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IVPush
10/27/2000, 09:20 AM
I have a 20g tank I wanna use as a sump. How can I go about cutting 1" holes in the sides for the plumbing?

I was thinking of using my drummel. I dont have any practical experience cutting glass so Im not familiar with the necessisities.

Any suggestions? Has anyone used a drummel and if so how did it work?

wayne
10/27/2000, 12:02 PM
IV,
If the drummel has a glass cutting tool, it should work. Make sure the glass is not tempered glass. You cant drill tempered glass. Another option would be to take it to a glass cutter, or your LFS may have a drill (it takes a special bit). Even another option I've heard people use is to take it to a sand-blaster, or someone who engraves marble and have them blast a hole.

hth
wayne

David Grigor
10/27/2000, 02:19 PM
This is why I build all my sumps using acrylic.

Can make them the exact size you want and can drill it easily....

Doug
10/27/2000, 09:30 PM
Hi IVPush,

I have watched people drill glass with hole saw and drillpress. I think it was a special diamond hole saw but you might want to ask at the hardware store if it will cut glass.

They have someone hold the tank steady, set the drillpress on top of the glass, use a circle of putty around the area that you want to drill, put some anti-freeze mixed with water in it to keep it cool and then very slowly drill out the hole. You don't want to drill too fast because if the hole saw snags up it will break the glass. Also stop and start the drill a few times so that the anti-freeze can get into what you have already drilled. You don't want to drill the hole in one movement.

You might want to try this out on some scrap glass before you do it on the tank.

HTH

Doug

JB
10/28/2000, 01:05 AM
I ordered a set of this
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/taf/displayitem.taf?itemnumber=32400



I haven't got them yet, so I don't know how well they would work. And, for the best results, you would probly want a drill press.

Jason

Snailman
10/28/2000, 07:44 AM
I got my 1 3/4" glass drill from http://www.aquaticeco.com for $24 I have not tried it yet. There was a very long thread about drilling glass a while back. This has been talked about many times before and there are always several main points. Don't try it yourself unless you practice a lot first. Thick glass is easier to drill than thin glass. Make sure that the glass that you are going to drill is not tempered. You should be able to find this out from the maker of the tank. People say that AGA and Oceanic bottoms are not tempered. Their web site may tell or fire an email off to them. Try a search here on RC and you will find lots of information on this. Good luck. I plan on getting up the nerve to try my glass drill one day. :)