I have a 280 as well and I just calculated my overflow to be about 4.7 gallons. No issues so far.

The part that scares me is that your 4.7 gallons is not far from 50 pounds...along with the weight of the glass...hanging off of some silicone.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid. My overflow would be about 6.5 gallons.

does the fact that your tank will be held together with the same stuff which will undergo far greater stress then 50 lbs pushing outward concern you ?

either way, if you really want to support it, a 2x4 or 2 should be easy enough to use for your purpose.

Well put! I guess that really is the way to look at it.:lol:

Okay...so I'm in need of some opinions on something for this tank.

I'm not a fan of holes in a tank. I've never felt that there was a need to drill a tank like swiss cheese and so I shy away from this.

In my new tank I will be having an external overflow and I will be utilizing the "bean animal" system which uses three pipes rather than the tradition two in a herbie overflow.

My question revolves around why people tend to "return" their water back through their overflow rather than via pipes up and over the top of the tank? I realize that looks have a lot to do with it, but this just strikes me as another point where my tank could "fail" or leak. My fish room will be in the basement and so my current plan was to return the water via a 2" pipe which would split at some point into smaller 1" pipes and then go over the top (which you can't see in my plan) and come down through the eurobrace in the tank at the far end to push water towards my overflow.

Does anyone see issues with this plan?

Nope; No issues at all. Most people run the returns through the overflow purely for aesthetics. If you want them over the top do it. I've seen several tanks with the return line running along the euro-bracing.

That's what I was planning. Much in the same fashion as the tank Red Coral did at the Toyota store in Calgary if I recall.

Thanks for your response.

Okay...so although my house is no-where near ready (still at excavation stage)... I have ordered my tank. I've also ended up upping the size just a little bit to about 290G. Along with the tank, I've ordered a 6' sump as well.

Jay from Elite will be building this and given what I've seen of his tanks...this should be a beauty. Sorry for anyone who was wondering but I couldn't quite afford the 1 piece eurobrace so it will be a normal one.

Anyways...I wanted to give him a big thank you for all his suggestions about ways to improve the tank before I had even given him the order.

Now if I could just figure out where I'm going to store this giant while I wait for the house to be finished. But hey...there could be worse problems right?:lol:

Good choice on a builder you'll be happy with the tank I'm sure. As cool as the one piece eurobrace is I doubt it's worth the cost. I also wonder if they are prone to cracking at the corners. Guess it'd depend on the radii of the corners. I'm assuming you're getting mitred/polished edges? Those are a real nice option for looks on the corners and for safety/comfort on the eurobrace.

I'm jealous of that lot you picked up! Looks very nice =)

Hey Mark,

I could store it here if you Like. :twised: :wink: :lol:

And I could store stuff in it like... some rock, corals, fish... that kind of stuff. Of course I would have to get rid of everything in my living room...but a sacrifice I would be willing to make for a friend. :biggrin1: