I need drilling a tank help

flower

flower

Well-Known Member
I have a glass place willing to drill my 15g seahorse fry tank....exactly what size hole needs to be drilled for a 1 inch bulkhead? One hole or two and why? Side by side, or one a little higher than the other...how far apart? Where should the hole be drilled, I see some folks with the hole on the bottom and others with the hole in the back...can someone explain why and which is best...?
I'm happy...once the tank is drilled I can begin to set it up and finally save some baby horses, instead of watching them die.
 
S

saxman

Guest
IIRC, 1" BH's require a 1 3/4" hole, altho I generally just find a hole saw that will make a hole the right size, which is generally a tad smaller. I've never drilled a glass tank, but do drill acrylic tanx, so I don't have a "dedicated" hole saw for them.
You'll need a drain and a return...the drain is usually in the bottom, but can be in the back, and the return can be in the back of the tank. I've always gone with a 2" margin away from the edge of the glass when I've had our glass tanx made to minimize breakage.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by saxman http:///t/393486/i-need-drilling-a-tank-help#post_3500855
IIRC, 1" BH's require a 1 3/4" hole, altho I generally just find a hole saw that will make a hole the right size, which is generally a tad smaller. I've never drilled a glass tank, but do drill acrylic tanx, so I don't have a "dedicated" hole saw for them.
You'll need a drain and a return...the drain is usually in the bottom, but can be in the back, and the return can be in the back of the tank. I've always gone with a 2" margin away from the edge of the glass when I've had our glass tanx made to minimize breakage.
Thank you for your time and help...I am going to take the small tank to a glass place to have it done, I can't do it myself. It's too late to have a tank made sinse this little tank is already sitting in my garage. The bottom of all glass tanks are usually tempered glass. So I am going to do the side by side holes, do they measure exactly the same or is one hole a different size, and is one set lower than the other?
I found the 1" bulkhead at Aquacave...however...what is a ...
slip/slip
FIPT/slip
FIPT/FIPT
This is a small 15g tank, they do have a 0.5 and a 0.75 bulkhead...would it be better to go with one of the smaller sizes?
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Bump...I need some answers to post #3 before I get the tank drilled, and order the bulkheads.....
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Agreed, you should be fine with a 3/4" drain. Are you also wanting to drill for a return? You'd need a 1-1/2" hole for a 3/4" standard bulkhead. If you drill for a return I'd just go with 1/2" personally and that requires a 1-1/8" hole for standard sizes.
FIPT - Female Iron Pipe Thread: just means that it has threads on the inside of the bulkhead which allows another piece to be threaded into is.. This means that the pieces undoubtedly screw together instead of glue together.
MIPT - Male Iron Pipe Thread: means that the coupling has threads on the outside of it so it can be screwed into a female receiver coupling. It's true when they tell ya that plumbing is dirty work.
Slip - I really don't know what this stands for but I know that it means the couplings which allow the pieces slip into one another and glue together. Pretty self explanatory.
Did we discuss if this tank has tempered glass?
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/393486/i-need-drilling-a-tank-help#post_3500942
Agreed, you should be fine with a 3/4" drain. Are you also wanting to drill for a return? You'd need a 1-1/2" hole for a 3/4" standard bulkhead. If you drill for a return I'd just go with 1/2" personally and that requires a 1-1/8" hole for standard sizes.
FIPT - Female Iron Pipe Thread: just means that it has threads on the inside of the bulkhead which allows another piece to be threaded into is.. This means that the pieces undoubtedly screw together instead of glue together.
MIPT - Male Iron Pipe Thread: means that the coupling has threads on the outside of it so it can be screwed into a female receiver coupling. It's true when they tell ya that plumbing is dirty work.
Slip - I really don't know what this stands for but I know that it means the couplings which allow the pieces slip into one another and glue together. Pretty self explanatory.
Did we discuss if this tank has tempered glass?
I "BELIEVE" the bottom is tempered glass. The place called aquacave tells me the size hole to drill...I'm leaning towards not getting it drilled until I have the bulkhead in hand, so the glass guy can double check his handywork....so Snake was concerned with blackage and recommends a 3/4...you say the 1/2 is plenty????? This tank is so small...it is a 15g high size 20 X 10 X 18...the only thing to flow in this tank is the cold water from the mother tank, to surround the fry tank inside to cool it. So basically it is a cooling system.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/393486/i-need-drilling-a-tank-help#post_3500945
I "BELIEVE" the bottom is tempered glass. The place called aquacave tells me the size hole to drill...I'm leaning towards not getting it drilled until I have the bulkhead in hand, so the glass guy can double check his handywork....so Snake was concerned with blackage and recommends a 3/4...you say the 1/2 is plenty????? This tank is so small...it is a 15g high size 20 X 10 X 18...the only thing to flow in this tank is the cold water from the mother tank, to surround the fry tank inside to cool it. So basically it is a cooling system.
3/4" may be more than you need, but it will keep it quiet. It will also help keep it from getting potentially blocked with debris in the future. 1/2" is what Corey recommended for the return pipe, if you were going to drill that as well. I personally don't see a reason to drill a return pipe for this little project. You can, however, use 1/2" RETURN pipe and plumbing... but 3/4" is what I would go with for the OVERFLOW/DRAIN.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Correct, I was recommending the half inch for a return but I also don't think that it is necessary to have to drill for it so no need to spend the extra cash there. Go with 3/4" bulkhead for the drain, Deb. I think Initially I recommended a 1" drain when you were first talking about getting a 30g tank IIRC.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/393486/i-need-drilling-a-tank-help#post_3500963
Correct, I was recommending the half inch for a return but I also don't think that it is necessary to have to drill for it so no need to spend the extra cash there. Go with 3/4" bulkhead for the drain, Deb. I think Initially I recommended a 1" drain when you were first talking about getting a 30g tank IIRC.
I ordered the 3/4" bulkheads, the magic lube stuff, and some strainers ...I don't know why, but a big hole just kind of worries me. I just don't want the hassles of watching another lifter pump to make sure it is functioning properly every time I have to shut the pumps down to feed the horses, so a drilled tank should suite me just fine. I have decided that when I redo my floors and have to break down the tanks...I will have them drilled before setting them back up.
Now for the rest of the sump system. I have always used the flex hoses...PVC as a plumbing system on the sump I'm new at. I have a cutter, and I have successfully glued PVC (so I know I can work with it)...a PVC drain seems simple enough since gravity is my friend. Now for the return...how do I attach the return pump? Can I rig up flex hose, since this is not a conventional set up? The fry tank can't sit right up against the mother tank because of equipment that is already running..(chiller is a big thing in the way) The 15g will be approximately 38 inches from the tank, which is some disdance considering must sumps are directly under the tank.
The distance is the same regardless of what seahorse fry I try and raise...I'm really leaning toward the Kuda since the potbelly horses need such a cold system. Finding homes for my little ones (aren't I confident...LOL) is a concern.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/393486/i-need-drilling-a-tank-help#post_3501020
Should be able to cut the return tubing and install a hose barb tee.
So glue the barbed adapter to the PVC and then attach the flex hose?...if that's not right let me know. Any idea what size Eheim pump to use? (I like the Eheim because it has an adjusting knob to control flow) The pump has to make the water travel horizontal with an upward slope...not vertically as in the usual way.
The return pumps are working perfect with the overflows...and I decided to have each tank with their own return and not share the line with the fry tank. It's already going to be a bit of adjustment to share the sump.
 
S

saxman

Guest
If you have rigid PVC, you'll need to add a "T" (slip x threaded x slip) and a male threaded barb, or you can use a female slip x slip x slip PVC "T" and either a male slip hose barb, or a slip-to-threaded adapter.
If you have flexible tubing as your plumbing, you can simply add a "T" hose barb (as 2Quills mentioned).
Flower,
You only glue slip connections on rigid PVC...if you use threaded fittings, use a good amount of Teflon tape on the threads (more than you think you need).
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Agree with Saxman. Shawn and I didnt see much need for a second pump so I was figuring you could just tap into the other return line using a hose barb tee. If you take a look at that pvc return that I made for you a while back you can see the threaded fittings that I used to adapt the flexible tubing to the pvc return.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/393486/i-need-drilling-a-tank-help#post_3501134
Agree with Saxman. Shawn and I didnt see much need for a second pump so I was figuring you could just tap into the other return line using a hose barb tee. If you take a look at that pvc return that I made for you a while back you can see the threaded fittings that I used to adapt the flexible tubing to the pvc return.
Hi,
...LOL...I got so lost trying to envision in my minds eye what Saxman was saying. But I think I got it...the return pump is threaded (depends on the type of return pump where the screw in part is... either male or female threads) and I need a piece of PVC that screws onto the return pump...then I need to attach another PVC piece or a barbed piece to that, to be able to connect whatever method I decide to use to run the plumbing....LOL..if that is wrong, PLEASE correct me now.
I don't want to mess with the return pump going to the mother tank...I may not keep the fry tank up and running 24/7 ...since my house is small. I plan to use the sump because it contains the cold water I want, but I want to have the fry tank as a stand alone system otherwise, with it's own pump. It has to be strong enough to transfer the water, and yet not so strong it overflows the little tank with the 3/4 inch hole draining out. I have never done a drilled tank...I HOPE it's easier than the lifter pump CPR overflow system...I ASSUME it is just a drain hole, and water can't go beyond that hole to overfill the tank unless it clogs, or the return water is too fast and strong for the drain to keep up.
If I am wrong on that...speak up.
I'm not too concerned with how to rig the plumbing just yet, since I know how to work with the PVC and the flex hose....I will cross that bridge when I get to it, because I have to have it hands on to be able to think it through. I already have the glue for PVC, and the clamps to hold flex hose... whichever I need. I have the PVC cutter for up to 1 inch. The needed elbows, pipe, hose and barb connections is what I have to look at to make my decision on just how to rig the plumbing.
I have a 5g jug without a handle (Hinkley...all the other jugs have a handle) I can cut the top off of it to make the needed insert for the fry tank. I already set it inside the 15g and it just fits...the cold water from the mother tank will create ambient temperature around the jug to keep it cold enough for the fry. The return pump will not be pushing out for 15g of water, but the small area of water around the insert....That 3/4 drain has to keep up and not overflow the "jacket" tank.
I hope that makes sense. The fry tank will just have an air line tube (no stone) to move the water, and I will do a small water change each day to keep the water pristine for them. I still have to grow Copepods and brine shrimp (baby food) for them too. I'm glad I didn't try this until after I retired...so I have time on my hands for this.
 
S

saxman

Guest
Flower,
Here's the "bleed valve" type thing:

The pic shows the "bled" water returning to the sump, but you can run the bleed-off line pretty much anywhere. The pic also shows the "T" in the line, but you could run it right at the pump output if you want...just get a "T" fitting that fits your pump (I dunno if the output is MPT, FPT, or a barb on your pump).
 
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