Step-by-Step: Drilling Holes in Your Glass Tank for Bulkheads - Page 6

JustOneMoreTank · #**126** 12/17/2005, 09:45 AM

Yes the plastic material that the cheaper BHs are made out of is not high quality stuff. It is sufficient and will get the job done as long as you dont really wrench it down with super human strength.
You would be surprised how strong you really are when installing the Bulk Head when at the last minute while tightening they think 'man I better get this Really Tight or else this could leak 120 gallons of water all over the living room'. Then they muster Super Gorilla Strength and they crack the BH (usually in the threads) or stress the plastic to such a degree that it may develop a leak later.

Superorb · #**127** 12/17/2005, 11:13 AM

isnt it supposed to be just hand tightened? not super gorilla man hand strength, but reasonably tightened?

Demeter · #**128** 12/17/2005, 06:20 PM

Question about Oceanic and/or AGA tanks (since they're the same company). Aren't both tanks made of tempered glass? Or is it just the bottoms of the tanks that are tempered glass? Do they actually explain this anywhere on their site?

Superorb · #**129** 12/17/2005, 07:00 PM

Did you read any of this thread? All of your questions can be answered just by reading through the thread. When in doubt, contact the manufacturer.

Quote:

Originally posted by Superorb
I would have to agree about the 55g tanks not always being tempered. When I contacted AGA they said that the bottom of all the 55g tanks came tempered, and the only way they tempered the front/back is if it came in a "combo" is what she said. But, you can also measure the glass on the sides and front/rear and relay that to AGA and they can tell you if it's tempered or not.

jimroth · #**130** 12/17/2005, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JustOneMoreTank
jimroth...
You can try this webpage. http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_..._strainers.asp
MarineDepot lists the size hole in your glass tank for the Bulkheads that they sell. The units are given in inches however so you will need to convert this to millimeters.
(1 inch equals 25.4001 millimeters)
Or you measure the outside diameter of your Bulkhead.
The problem with giving you an exact number is that it depends on the brand of the BH and Sched 40 vs 80.
Hope this helps some.

THANKS!

JownsenJesus · #**131** 12/18/2005, 09:08 PM

Good Hole Saw Dealer- http://stores.ebay.com/Treasure-HK-Ltd

Thank you, your method worked very well.

Superorb · #**132** 12/18/2005, 09:50 PM

thats who i got the bent stuff from!!!

looks like he has moved to the same models of bits that hte other sellers are selling where people didnt have problems like i did. figures..

jrcastro · #**133** 12/27/2005, 03:11 PM

Anyway to tell if a glass pane is tempered??

Superorb · #**134** 12/27/2005, 11:01 PM

Call the manufacturer. There's no way to tell just by looking at it. If you cannot find out, don't risk it. Better safe than sorry.

xtrstangx · #**135** 12/28/2005, 12:01 AM

Great thread. I'm going to be drilling atleast 3 holes in the back of my new 75g and maybe 5 now.

If I got the drill bits, might as well connect some more 10g tanks to my sump, right?

Stasher · #**136** 12/28/2005, 10:26 AM

I couldn't believe how fast my bits came. 2 bits and shipping for 12 dollars, thats almost less than the bulkheads. The bits worked nicely, fortunately I was able to maneuver my drill press around my tank and it worked very well.

frank10 · #**137** 12/28/2005, 01:59 PM

My last tank used an overflow siphon, so I'd love to use a hole instead with my 75g I'm setting up.

i still need to check if my tank is tempered or not, but how many holes and where do you suggest.

I'm thinking of one bulkhead a couple inches from the top to act as my siphon overflow did and one near the bottom to facilitate water changes.

Would I want more than 2?

frank10 · #**138** 12/28/2005, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by frank10
My last tank used an overflow siphon, so I'd love to use a hole instead with my 75g I'm setting up.

i still need to check if my tank is tempered or not, but how many holes and where do you suggest.

I'm thinking of one bulkhead a couple inches from the top to act as my siphon overflow did and one near the bottom to facilitate water changes.

Would I want more than 2?

Well, I checked the used 75 gallon tank I got for free, and it has a nice big sticker on the bottom that read:

TEMPERED GLASS - DO NOT DRILL

Superorb · #**139** 12/29/2005, 07:45 AM

is the sticker red/pink tinted or is it white? mine had the same sticker but only the bottom was tempered. if you can, call the manufacturer.

frank10 · #**140** 12/29/2005, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Superorb
is the sticker red/pink tinted or is it white? mine had the same sticker but only the bottom was tempered. if you can, call the manufacturer.

I'm not really sure of the manufacture. Here are some images from the tank. Can anyone tell? It's a 75 gallon tank.

Please click on the thumbnails for a higher resolution image.

Overall Picture

Tempered Glass warning label

Identifying label

red label on bottom

light

frank10 · #**141** 12/29/2005, 02:47 PM

Can anyone suggest a possible manufacturer for this tank? There is no model# listed on it. My guess is that the anchor symbol is specific to this manufacturer.

To me, it looks like an AGA with oak trim. If that's the case, then it would only have the bottom pane tempered.

doody · #**142** 12/29/2005, 04:44 PM

I think the anchor symbol belongs to Perfecto.

speakeraddict · #**143** 12/29/2005, 05:54 PM

Yep, perfecto. I was told by their customer service that they have only ever tempered the bottom...it is safe to drill the sides.

I would still do it at your own risk though.

speakeraddict

frank10 · #**144** 12/29/2005, 06:25 PM

I checked perfecto's website and it has the same anchor logo.

Thanks for the heads up.

Wish me luck in my drilling!

I still need to figure out where to put the holes.

Superorb · #**145** 12/29/2005, 10:39 PM

gl!!

10" Red Devil · #**146** 12/30/2005, 03:20 AM

Okay I want to drill my Koralin 20 Long glass tank.

I have a 6v Ryobi cordless drill. Will that work?

I was thinking of doing a 1" bulkhead since I only have a 295gph pump at zero head pressure. I will not have a surface skimmer basically the bulkhead w/ strainer will be my surface skimmer, plumbing will most likely be like the External Durso pictured here:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...opic=69372&hl=

I will most likely buy the bulkhead from here:

http://www.savko.com/PartList.asp?pgid=6&ptid=23

So I am thinking of buying the bit from here:

http://www.richontools.com

The tank right now has a 1200gph external overflow, I know a bit of overkill, but this is because I was doing a closed loop with a SCWD and a 1100gph pump. I have since changed the design to have 2 SEIO 620s for my flow. Tank is SPS only.

Which bulkhead will I need? I dont understand the codes S*T and T*T.

Thanks.

duhfactor · #**147** 12/30/2005, 09:01 AM

Just FYI,
Carol Sikes at oceanic e-mailed me telling me that their line of tanks all use tempered bottoms, but none of the other panes are tempered, and it's o.k. to drill---but voids the warranty unless done by their "customs" dept. We pretty much expect that this voids a warranty any way.....wouldn't you think?

Spuds725 · #**148** 12/30/2005, 09:02 AM

S= slip
T= threaded

They are referring to how you can plumb up to them-- regarding the S*T-- I'm not sure which would be on the "inside" of the bulkhead-- although it really doesn't matter much as some people have installed them either way without leaks--- the proper way is to have the flange/gasket part on the inside of the tank.

10" Red Devil · #**149** 12/30/2005, 12:32 PM

How bout the other stuff in my thread, does my plan sound okay. Will I be able to use that drill. I gotta know before I order the bulkhead.

Thanks.

Spuds725 · #**150** 12/31/2005, 08:06 AM

Some people have used the ones sold by Richon-- there were some posts a few pages back that didn't care for his bits and bought off Lau on ebay instead...

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...57#post6211657

regarding that setup---

No overflow box around the bulkhead??? -- your tank might be unsightly with a water lever below the rim if this is feeding a sump... if for a closed loop then not an issue-- you could use a few elbows to get the water level higher.

Other then that I think its ok at that amount of flow with that size.