adding a sump

take it to a glass shop and have them drill the back of the tank which is more than likely no tempered, if it is tempered dont even try it. then get an internal overflow which can be purchased on line in many different sizes. u-tubes are not worth the trouble.

 

it sounds as if im at a loss. Im sure the tank is tempered as the glass is on the rather thin side. Only about 5/16". The tank is 24 inches tall. im not sure if this is right but seems to thin to be plate. As i mentioned earlier im pretty mad at myself for not getting it drilled but i have to do something. Im using a canister now, which eventually will break down and make my water worse and kill my fish.

Whats the worst that could happen if i went with the u-tube for now, and used this untill i get the 150 up and running. I just dont want to see my fish get ill or anything.

 

your kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place, the only suggestion i have is keep what you have and what youve been doing. but do weekly water changes until the other tank is up

 

the canister is a fluval 405, i put floss in 3 trays worth and thats it, i change them out once a week, if there dirty or not lol. I do about 15 gallons a week on a 65, and i still cant manage to keep the sand clean. It gets reddish brown within 2 days of cleaning it.

 

more flow, skimmer, rowaphos and carbon. canister filters harbor all sorts of stuff, ok for fresh not salt

 

I ran into similar 'U tube' air bubble problems with the overflow I had on my 150g tank. I fixed the bubble build up by simply drilling a tiny, 3/16" hole at the top of each U tube. I then plugged the holes with 1/4" airline check valves (upside down) and sealed them with epoxy. The check valves released any air that accumulated at the top of the U tube and would close up when the water level hit the top of the tube. I'm surprised the overflow manufacturers haven't modified thier overflow U tube's with a cheap and easy fix like this. Hope this solves your problem and please let me know if you've any questions.
Best regards,
MikeMurphyNYC

 

yeah i know all about the canister situation and how that ball roles lol. Thats the reason for wanting a cheap mod to add a sump. I think ill just get the overflow due to the cheap cost, and run that. Deal with any problems i run into. Down the road when the new tank gets setup it will have overflows. Thanks for all the advise. I appreciate it greatly.