How to Plumb SC Aquarium 80 Gallon Internal or Similar Tank

[Fish Fan]

Hey guys!

I have been looking for a new tank and considering a few options, and one is for a used SC Aquariums 80 gallon Internal, like this:

https://www.scaquariums.com/SCA-80-Gallon-Starfire-Tank-p/sca-80g.htm

Again, I'm just considering this tank, I have not purchased it yet. It's not exactly what I want in a new tank, it's a bit smaller than I had hoped and I really wanted an exterior overflow, but admittedly I'm having a hard time finding what I want for a price that's affordable for me. This used tank is a complete running system, so it seems like a good deal.

The tank is running, so obviously it's plumbed, but I just wanted to ask here what *the best* way is to set up the plumbing on this tank, or one like it? Behind the internal overflow is three 1" drain holes, then there are holes on each side of the top of the overflow for the return jets. It seems to me that the only way to set up this tank is to have one hole be for the return, which would connect to the return jets at the top. Then, you'd have two holes left that you could set up for a Herbie style return, is that how you guys would do this?

Am I missing something, or is there another way to do this? I had really wanted a Bean Animal style overflow, plus the return lines. Is the two-pipe Herbie style a reliable setup?

Thank you guys in advance!

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Me personally would hold off for something I really wanted.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Hold out for the ext....

 

[Ef4life]

Center hole is the return lines that will come with the tank, it’s a tee shape piece. One hole will be the main drain and you will want a gate valve on it, the other will be an emergency drain you will want unrestricted.

return pipe piece. You don’t want to glue this piece in, it’s held in with the threaded locline fittings in the ends. The drain standpipes that go inside the overflow and bulkhead fittings come with the tank

My drain pipes and Center is the return I did these custom. You will need to source the pvc plumbing for your tank and make it custom Unless it comes with their Stand and sump kit, I bought a tank only and built my stand

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks guys!

Me personally would hold off for something I really wanted.

Believe me, I'm thinking this I haven't decided on anything yet.....

Hold out for the ext....

Why though? Is it because the Bean Animal is more reliable than the Herbie, or because the internal overflow takes up too much interior tank space.

Center hole is the return lines that will come with the tank, it’s a tee shape piece. One hole will be the main drain and you will want a gate valve on it, the other will be an emergency drain you will want unrestricted.

return pipe piece. You don’t want to glue this piece in, it’s held in with the threaded locline fittings in the ends. The drain standpipes that go inside the overflow and bulkhead fittings come with the tank

My drain pipes and Center is the return I did these custom. You will need to source the pvc plumbing for your tank and make it custom Unless it comes with their Stand and sump kit, I bought a tank only and built my stand

Thanks for the pics and suggestions! Your setup looks great! I do have a pretty good idea how the Herbie and Bean Animal overflows are plumbed, but just to be clear, it's looking like the way to plumb the SC Aquarium tank that I'm considering is with the Herbie drain, right? The only other way I could think of is to drill new holes for the returns, or use and over the tank return, and I'd prefer not to bother with either of those options.

Have you had any issues with your Herbie style setup?

The tank I'm looking at is a used, complete, running system, and the seller does have the SC Aquarium package with the tank and their stand and sump. He said he ditched their plumbing kit because it was crappy, and went with his own. The system is actually a few hours away from me, so it's not like I can just go see what he's got, so that's why I'm asking some questions here.

Thanks for all the help guys! I appreciate it!

 

[Dburr1014]

Hey guys!

I have been looking for a new tank and considering a few options, and one is for a used SC Aquariums 80 gallon Internal, like this:

https://www.scaquariums.com/SCA-80-Gallon-Starfire-Tank-p/sca-80g.htm

Again, I'm just considering this tank, I have not purchased it yet. It's not exactly what I want in a new tank, it's a bit smaller than I had hoped and I really wanted an exterior overflow, but admittedly I'm having a hard time finding what I want for a price that's affordable for me. This used tank is a complete running system, so it seems like a good deal.

The tank is running, so obviously it's plumbed, but I just wanted to ask here what *the best* way is to set up the plumbing on this tank, or one like it? Behind the internal overflow is three 1" drain holes, then there are holes on each side of the top of the overflow for the return jets. It seems to me that the only way to set up this tank is to have one hole be for the return, which would connect to the return jets at the top. Then, you'd have two holes left that you could set up for a Herbie style return, is that how you guys would do this?

Am I missing something, or is there another way to do this? I had really wanted a Bean Animal style overflow, plus the return lines. Is the two-pipe Herbie style a reliable setup?

Thank you guys in advance!

You CAN set this up as a bean if you want.
The 3 holes, standard bean style.

Over the back return into that box area. Tee to split into the 2 "jet" holes. /// Or, plug the 2 jet holes and return anywhere you want over the back.

Personally, wait for what you want if you have the funds.
EXT is fantastic without that bulky box in the tank.

 

[Fish Fan]

You CAN set this up as a bean of you want.
The 3 holes, standard bean style.

Over the back return into that box area. Tee to split into the 2 "jet" holes. /// Or, plug the 2 jet holes and return anywhere you want over the back.

Personally, wait for what you want if you have the funds.
EXT is fantastic without that bulky box in the tank.

Thank you! This is basically what I was thinking, and I'd prefer not to have to do an over the tank return, or to drill more holes in this tank.

It's a good deal in that it's an entire system with all the gear. A brand new tank in the size I'd like with the features I want is looking like a big stretch financially; I'm not one of you big shooters lol!

But I have not made any decisions yet, I'm not in a huge hurry, and looking at a few options.

Thanks again!

 

[Dburr1014]

Have you had any issues with your Herbie style setup?

I ran my standard 75 Herbie style for years, never failed. Just once a month-ish I had to open the gate a full turn and put it back to where it was. That aloud any food/particles to wash out the gate. You can tell it's getting clogged because the emergency is flowing a little faster.

 

[Dburr1014]

Thank you! This is basically what I was thinking, and I'd prefer not to have to do an over the tank return, or to drill more holes in this tank.

It's a good deal in that it's an entire system with all the gear. A brand new tank in the size I'd like with the features I want is looking like a big stretch financially; I'm not one of you big shooters lol!

But I have not made any decisions yet, I'm not in a huge hurry, and looking at a few options.

Thanks again!

I'm not a big shooter, lol. I have a good job that allows me to spend some money but I'm still pretty cheap, like I was broke in my 20's.

 

[Fish Fan]

I'm not a big shooter, lol. I have a good job that allows me to spend some money but I'm still pretty cheap, like I was broke in my 20's.

LOL! I'm not saying we are dirt poor or anything, I'm just astounded at how much a glass or plastic box to keep fish in costs these days. I've said this elsewhere, but I remember when we used to tell new reefers that the tank is NOT NEARLY the most expensive part of a new set up. Now, the tank is firmly one of the most expensive single pieces of gear on a brand new system. I get these are much nicer tanks, but it's still a lot for me to convince my wife to spend on a tank.

 

[Dburr1014]

LOL! I'm not saying we are dirt poor or anything, I'm just astounded at how much a glass or plastic box to keep fish in costs these days. I've said this elsewhere, but I remember when we used to tell new reefers that the tank is NOT NEARLY the most expensive part of a new set up. Now, the tank is firmly one of the most expensive single pieces of gear on a brand new system. I get these are much nicer tanks, but it's still a lot for me to convince my wife to spend on a tank.

True that!
It took me a year to get my wife to say okay to the 150.
Now I here all the time "it's so big"!
But you know what, we have people over and she tells them that we sometimes sit and watch the tank. I know she loves it but just doesn't want to admit it to me. LOL.

 

[Ef4life]

Have you had any issues with your Herbie style setup?

No, honestly it’s the exact same thing as a bean, it just doesn’t have an extra redundant emergency drain taking up space. You tune the main drain with a gate valve to run about 99% of the flow through it, the other 1% gets diverted to 1 emergency line, basically always keeping the main line in full siphon and silent. The emergency drain is also silent because it’s so minimal on the flow.

The only real reason you might need a 3rd drain is if your return pump can push more water up to your tank than a single unrestricted drain line can handle. Then you need the redundancy of a bean animal setup or what you really you need to do is upsize your drain pipes

 

[Fish Fan]

True that!
It took me a year to get my wife to say okay to the 150.
Now I here all the time "it's so big"!
But you know what, we have people over and she tells them that we sometimes sit and watch the tank. I know she loves it but just doesn't want to admit it to me. LOL.

My wife loves our tanks and she's all for me getting something new and larger, but it's a big investment for sure.

I'm looking between 80 to 150 myself. Another problem I'm having is that it's just my wife and I, so I think about 80 to 90 gallons is about the limit where we'd be able to carry the tank in the house and get it up on the stand. Any larger, and I'd either have to go acrylic, or maybe pay some of the neighborhood teenagers to help us.

The SCA 80 gallon would fit perfectly in a specific part of the house, which is another reason I'm considering the used 80. But also on my radar is an SCA 150 gallon that's 60"x24"x24 and drilled on the side for a penisula display with a Synergy Shadow overflow. As it happens, I already have a Synergy Shadow overflow, brand new in the box. Although I'd prefer to go with like Tenecor or Glass Cages, it's hard to beat the price of the SCA tanks with their free shipping. This SCA 150 could seriously be my forever tank. But, I'm not sure we could get it into the house.

 

[Dburr1014]

My wife loves our tanks and she's all for me getting something new and larger, but it's a big investment for sure.

I'm looking between 80 to 150 myself. Another problem I'm having is that it's just my wife and I, so I think about 80 to 90 gallons is about the limit where we'd be able to carry the tank in the house and get it up on the stand. Any larger, and I'd either have to go acrylic, or maybe pay some of the neighborhood teenagers to help us.

The SCA 80 gallon would fit perfectly in a specific part of the house, which is another reason I'm considering the used 80. But also on my radar is an SCA 150 gallon that's 60"x24"x24 and drilled on the side for a penisula display with a Synergy Shadow overflow. As it happens, I already have a Synergy Shadow overflow, brand new in the box. Although I'd prefer to go with like Tenecor or Glass Cages, it's hard to beat the price of the SCA tanks with their free shipping. This SCA 150 could seriously be my forever tank. But, I'm not sure we could get it into the house.

I was looking at that tank the whole time(sca 150 penisula), but ended up with the planet. The main reason was the LFS was delivering it to my house. That tank is heavy! The 2nd reason was I'm not a carpenter by any means.

I was going to set it against the wall and use dark window film on the long end of one side. That side agaist the wall so now the plumbing is on one end(easy to get to).

They run a sale every so often. Black Friday is coming......

 

[Fish Fan]

I was looking at that tank the whole time(sca 150 penisula), but ended up with the planet. The main reason was the LFS was delivering it to my house. That tank is heavy! The 2nd reason was I'm not a carpenter by any means.

I was going to set it against the wall and use dark window film on the long end of one side. That side agaist the wall so now the plumbing is on one end(easy to get to).

They run a sale every so often. Black Friday is coming......

Yes, I've actually been looking at SCA for a while now, and I do know they do a Black Friday sale ;-)

I have one local LFS near me who comes up as a dealer for Planet, but the shop has gone way downhill, and they are only open on Sundays. I recently reached out for a quote for a Planet 40 gallon Tideline AIO for a frag tank project, they said they'd get me a quote, and I never heard back lol! They were going to charge me the MAP price cost of the tank, plus freight shipping to get it to their shop, so I didn't even bother chasing them down for that quote. For that kind of money I could order a Waterbox AIO and have it shipped to me. In the end, I think I'm going with a standard 40B for this project, I'll put that extra money to my "dream" tank I'm considering here.

An acrylic tank would be much easier for my wife and I to move into the house. I noticed Tenecor has a 48"x24"x20" 100 external acrylic tank on sale for $1400 plus freight, which is really maxing my budget here, but the tank looks very, very nice. I'm just not thrilled with the 48" length, I wanted either 32" or 60" for the room I want this in, but it's not like a 48" tank wouldn't be really nice. I reached out to Tenecor with some questions this morning.

And I reached out to Glasscages this morning asking what they would do on basically the same 48"24"20" acrylic 100 gallon external, and they shot my back at about $1800, but $300 of that was for a Synergy Shadow overflow, which I already happen to own (and may opt for something like Modular Marine in the end), and they wanted about $176 to wrap the back in black vinyl. I understand there's probably a couple hours of labor cost in that wrapping, but that's something I can do myself for $30 in materials. I replied and asked if I don't need the overflow itself, and don't want the black wrap, could I save almost $500 total.

So this is where I am. I'm not in any rush on this, and I haven't made any firm decision, but I am serious about getting a new tank.

Thanks for your help!

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Thanks guys!


Believe me, I'm thinking this I haven't decided on anything yet.....


Why though? Is it because the Bean Animal is more reliable than the Herbie, or because the internal overflow takes up too much interior tank space.


Thanks for the pics and suggestions! Your setup looks great! I do have a pretty good idea how the Herbie and Bean Animal overflows are plumbed, but just to be clear, it's looking like the way to plumb the SC Aquarium tank that I'm considering is with the Herbie drain, right? The only other way I could think of is to drill new holes for the returns, or use and over the tank return, and I'd prefer not to bother with either of those options.

Have you had any issues with your Herbie style setup?

The tank I'm looking at is a used, complete, running system, and the seller does have the SC Aquarium package with the tank and their stand and sump. He said he ditched their plumbing kit because it was crappy, and went with his own. The system is actually a few hours away from me, so it's not like I can just go see what he's got, so that's why I'm asking some questions here.

Thanks for all the help guys! I appreciate it!

No I run herbie ext’s.
For me it’s visual and flow is a pain.