# coverting a 175gal to reef ready



## jasonhoutx (Oct 22, 2006)

I have a 175gal freshwater tank that is not reef ready. What would be the best way to create a reef ready overflow. The glass on the tank is 1/2" thick. I am not too keen on hob siphon overflows as they take up all kinds of room and makes the tank stick out from the wall too much. Not to mention the problems that occur when the power goes out. 

Any ideas?


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Jason from Houston

Mike from Austin. 

Glad to have you aboard.

Come to ATX and visit anytime

I have a 125 freshwater with sump and external overflows. I have ne ever had a problem. I've lost power several times, no issues. I've set up at least a dozen tanks for others that inlcuded external overflows, again no single troubles have everbeen reported to me.

As long as you set them up properly they work great.

As well, a friend set up a 220 with dual corner overflows built in. He's had them fail several times. It's all in the details. He allowed a piece of foam I told him to remove from his overflow box to rise up and seal off the anti siphon hole in his return. Backfed through the pump and flooded about 50gallons onto his floor. He once bumped the return line on the otherside and did not realize he "broke" the seal at the gasket. His tank dumped about 30 gallons that time.

So bad things can be said about both.

2 options since you are "unwilling" to add an external overflow. Drill or sell.

There is an art to figuring out if a tank is tempered. An old folk tale says that you can take 2 polarized lenses or camera filters out and stack them over each other on the glass. Slowly turn them and if a + shows up in the center of the lens then the glass is tempered. if it is tempered you cannot drill the tank.


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