+eric olsen I've seen it done in a few tanks, and in the end this is up to personal taste. I didn't like the final look, and it's even worse if algae has taken hold. My preference is a nice clean back, and I';ll make the time to scrape it clean once a month. If the tank has a black (paint, vinyl, or sign material) background, once cleaned well the corals and aquascape pop against that backdrop. Not unlike how nice a diamond shines against a black velvet background. If any of your background peels away or is nipped away by fish, you'll see the harsh color of the foam product. It may be an eyesore. It also may peel away and float upwards at some point. That's not all that surprising to me.

It is very brittle. Take your time, and realize it may not work out (could crack).

25mm

That was something I borrowed from a friend that had a drilling kit in his pile of handy things. You can make a dam out of plumber's putty. Just shape it like a snake, lay it on the glass into a circle and press it into the glass to create a temporary dam.

I start off slowly to get it scored, but then full speed.

I don't have an exact measurement to provide you regarding tensile strength of glass, but maybe such a thing exists on the web. You may be able to google for specifics. For me, it's a common sense decision, I try to drill close-ish to each other, yet leave enough glass between them that the area can retain strength. The bulkheads help reinforce those holes. Basically you'll want about 3" of solid glass between each hole, or more. You can not drill tempered glass, so you do need to know if the panel you plan to drill is tempered or not.

melevsreef thanks, great intel :)

Yes, you can definitely flip it to use the back and the front. You can seal the holes with a glass patch (same thickness would be my suggestion), or screwing in a permanent plug into each bulkhead instead. You could even reverse the way the bulkheads are installed so they are more streamlined, instead of sticking out the old end of the tank 2".

melevsreef mate you're a star even better idea thank you

10g aquariums use very thin glass and are prone to cracking. I've drilled 20g, 29g, and 40g aquariums. Thicker glass is less brittle. It's better to take longer to cut through with little-to-no pressure on the glass itself.

Ok, slow and steady. I'll give it a shot. Practice makes perfect.....I hope. -Thx

@@oceanmax9685 You may never see this, but I'm curious if you successfully managed to the 20G?

The overflow box you buy will come with specific holes for the bulkheads. That will be the size plumbing you'll use. You can read the full article about the beanimal drain system here: www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

I borrowed it from a friend, and he didn't remember where he got it from. But you can make one out of Plumbers Putty very quickly.

It was part of a kit I borrowed, but you can make a dam with a styrofoam cup and some plumbers putty. Cut the cup on half, throwing away the bottom half. The upper half will make a great collar. Now roll the plumbers putty into a long snake-like shape, and form a circle around the spot you want to drill. Press the styro-collar into the putty, and add about 1/2" of water. It's ready to drill the rest of the way through the glass now. :)

I'm not positive. Usually these bits are in mm size. A 1" bulkhead needs a 1.75" hole. That's about 44mm

I like the overflow in a corner rather than the middle of the back pane. Tape on the underside to hold the glass piece a little longer?

I never did find the source, sorry. It was a kit I borrowed from a friend. You can make a dam with a upper section of a styrofoam cup and some plumbers putty where that rim touches the glass. That’s cheap and works quite well.

This one was a 1" bulkhead, and the hole size of that bit.... I don't recall. Usually those are measured in millimeters, not something like 1.75" or so.

You can check glass-holes.com, ebay, or your local fish store.

Google tempered glass and polarized sun glasses. I've heard that mentioned many times to find out what type of glass your tank has, but I've never needed to do it so I don't know the exact details.

I filmed this a few years ago, but only found the footage last month. This was shot in September when the mosquitos were annoying.

o ok lol

I did install an overflow box and plumbed it into a sump. The entire setup was a raffle prize I donated to MACNA in 2012, and you can see two pictures of it on this page. First and last picture specifically. www.melevsreef.com/node/1260 Also, I took pictures of the plumbing and documented it here: www.melevsreef.com/articles/plumb-single-overflow-two-zones

oh nice I see looks great I see you have your own booth to

jayme alcay I run an online business which includes quite a bit of custom acrylic work. When I set up at a tradeshow, that's my booth. www.melevsreef.com/catalog

melevsreef really nice I need a internal overflow box I want one off your page for a 40 g

melevsreef Hello, just a question about the EZtube frame stand how much weight will it hold? I notice in the pictures that the tank is empty, so was wondering if the frame was just for empty display purposes. Thanks

You cannot. It must be drilled before it is tempered.

@@melevsreef k thanks.

Dee From Brooklyn I am doing a mini series on setting up 2 tank one for each my children. Going to explain and show everything. From start to finish. Should check it out ! I always watch your vids keep up the great work.

+Darla Neptune Correct.

Those were in the bottom of the tank.