Aquarium Drilling
- Thread starter kingspade
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jessecnc
Member
From what I understand, the whole tank is rarely tempered. On 75's (and some 55's) and larger, the bottom is typically tempered, and can't be drilled. The side panels, however, are very seldomley tempered.
If your going to drill the glass, it's a great DIY project if you're into that sort of thing, and it's really not that hard. I will be posting a thread shortly about drilling my new 75gal. shortly so keep tuned. Basically it just takes the right tool, coolant, and time!
In the mean time, king, drilling the back is a great place to put in an overlow, return, whatever. Whether you do it, or you have it professionally done, it is the way to go.
If your going to drill the glass, it's a great DIY project if you're into that sort of thing, and it's really not that hard. I will be posting a thread shortly about drilling my new 75gal. shortly so keep tuned. Basically it just takes the right tool, coolant, and time!
In the mean time, king, drilling the back is a great place to put in an overlow, return, whatever. Whether you do it, or you have it professionally done, it is the way to go.
dogstar
Active Member
First decide how much flow you want going to/thru your sump and how big of drain you need for that. Then get the bulkheads and then you will know how big the holes need to be.
Normally for a 125g use two 1 inch ID drains and I think most 1 inch bulkheads need a 1 3/8 hole in the glass but not sure. If a closed loop then you still need the bulkheads first.
Normally for a 125g use two 1 inch ID drains and I think most 1 inch bulkheads need a 1 3/8 hole in the glass but not sure. If a closed loop then you still need the bulkheads first.
acrylic51
Active Member
As mentioned earlier usually the bottoms are tempered, so to be safe you should check with the manufacturer to get good info on the tank......Getting a tank drilled might be a challenge??
And just because you take it to a so called professional is no guarantee....I don't know if anyone will guarantee that they won't break the tank, so if they can't guarantee they won't crack it your better off drilling it yourself.
It's super easy to drill your own tanks as long as you have the proper tools. As mentioned earlier. You could use a diamond holesaw bit and a drill press. Diamond holesaw bits are on the expensive side unless you can find one on ---- or such. The cheapest method is to use a dremel and diamond bits to drill and bore you holes.....When drilling your tank your not actually cutting a hole as in wood, your actually grinding away the glass. Drilling with the dremel is very cheap and super easy as long as you have time and patience.....You can get the bits for the dremel at Lowes, HD and even cheaper at Harbor Freight......I've drilled quite a few holes this way. If you need more info just say so
It's super easy to drill your own tanks as long as you have the proper tools. As mentioned earlier. You could use a diamond holesaw bit and a drill press. Diamond holesaw bits are on the expensive side unless you can find one on ---- or such. The cheapest method is to use a dremel and diamond bits to drill and bore you holes.....When drilling your tank your not actually cutting a hole as in wood, your actually grinding away the glass. Drilling with the dremel is very cheap and super easy as long as you have time and patience.....You can get the bits for the dremel at Lowes, HD and even cheaper at Harbor Freight......I've drilled quite a few holes this way. If you need more info just say so
chipmaker
Active Member
They are tempered for more strength, and not to make folks buy a drlled tank........You can get diamond coated holesaws on the auction site pretty cheap. They may not last in a commercial environment, but are more than suitable for occasional use by hobby types...Usually abut $10 to 15 each....I have even gotten a complete set of various diamond coated hole saws which work fine for under $25.00 that included 8 different sized saws........
Do not drill your tank for any sized hole until you have your bulkhead fittings in your hand, as there is all kinds of differences in some of the bulkheads offered.......so buy your bulkhead fittings first, measure them then buy appropriate hole saw.....
Drilling glass is easy. It can even be done with a typical dremel tool and diamond point. YOu may have a hard time getting a perfectly round hole but the hole does not really have to be perfectly round anyhow for it to work.
Do not drill your tank for any sized hole until you have your bulkhead fittings in your hand, as there is all kinds of differences in some of the bulkheads offered.......so buy your bulkhead fittings first, measure them then buy appropriate hole saw.....
Drilling glass is easy. It can even be done with a typical dremel tool and diamond point. YOu may have a hard time getting a perfectly round hole but the hole does not really have to be perfectly round anyhow for it to work.
acrylic51
Active Member
Yep agree with Chip can easily get the bits, and what makes the professional any better than you drilling it??? I bet not to many glass shops have drilled tanks...Some have done quite a few, but alot won't even touch the job of doing it which is a problem and they won't guarantee against breakage if they do take the job.
chipmaker
Active Member
I think you have mpore of a chance of busting the tank moving it to and from the glass shop. And with them not making any warranty against breaking it, and also some probbaly use exactly what john doe the hobbyist has to use since its not a high tech job, why pay them when its E A S Y to do and the hole saws can be had for much less than the price of gas and inconvieinence to take it there and pick it up, possibly in a box with all the pieces.........There is a multitude of folks that have drilled their tanks that have never used a electric drill or dremel tool before, and did it......its all the stories you may hear from aan LFS or glass shop, ......heck they don;t want the truth to be known, that its not high tech to drill glass....
Folks have used dremel tool, plug in type one speed electric drills, air grinders, air drills, vari speed plug in drills, battery operated drills.......they all work......
Clean back exit side of glass and apply a layer or two of duct tape. This will hold the plug of glass from falling and cocking when yur just about cut through, and help with reducing and small chips on breakout edge and the plug from falling and cracking the other side of the tank...Lay tank on its side with the hole to be drilled side up. Make a small dam out of plumbers putty or tape on a piece of plastic or styrofoam cup so it makes a dam around the proposed hole. Start hole saw on a slight angle until you get a notch cut, and then ease the drill up to the vertical position a little at a time until you get a cut all the way around, then you can keep drill in that position until hole is fuly cut. Place water in the dam yu created to keep it cool or if you do not want a dam have someone flow a trickle of water on the hole area as you drill........(not good idea with plug in type but it can be done if your careful) Apply steady pressure, to the point you can feel / see hole saw cutting. You can make a reference point on the side of hole saw just to give you an indication that your actually getting depth as you cut....I often times make a mark equala to the thickness of the tank the same distance up from the cutting edge, as once I get it in the groove with correct pressure and feed I like to keep it there and not stop.....so I can readily see and feel it cutting. I also place rags etc on the exposed side of tank a I have a bad habit anymore of dropping things for no good reason.....so the less I have to take the drillin and out the less the odds are of me dropping it.....its not really hard....
Folks have used dremel tool, plug in type one speed electric drills, air grinders, air drills, vari speed plug in drills, battery operated drills.......they all work......
Clean back exit side of glass and apply a layer or two of duct tape. This will hold the plug of glass from falling and cocking when yur just about cut through, and help with reducing and small chips on breakout edge and the plug from falling and cracking the other side of the tank...Lay tank on its side with the hole to be drilled side up. Make a small dam out of plumbers putty or tape on a piece of plastic or styrofoam cup so it makes a dam around the proposed hole. Start hole saw on a slight angle until you get a notch cut, and then ease the drill up to the vertical position a little at a time until you get a cut all the way around, then you can keep drill in that position until hole is fuly cut. Place water in the dam yu created to keep it cool or if you do not want a dam have someone flow a trickle of water on the hole area as you drill........(not good idea with plug in type but it can be done if your careful) Apply steady pressure, to the point you can feel / see hole saw cutting. You can make a reference point on the side of hole saw just to give you an indication that your actually getting depth as you cut....I often times make a mark equala to the thickness of the tank the same distance up from the cutting edge, as once I get it in the groove with correct pressure and feed I like to keep it there and not stop.....so I can readily see and feel it cutting. I also place rags etc on the exposed side of tank a I have a bad habit anymore of dropping things for no good reason.....so the less I have to take the drillin and out the less the odds are of me dropping it.....its not really hard....
sleasia
Active Member
sci...by diamond bit I assume you are talking about the diamond core bits? they also have diamond cutting bits for dremels, which is what these guys had been talking about using. There is no way I will be able to know if the bottom is tempered or not so I'm assuming it is and planning to drill on the side. I think I will try and practice on a piece of glass, either from a picture frame or maybe a drinking glass.
sleasia
Active Member
My current tank is acrylic but it is drilled on the side simply because it sits on a big piece of granite so I could not have it drilled on the botton. It works fine with the bulkhead on the side instead of the bottom. I don't think it really makes a big difference. this second tank is something someone at work practically gave me, but it is glass, and I have to deal with that....I'm too spoiled or maybe too stubborn at this point to go with a hang on overflow.
Also I'm thinking of making the overflow out of a 2" piece of pvc...like a standing drain fitted into the bulkhead rather than try to silicon on an internal overflow box.....
Also I'm thinking of making the overflow out of a 2" piece of pvc...like a standing drain fitted into the bulkhead rather than try to silicon on an internal overflow box.....
J
jc85
Guest
The real question is, how do you tell if the glass is tempered???????????????? There is no name on the tank, and I don't have enough experience to know one manufacturers product from another.
scsinet
Active Member
Yeah I meant the core bits.
JC, there is NO way to tell if glass is tempered by looking at it. Tempered glass is just normal glass that has been heated and cooled very quickly, so it looks the same as normal glass.
There are two other means of determining if it's tempered.
1. Contact the manufacturer of the tank and ask them. Chances are if the tank is any bigger than 30-40 gallons, the bottom is tempered, except if it's Oceanic. Oceanic uses very thick glass for their tanks so they do not always temper the bottoms, but I still wouldn't count on it.
2. Drill the tank. If you succeed, it wasn't tempered. If it shatters, then it was.
JC, there is NO way to tell if glass is tempered by looking at it. Tempered glass is just normal glass that has been heated and cooled very quickly, so it looks the same as normal glass.
There are two other means of determining if it's tempered.
1. Contact the manufacturer of the tank and ask them. Chances are if the tank is any bigger than 30-40 gallons, the bottom is tempered, except if it's Oceanic. Oceanic uses very thick glass for their tanks so they do not always temper the bottoms, but I still wouldn't count on it.
2. Drill the tank. If you succeed, it wasn't tempered. If it shatters, then it was.
sleasia
Active Member
Well, there is no way to tell on this tank...I'm going to get the diamond core bits, and drill it on the side and find out. because I don't want to deal with a hang on overflow....if it shatters, well, it was practically a freebie anyway...the only consequence will be that the trash guys once again, are going to hate my guts. I have to order the bulkheads and bits, so it will take a couple days...should have pics of this process by next weekend.
I don't know it this should be a different thread but...I don't trust myself to make a good seal for an overflow siliconed to the side of the tank...why can't i just get a plastic seamless container (like some kind of small square trash can thing), drill a 2"hole in it, drill a 2"hole in the tank, and put the 2"inch bulkhead through both the container and wall of the tank with maybe an extra gasket (rubber seal) tighten until its leak proof and continue with the outside pvc plumbing into the slip side of the bulkhead??? like this
I don't know it this should be a different thread but...I don't trust myself to make a good seal for an overflow siliconed to the side of the tank...why can't i just get a plastic seamless container (like some kind of small square trash can thing), drill a 2"hole in it, drill a 2"hole in the tank, and put the 2"inch bulkhead through both the container and wall of the tank with maybe an extra gasket (rubber seal) tighten until its leak proof and continue with the outside pvc plumbing into the slip side of the bulkhead??? like this