Help With New Tank And External Filter

[Craig89]

Afternoon everyone, a month or two back I purchased a new 230l tank and a tetratec ex1200, now I havnt had the time to set this up but I'm gunna get started this weekend.

Anyways my problem is that I don't want the pipes from the filter coming in from over the top of the tank as I eventually want to have a suspended lighting unit rather than the hood lights.

My plan was to remove the bottom piece of glass from the tank and have two holes drilled into it by a local glass specialist and run the pipes up threw the stand and into the tank that way.

Can anybody see any problems with my plan ? Personally I thought it was a good Idea. Any other ideas welcome as j really don't want the pipes too visable.

 

[Doohiky]

You could maybe invest in some lily pipes (I think, planted aquarium specialists will help you out with this) as they are glass and do look fairly nice. That of course is an option to run it over the top that you dont want to do. Other than that, I'm stumped

 

[mtv8dmarine]

How would you clean the tubing if you have it plumbed through the glass? Or anywhere that has to be water tight for that matter? How would you reinforce the glass so it didn't crack under the pressure of the water and substrate?

 

[Craig89]

These r questions that I'm hoping some one can answer. I've seen this done befor in a fluval tank .

 

[Craig89]

Right after some more research ive found that its best not to drill into the bottom of the tank as the pressure of the water would probably cause cracks so the other option is to drill the back piece of the tank at either end and use bulkhead fittings to create a water tight seal. Pipes can then be cleaned using a long bottle brush.

 

[mtv8dmarine]

Well good luck. It's too much risk for me. I mean, if people see a couple tubes neatly going into the tank it's kind of expected....it is a fish tank after all. But, to each their own and good luck in your endeavor.

 

[Craig89]

Why thank you kind sir I shall keep u posted