Auto water systems?

[newellcr]

That would be a good question.  I suppose if you are doing a constant drip it doesn't matter.

Yes, your water level will find that happy place.  I use a low-flow timed fill of about 10 minutes on a rack of 10's.  I would prefer to have more than 16 outlets in a bank to get the flow to be even less.  With 16 outlets, the water line goes up about 3/8 inch.  So for me that takes the waterline just above the bottom of the black plastic rim.  It leaves plenty of room.  I've been pretty happy with that. 

[gillznglass]

That is the right site soothing.  The wear on the glass holes bit is great. There is more Diamond where it counts for sure.  I have better luck using plumbers putty to make a dam around the bit to hold the water and I  use duct tape on the back of the glass.  The trick with any diamond bit is lots of water to lube it, and you are under water full time with plumbers putty.  I have to drill some holes soon so I will take some pics and post it here.

[gillznglass]

 

That drill guide is pretty sweet.  I wonder if you can get it cut up near the plastic rim.  I never liked the idea of drilling low and turning a 10 gallon tank into an 8 gallon tank.  I know some folks drill lower on purpose because they over fill and let it drain back to normal. 

You can drill the hole wherever,  the water level is set by what you use for an overflow. Be it a simple pipe with a screen or overflow box.  You can even drill the bottom of a non tempered glass tank and run a pipe as high as you want the water level.  Bulkheads just provide a way to get pipes into the tank they are not intended to use as an overflow to set the water level. You never want to drill a hole close to the edge of glass. It almost  guarantees it will break.  I hope this makes sense but I will take some photos to hopefully show you what I mean.

 

[newellcr]

Gillz,  Yep you are correct.  The hole can go just about anywhere.  Good thing you pointed that out.  I am so used to using the black elbow/strainer combination, I overlooked that.  I like the look of the black plumbing on the black painted background and having the hardware high and in the back of the tank to make it easier to net fish. 

 

I agree that you don't want to drill on the edge, but with a standard plastic framed tank, you can't get much closer than 1-3/8" from the edge of the glass to the edge of the hole.

 

You post got me curious about how many failures that I've had, so I went and looked.  I have drilled 48 thinner tanks (2.5, 5, and 10 gallons).  There were 7 of 48 tanks that were cracked with only one being unrepairable.  I have drilled 36 tanks that are 20 gallon or larger, and I cracked one of those.  There have been other breaks with the thin tanks after the fact, but those were attributible to impacts to the bulkhead fitting.  Most of the failures on the thinner tanks also came with my son assisting.  He was as young as 9 years old for some of these.  I won't blame him for any of the failures, but I will say that that I have had to remind him to focus on the task at hand a few times.  I also had a desk bound career.  The number of hours logged with a hammer or cordless drill in my hand vs having a mouse in my hand is embarassing low.  So someone with more handyman type skills will probably fare better than I did. 

[gillznglass]

You are not the only one out there that breaks 10 gallon tanks. The glass is thin and very hard to drill. Where most people break them is having too much pressure at the bottom of the cut. Sometimes even using just the weight of the drill is too much. Lots of cracks happen after the hole is done, with the pipe attached to the bulkhead being bumped. It is thin fairly weak glass.  The 15 gallon and up tanks are best for drilling,  however, there is no reason a 10 gallon tank can not be drilled. A different approach to drilling, and the dollar a gallon sale is your friend here though.

 

So that leaves us with another option,  and that is diy siphon based overflows.   No drilling required.  If they are built properly,   they are reliable enough. 

[Alpha1172]

i set up an AWC/ATO on my shrimp rack.  Similar to other suggestions i went with 2 reservoirs one for ATO which its self is topped off. And a second for the AWC which is manually filled then adjusted to the proper KH/GH etc. Both have an airstone in it to keep it circulated. 

 

Basic operation is AWC is started , water over flow out through a bulkhead and down the drain, not a empty and refill WC but mroe or a dilution wC 


ATO setup is the same as all others, wter fed into 1/2 pvc with separate taps to each flat valve.

 

water level must  be right below the overflow or the water chemisty will get all messed up 

AWC works with drip line fittings. I went with 2 gph pressure compensating . The PC is important to ensure the same flow to each tank. this line is feed by a small pump, located in the reservoir  a small line is drilled in the tubing to stop the siphon when the pump is turned off. The line is just the 1/2 tubing made for a drip setup.


originally i wanted to use a gravity fed system, but finding a solenoid that is 1/2 in or so in size and doesnt require some psi to help it close is very difficult to find  

 

 

 

[gillznglass]

So, Bryce, what are you leaning towards so far? Would like to see some pics of the rack and maybe show where the nearest drain is and whatever else you would like to share. Even some shots of your reserve tank would be good. You won't miss bucket hauling at all. I promise.

[newellcr]

A different approach to drilling, and the dollar a gallon sale is your friend here though.

Buying used at the club auctions is even better.  I snagged 5 tens last month for a total of $25.  I was pretty happy. 

 

It would be nice to learn about the reliable overflows, but I think my design is fixed and in another month or two my tank drilling days will be behind me.