PDA

View Full Version : C2C Bean Animal on 19 year old tank


WAfrican
07/27/2015, 06:09 PM
Hi i will be upgrading my tank here soon to an old Oceanic 75 gallon and would really like to make it an external coast to coast if possible. Would this be considered too risky drilling a 19 year old tank? Its been outside holding water for 4 days so far without a leak or any signs of stress and I'd really hate to damage the tank drilling it. I know they made their tanks very strong back in the day and I can tell just by looking at this one. I'm also very nervous about the fact that the external box with all plumbing will be supported with only three seams of silicone. Would it be okay to do a full C2C internally and then have the external be only 2' long to reduce the stress, could it be even shorter?

CuzzA
07/28/2015, 06:13 AM
Those old Oceanic tanks may as well be labelled as "alternative bomb and/or tornado shelter". Mass production tank builders certainly don't build them like that anymore.

The biggest concern for an old tank is the condition of the seam. Once it leaks the internal support of the seam is compromised. Some will try to reseal the outside silicone, but that does nothing for the structural integrity of the tank. The internal seam is what hold everything together.

I recently drilled an equally old 30 gallon Oceanic tank with no issues. Mind you the tank was made from 15 mm glass. Talk about overkill, but that's why they are so great. I wouldn't be concerned with drilling your tank. As long as you're not moving it around a lot it should be fine.

As for the overflow I would certainly setup a c2c with a bean drain. How you go about it is entirely up to you and is really just a matter of personal preference as any of the common techniques to achieve it work.

The simplest and easiest way to do it is to drill your 3 holes in the back and make an internal box from 2 panes of glass. The have your plumbing go directly through the back pane.

The alternative if you want to minimize the footprint in the tank is to do an internal/external box. This can be achieved with both glass and acrylic. The latter will require a 5 sided box and bulkheads to hold both the front and back box in place. Using glass will be fine too. Glass and silicone are a match made in heaven. One applied correctly and allowed to cure it is very difficult to seperate the bond and therefore you should have no issues with the external glass box. Just be sure to support your stand pipes as you don't want all of that water weight in the pipes pulling down on the box. In fact, if done properly the stand pipes can be used to help support the box by attaching them to your stand.

Hope this helps. ;)

WAfrican
07/28/2015, 08:26 AM
Is it necessary that the external box be 5 sided? I was thinking of just making it 4 sided and adding an over under baffle to stop any micro bubbles from entering the sump as well as additional support and an extra space in case I need to isolate someone in the tank. I have also been toying with the idea of removing the top trim and awful thick center brace they came with and adding a euro brace to clean up the look and give me additional viewing space. The tanks glass is 3/8" thick btw.

RocketEngineer
07/28/2015, 08:29 AM
If you have a glass tank and make the external box out of glass as well, you only need the four sides. Also, if you employ a BeanAnimal drain setup from said external box, you don't get microbubbles in the sump at all. I know because that's how my 125g tank was set up.

WAfrican
07/28/2015, 09:19 AM
Ok so maybe just an over baffle to provide a space to keep something if need be. Is there a recommended minimum size for the internal or external box sizes? I would like to keep the internal as small as possible. I will be reusing my mag 7 as the return as well. I would also like to glue my gsp to the overflow to hide everything. Can this be done with glass or would I be better using acrylic and roughing up the surface so it has something to attach itself to as it grows?

RocketEngineer
07/28/2015, 10:02 AM
Baffles are located in the sump, not in the display. Just an FYI. Everything discussed so far is just in the display.

For the internal box, I would go with a 3" width so you can get down into it if need be. The hole placement in the back glass will determine the height of the internal box while the length is ideally as long as the tank.

For the external box, you need to be 3X the holes for the bulkheads to get proper edge distances. My external box was just long enough to fit my three stand pipes and was tall enough to keep the stand pipes below the top edge of the display.

WAfrican
07/28/2015, 10:23 AM
I understand that baffles are meant to be in the sump and I will have them implemented there, I was referring to it being in the external box as a means to keep a fish,crab etc if need be without being sucking into the sump. Since I will be doing a full weir along the back side of the tank could this act as my euro brace along the back glass and I could just run one along the front either flush with the tank or on top depending the the finish of the edges?

anit77
07/28/2015, 10:43 AM
WAfrican, this is the exact type of setup I'm planning for a 120-150 gallon DT I've yet to buy. If you go the external route how do you plan to do the C2C weir, two piece glass box or one piece of angled glass?

WAfrican
07/28/2015, 11:05 AM
I'm still unsure of exactly what i'll do but I do have a few ideas. 1) acrylic 2 piece box roughened up so I can attach gsp. 2) glass 2 piece to add enough support for no euro brace along the back. 3) I haven't even thought about a single piece of glass at an angle but I like the idea and simplicity!

anit77
07/28/2015, 11:29 AM
What I'm thinking of doing is drilling 3 1.5" holes in the back of a 48 to 60" long tank. Then putting in a piece of glass that is cut at a 45° angle where it meets the back glass. The other side would be rounded over and all edges roughed up. Then siliconing it in just at the bottom edge of the holes. The height of the holes and weir would be set so the level of the water would be 1/4 to 3/8" below the top frame when the pump is off. This should be easier to install and keep clean while having a small footprint in the tank.

I'm just wondering if there are any down sides to doing it this way.

WAfrican
07/29/2015, 10:10 AM
Anyone with any thoughts on using my weir as a means of structural support to double as a euro brace along the rear?

CuzzA
07/30/2015, 08:10 AM
I'm a little confused. Can you draw an illustration of what you are trying to accomplish?

anit77
07/30/2015, 12:03 PM
I believe he's asking if installing a full c2c weir in the back of the tank will add structural integrity like euro bracing would.

I don't see why it wouldn't add some support but I'm too new to give a qualified answer.

Shawn O
07/30/2015, 12:51 PM
It might give side-to-side support but not likely to give any front-to-back support.

WAfrican
07/31/2015, 08:34 PM
Yes I asking exactly that. Would a coast to coast(given proper depth) be able to act as a structural support as well and eliminate the need for a euro brace along the backside? Would I still need a brace to support the front to back if so?

CuzzA
07/31/2015, 10:32 PM
I can't give you an answer from an engineering perspective, but it's best not to alter the original support structure/design of a tank unless you've confirmed this change with someone who is qualified. I'm not sure RC is the place to seek that kind of information, except from a member who builds tanks for a living. ;)

sleepydoc
07/31/2015, 10:58 PM
Are you thinking of partitioning part of the overflow for use as a quarantine area? I wouldn't recommend that. For starters, it would be too small. Any critter in there would be prone to jumping out, just from being confined. It also wouldn't lend itself to proper observation.

I would not advocate removing the frame or any or the supporting structure; they are generally placed there for a reason.

WAfrican
08/01/2015, 05:57 AM
Which members would you best recommend I speak with?

RocketEngineer
08/01/2015, 06:43 AM
I would not advocate removing the frame or any or the supporting structure; they are generally placed there for a reason.

Agreed.