Overflow boxes and plumbing

jake296 · Feb 23, 2024

Hi,

I’ve just bought my own display tank as I fancied doing my own setup, stand, sump and plumbing etc myself. Im stuck between which overflow to buy between the 2 types attached.

The shorter box would be good because it takes less space, however it means the plumbing is at the back of the tank and thus further from the wall.

With the longer box I can drill the bottom of the tank and have the bulkheads there as opposed to the back but is one better than the other in terms of functionally? What do people prefer and for what reason?

TIA,

Jake

tbrown · Feb 23, 2024

jake296 said:
Hi,

I’ve just bought my own display tank as I fancied doing my own setup, stand, sump and plumbing etc myself. Im stuck between which overflow to buy between the 2 types attached.

The shorter box would be good because it takes less space, however it means the plumbing is at the back of the tank and thus further from the wall.

With the longer box I can drill the bottom of the tank and have the bulkheads there as opposed to the back but is one better than the other in terms of functionally? What do people prefer and for what reason?

TIA,

Jake

Some tanks have tempered glass on the bottom which some say you can't drill. If you have a tempered base and aren't confident drilling that I'd go with the second option.

I like bulkheads on the bottom because I can adjust them still once the tank is full of water if there ends up being a drip whereas I'd have to drain the tank down to access the bulkheads on the back of the tank if those were leaking.

DCR · Feb 23, 2024

The internal boxes with bottom outlets are easier to access but take up more space inside the tank and have less overflow capacity due to the shorter weir lengths. The external boxes or the side outlet on an internal box require additional setback from the wall and are more difficult to access being on the back of the tank. I generally prefer the external box, but both work.