Drilling a 29g tank

broncofish

broncofish

Active Member
Been looking around to get my 29g tank drilled and it costs more than the tank. I found a place online to get the 1 3/4 glass drill bit for $42. that 8 dollars cheaper than having the holes drilled. Anybody ever drill their own holes, or but one of these bits? I'm wondering if it is a good price?
 
richard rendos

richard rendos

Active Member
I bought all of mine here
http://www.shopsmartxpress.com/AmeriGls/W9.htm
they work great. I have drilled 1 3/4", 1 1/16", and 3" holes. I have drilled everything from a 20 gallon to a 180. So glass thicknesses of 1/4" to 5/8", and no problems. The only problem I ever had was not using two hands on the drill and when the bit cut through, the drill twisted in my hand and broke the glass. I use two hands now when drilling and have drilled 25-30 holes on various tanks and have never broke another. Go slow and keep a garden hose running water over the glass while cutting.
 
johnny.d.s

johnny.d.s

Member

Originally posted by Richard Rendos
I bought all of mine here
http://www.shopsmartxpress.com/AmeriGls/W9.htm
they work great. I have drilled 1 3/4", 1 1/16", and 3" holes. I have drilled everything from a 20 gallon to a 180. So glass thicknesses of 1/4" to 5/8", and no problems. The only problem I ever had was not using two hands on the drill and when the bit cut through, the drill twisted in my hand and broke the glass. I use two hands now when drilling and have drilled 25-30 holes on various tanks and have never broke another. Go slow and keep a garden hose running water over the glass while cutting.
Can you drill a 10 gallon ?
 
reef fool

reef fool

Active Member
Most of the smaller tanks are tempered glass and can't be drilled. So I am told. If you try to drill tempered, it will explode like a windshield. 20, 30, and 40 gallon breeder tanks are usually not tempered.
 
heyoo

heyoo

Member

Originally posted by Johnny.D.S
Can you drill a 10 gallon ?
I had a hole drilled in the side of an all-glass brand 10 gallon with no problem. I don't know if the bottom surface is tempered or not, but at $8 for the tank , it might be worth the gamble. Another option would be to contact the aquarium manufacturer and ask if it uses tempered glass.
 
heyoo

heyoo

Member

Originally posted by broncofish
Been looking around to get my 29g tank drilled and it costs more than the tank. I found a place online to get the 1 3/4 glass drill bit for $42. that 8 dollars cheaper than having the holes drilled. Anybody ever drill their own holes, or but one of these bits? I'm wondering if it is a good price?
There's a guy on another chat board who loans his glass drill bits out - along with photos showing how to do it. Sure enough - he's got pics of him hand-drilling a 10gallon tank with a DeWalt drill and a glass hole saw. Unless I was drilling a 10 - or something really thick, I'd be afraid to try it myself.
I assume the LFS is who quoted $50 for two holes?
Call some local glass shops. Many will not take the job, but occasionally you'll hit on a place willing to do it. My LFS charges $20/hole. A glass shop down the street charges $15. I don't think either offer any guarantees - but having someone experienced drill your hole might be worth the extra $8.
 
little salt

little salt

New Member
I drilled my 29 gal on bottom. ITs an all glass tank. It was easy took a bit of time though. If you do it use battery powered drill and use lots of water to cool and lube the hole. I also used some veggy oil as a lube.
Oh the reasion you use a battery drill is so that you dont get shocked.
 
lonestar

lonestar

Member
I am fortunate enough to live very close to a tank building company. They charge me 5 bucks per hole. I did notice that they do not use diamond bits but they do use a press on a tripod. They also have a doughnut shaped piece of wax ring (or something) and fill it with lubricating/cooling fluid. I figure for the amout of holes i need to have drilled and the price of the saw, ill just get them drilled for the $5.60 each.
Good luck drilling the holes,
Jeremy
 
reef fool

reef fool

Active Member
DVSkin, Are you saying that you can drill tempered glass or are you saying that the smaller tanks are not tempered and can be drilled? I realize I may be wrong about something in my reply, Not the first time, just wondering which info is right. Thanks
 
reef fool

reef fool

Active Member
Thanks,DvSKiN
I didn't think tempered could be drilled. I did see a 20 gal high at the LFS that was tempered. The customer swore it wasn't, so it was off to the glass shop and POP! Thanks again for correcting my mis info.
 
lonestar

lonestar

Member
I was told by the tank manufacturing plant here that u can not drill tempered glass (just as u have stated). I went there to have a 2 inch hole drilled in a 75 gallon sump for my external pump. They do not use diamond hole saws. It looks different from a regular hole saw but the owner informed me that it was not diamond. They do use a tripod for a straight cut and possibly cause cutting it with their saws as slower (I dont know).
Jeremy
 
bluemarlin

bluemarlin

Member
What about burning the holes? My LFS said that they could burn the holes in the tank. Its a 180 and they did it for me when I bought the tank from them. I never thought about it much but I wonder if they really "burned" holes in the true sense of the word?
 
lonestar

lonestar

Member
I went last Friday to have 2 holes drilled in my 200 gal tank. Due to this post I asked them how they did it. Keep in mind this is a tank supplier to all our LFS here. He told me that he uses a 9 dollar wood holesaw, grinds the teeth off and uses a compound that is silica carbide. He tells me that you can get about 120 holes drilled with that then you have to replace the holesaw. He also said that you dont have to grind the teeth off, but they will be gone after several holes. This grit is like 2 dollars a pound, and the bit it roughly 5-8 bucks. He did use a drill mounded on a trrpod, so I dont know how easily it will go by hand. It took about 7 or 8 minutes to drill mine.
Good Luck,
Jeremy
 
gatorcsm

gatorcsm

Member
There's a chart at AGA's website with which ones are tempered and which are not. It's the ones near 50 that seem to be tempered bottoms. All of the big ones (for the most part) aren't and all of the little ones aren't. The 180 for example, doesn't have a tempered bottom.
Here's the link:
http://www.all-glass.com/services/index.asp
It's under the technical info
 
broncofish

broncofish

Active Member
All right, all right no flaming in my thread in less I'm the one doing it;) To let you guys know I figured screw it, I build better looking tanks than you can buy soooooo I am building myself a new 30g. I have the fuge all set, added a shelf in my stand to hold the fuge, and now just have to finish a couple other projects; big big projects, believe me the'll be posted here.
 
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