Going to drill my 75g........please help

[TyeAndersonII]

No one in my local area will take on the job of drilling my aquaraium. So I am doing it myself. I need to know what to use, how to do it, and all the do's and dont's.

[seasno]

It really isn't that big of a deal if you have the right tools and can show a little patience. Diamond hole saw, spray bottle of water for lubrication, and a drill that you can control the speed of.

Hole saws can be purchased online from any glass supply company like http://www.shopsmartxpress.com/AmeriGls/W9.htm.

The hardest part to deal with is the fact that the hole saws don't have a pilot bit to guide the holesaw, so I like to cut the same size hole out of a piece of scrap wood, clamp the piece of wood to the tank and use it as a template or guide for the hole saw.

Speed of the drill will be determined by the size of the hole, and make sure you keep the bit lubricated with water to cool it.

Best of luck!

[seasno]

Looks like that link isn't going to work...try....www.ameriglas.com :D

[TyeAndersonII]

what size bit? I have a 75g tank and going to build a 30g sump/fuge.

[seasno]

Are you asking what size bit to use?

[TyeAndersonII]

yeah....

[jdieck]

Insure that the glass you will be drilling is not tempered.

If it is I would recommend not to try and use over the tank overflows.

[seasno]

Are you asking what size bit to use?

Yeah

Well it would depend on just what you were trying to do?

Re you utilizing an internal overflow?

Are you trying to just loop the tanks together?

I am pretty sure 1 3/4 hole saw will work for 3/4 and 1 bulkhead fittings.

[Graywolf57]

If you are asking what size bit to use for a specific bulkhead, most of the bulkheads have this information with them, or can be found on the websites if you purchase from them (savko for example).

[TyeAndersonII]

What is savko? Can you post a link?

[TyeAndersonII]

Found savko. Helped out alot, but i am confused on what size bulkhead I need and size hole to drill. I suppose I need 1'' pvc.

[jarhead]

Originally posted by TyeAndersonII
Found savko. Helped out alot, but i am confused on what size bulkhead I need and size hole to drill. I suppose I need 1'' pvc. For 1" PVC you'll need 1" bulkhead and 1 3/4" diamond hole saw.
If you're drilling no more than 3-4 holes and want to save some money, call Ben at 1-888-522-6566 - they charge about $33 for a hole saw.

[Graywolf57]

should have posted the link to savko, glad you found it. If you still have questions about hole size required, use the appropriate calculator from the RC home page. I think it us under drain and overflow, you will see it. Just plug in the amount of gallons you think you will want flowing out of the aquarium (I've seen everything from 5 to 20 times tank volume used by different people...really depends what you plan to keep in the tank), and the caluclator gives a dimension in inches. Round this figure up to the next PVC pipe size. That should give you the bulkhead size you need and you already know now what size diamond bit you need for each bulkhead.....

Sorry for the long post...

[TyeAndersonII]

Thanks for all the help! Time to get to work!!

[Koryn]

Hope I'm not too late. Just wanted to let you know you can drill your tanks using a simple hole saw with a drill press. Between my freind and I we have drilled 10 holes in different tanks. The hole saw does not have any teeth on it and you use carberendum to do the cutting. The bit only cost us $25 can thats like 50 cents us right?!?:D The glass shop gave us the carberendum. Just build a dam around where you are cutting and fill it with water. Then drill very slowly. Also if you tape the back side of the glass you get less chips when it cuts through. Hope this may help you out.

TROY