup is highly sought after. But yeah you can change it, with silicone sealant and a plate of glass over the holes.

 

I would love to have a sump on my freshwater tank!

 

Home depot plumbing section.

Your simple answer makes me have faith. I was at Menards and I couldn't find alot... For the picture with the upside down tank I need to find two different size hoses that will go into a fitting to make them fit the sunsun holes and they only had two sizes that I could see.. so I will try home Depot today. And for the caps I'm hoping they have them because that would leave me with the ability to try making one back into a sump and try that stuff.

Sweet setup. It is kind of scary having a hole in the bottom like that. That's pretty cool. Is that corner divider water tight?
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On the pipe that goes to the top, that won't leak like it is. Undoing a plumbing arrangement like that would make me reconsider changing it to a canister filter, as it may cause issues down the line with leaks, and like someone said, that setup is highly sought after. But yeah you can change it, with silicone sealant and a plate of glass over the holes.

The edges on the corner should be water tight but for the actual divider it has slots near the bottom and top for over flow. My plan is to connect a canister filter to the pre existing adapters you see in the pboto, I just have to find hoses that fit those and be able to make them connect to a sunsun canister filter.. I will almost like this tank more then mine.. (this will go to my mother in law if I can make it work)

I would love to have a sump on my freshwater tank!

Yeah I've never had a sump but the hype for them seems high so I might keep one of the 20 gallon a sump. The guy who made them last made them with thing acrylic. Which might be fine idk.. but they were cracked and broken.

 

Your simple answer makes me have faith. I was at Menards and I couldn't find alot... For the picture with the upside down tank I need to find two different size hoses that will go into a fitting to make them fit the sunsun holes and they only had two sizes that I could see.. so I will try home Depot today. And for the caps I'm hoping they have them because that would leave me with the ability to try making one back into a sump and try that stuff.



The edges on the corner should be water tight but for the actual divider it has slots near the bottom and top for over flow. My plan is to connect a canister filter to the pre existing adapters you see in the pboto, I just have to find hoses that fit those and be able to make them connect to a sunsun canister filter.. I will almost like this tank more then mine.. (this will go to my mother in law if I can make it work)



Yeah I've never had a sump but the hype for them seems high so I might keep one of the 20 gallon a sump. The guy who made them last made them with thing acrylic. Which might be fine idk.. but they were cracked and broken.

I have sumps on all of my tanks. It just can't be beat. As far as hose connections look at polyvinyl hose and hose barbs. I'm doing water changes and maintenance on all 2500 gallons right now so a wee bit busy.

 

I have sumps on all of my tanks. It just can't be beat. As far as hose connections look at polyvinyl hose and hose barbs. I'm doing water changes and maintenance on all 2500 gallons right now so a wee bit busy.

I just picked up everything I need except for a reducing adapter to go from the 1" to 5/8"... That was at home Depot so I'll try Menards next