Am I losing fish into my overflow?

Dave-T

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I have a 240 gallon custom made Glass Cages tank. It's been set up for about 4 months. In that time, I've lost 6-7 fish that disappeared overnight after the first day I put them in the tank. I have been blaming alien abduction, but I now have a new theory. The openings between the teeth of my weir are a full 1 centimeter. Isn't that really large? I think they might be swimming into there, and then getting sucked down the primary drain of my bean animal. The way that my tank is built with a full canopy and with its height off the ground, I can't see into the overflow chamber. And I have a roller mat, so I wouldn't see them after that.

So my questions are:
* Aren't the weir gaps insanely large? Does anyone else have a tank like this, and if so - have you lost fish into the overflow?
* Any suggestions about how to close up the gaps?

Thanks!
 

bushdoc

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I have a 240 gallon custom made Glass Cages tank. It's been set up for about 4 months. In that time, I've lost 6-7 fish that disappeared overnight after the first day I put them in the tank. I have been blaming alien abduction, but I now have a new theory. The openings between the teeth of my weir are a full 1 centimeter. Isn't that really large? I think they might be swimming into there, and then getting sucked down the primary drain of my bean animal. The way that my tank is built with a full canopy and with its height off the ground, I can't see into the overflow chamber. And I have a roller mat, so I wouldn't see them after that.

So my questions are:
* Aren't the weir gaps insanely large? Does anyone else have a tank like this, and if so - have you lost fish into the overflow?
* Any suggestions about how to close up the gaps?

Thanks!
Yes, gaps are too large.I had similar issues with custom made tanks.
I found some of my smaller fish in a sump.
I use plastic Gutter Guard to cover return pipes, overflow weir, return and skimmer pump intake.
 

Atherial

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I also have a glass cages tank and I had my two clowns swim into the overflow box. Luckily I noticed when the second one followed the first and was able to get them both out. Since then I've kept the drain more open so that the water level in the overflow is much less than in the display tank. That seems to discourage any further adventures.
 

Joe Glass Cages

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I have a 240 gallon custom made Glass Cages tank. It's been set up for about 4 months. In that time, I've lost 6-7 fish that disappeared overnight after the first day I put them in the tank. I have been blaming alien abduction, but I now have a new theory. The openings between the teeth of my weir are a full 1 centimeter. Isn't that really large? I think they might be swimming into there, and then getting sucked down the primary drain of my bean animal. The way that my tank is built with a full canopy and with its height off the ground, I can't see into the overflow chamber. And I have a roller mat, so I wouldn't see them after that.

So my questions are:
* Aren't the weir gaps insanely large? Does anyone else have a tank like this, and if so - have you lost fish into the overflow?
* Any suggestions about how to close up the gaps?

Thanks!
Hi @Dave-T

Sorry to hear this. That is our standard weir slots.

we can adjust if needed. Please give me a call so we can talk through a solution for you. 404-434-3444 is my direct number. Here to help.
 
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