What is this black box in my tank

haley20

New Member
View Badges
Joined
May 25, 2024
Messages
10
Reaction score
40
Location
ohio
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I recently bought this tank online it was so cheap I couldn’t pass it up 180 gallons for 100$ however I have no idea what this black box in my tank is for. There is no holes in the bottom of the tank, I have my filter running over top of it so I can get it going but I want to use it how it’s supposed to be. Please help
 

Just John

Valuable Member? Seriously?
View Badges
Joined
Jan 31, 2021
Messages
5,409
Reaction score
20,115
Location
Clearwater, FL
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
No hole just those slots
this is the basic flow pattern, so no holes needed at the bottom. Mine only has an overflow at the top and the outflow is also at the top.
1716656542498.png


This should explain it.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
96,707
Reaction score
215,505
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
15   0   0
I’ve watched so many videos but they all have a hole at the bottom of the tank this does not
Yours is self contained and less headaches
You tube- look up AiO(all in one) and this will be yours
 
Upvote 0

tharbin

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 22, 2021
Messages
5,199
Reaction score
35,209
Location
Arizona
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I will say this is unusual and I'm not sure exactly what you have. It looks like it is set up as a Peninsula tank with the filtration at one end. The slots are for the overflow but it looks like they go the full width of the AIO section. You may want to put water into the AIO section slowly and watch how it moves through the sections. The section that starts to fill last should be the return section. I'm guessing that the original designer had a rigid tube on the return pump with an elbow above the AIO section, hidden by the upper tank surround, with a pipe out over the display section to hide the return.
 
Upvote 0

Just John

Valuable Member? Seriously?
View Badges
Joined
Jan 31, 2021
Messages
5,409
Reaction score
20,115
Location
Clearwater, FL
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
this is the basic flow pattern, so no holes needed at the bottom. Mine only has an overflow at the top and the outflow is also at the top.
1716656542498.png


This should explain it.
Did you look at this link?
 
Upvote 0

tharbin

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 22, 2021
Messages
5,199
Reaction score
35,209
Location
Arizona
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Legit no where, there’s no hole under and it’s closed
Are you sure the seller was actually using this tank? It almost seems like they were building in an AIO and gave up. I would slowly fill the AIO with water (slowly and checking often for leaks) and see how it starts to fill. The problem is that I can't make out from the photos which chamber is the primary or even the return. It is certainly not any conventional design that I recognize. It is a coast-to-coast (the overflow weir is the full width of the tank) peninsula-style (sump at one end so that both long sides are for viewing) but I don't see any real rhyme or reason to the chamber arrangement. If I had to guess, the only chamber that looks to me to be a likely candidate to be the return chamber is this one:

IMG_9695-RT.jpg

as it is the only one that does not seem to be feed directly from the overflow. It also looks like all of the baffle plates are the same height, are they?
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top