Tip of the Day – 12/11/2013

Overflow systems are basically a standard requirement for marine aquariums in this day and age, but that doesn’t mean a non-reef ready aquarium will make for a poor saltwater tank. There are tons of hang-on style overflows that are available, and many that are designed to minimize the major drawbacks to using them. But if you still don’t trust the HOB overflows, which we understand, you can easily turn a standard aquarium into a reef ready one. What you will need to do is install an overflow box, usually made of black acrylic, and drill a couple of holes into the tank. The latter of those two steps is the most nerve racking, obviously, as you could easily crack an aquarium during the hole drilling process. Because of this, you must know if the glass is tempered (the bottom usually is and the front/back/sides usually aren’t), and you have to make the holes very carefully with the proper equipment (diamond tipped hole bit to start). We don’t recommend doing this yourself, and would rather you trust the professionals that do this for a living. That said, it is easy to do and allows you to turn an inexpensive tank into a fully-functional reef tank.