glass tank drilling

[Westy82]

i am setting up my 125 and want to drill it. i know all i need is a diamond bit to drill the holes but i am a little worried about breaking the glass on the back. i am doing the back of the tank since i do not know if the bottom is tempered, no label letting me know. is it easy to drill? or should i take it to ATR? if i go to ATR how much do they charge per hole?

if its easy to do any tips or pointers you might have?

[evolust]

Are you sure the back is not tempered? Go very slow when cutting. I have been told the #1 reason for nontempered glass breaking is overheating the glass by going too fast. I think ATR charges $15 per hole, not sure they do it anymore though as they had a falling out with the neighbor who used to do the glass work for them, so I heard. HTH

[bajabum]

A 125 takes about 5 minitues per hole. I use a spray bottle to spray water on the hole. Thin glass is more likly to break than the thick.

[Westy82]

what size holes would you recommend for returns? how many? and also what size hole to the sump?

[tleip]

I just drilled a 10-gal for a fuge - I used a diamond bit that i got from ebay for something like $8 -- worked great! I used a ring of clay (actually play-dough stolen from my kids), and put a small amount of water in the ring to keep the bit cool, and just took my time with a cordless drill. It was pretty quick and easy.

Terry

[newtanksmell]

Westy, depends on how much flow you need.

For single schedule 80 outflow, you need 2 5/8 to give you 1.5 ID.

For dual outflows, twin 2 inch holes will give you 1 inch outflows.

For returns, 1 5/8 holes gives you 3/4 returns. 1 3/8 holes gives you 1/2 returns/CL's.

You only need 6-10 times tsnk turnover. The rest of your flow can be customized and driven by Seios, Tunzes or any other in-tank pumps.

I'd pick a design that's relatively simple since your drilling the holes. Also, I'd avoid burying the returns (drilling holes for returns) inside the overflow box. If I had to guess I suspect that it would dramatically increase the chance of cracking glass.

FLow design is about as personal as coral selection. I think you'll have to figure out what is important to you first.

Single vs dual outflow ?

Twin versus quad returns ?

independent closed loop ?

DSB ?

For simplicity, you could go with a single outflow and twin returns. THat's only three holes to drill.

[Pyrrhus]

ATR does in house glass drilling at a cost of $25 per hole.

If you decide to try it on your own, get a decent glass hole saw, keep the area cool with a pool of water. I use a ring of putty around the hole being drilled to keep the water in place. Go slow, take your time, and keep the glass cool.

[azmorpheus]

I did it a while ago on my 150. I took it out side and put the hose on it so the water ran right where I was drilling. The key is to just go slow. I drilled 5 holes for 1 inch bulk heads.