Drilling tank with rotozip tile bit

[Devil Man]

ok just want to ask before i do this, how do i do this? and will this fit the dremmel tool? thanks

[Devil Man]

hey, whats going on, i have another question can i just use a rotozip?

[optimum]

It might spin to fast and just melt the acrylic. What kind of hole are you trying to cut?

[8BALL_99]

Yes the Rotozip Tile bit will fit a dremel How well it will work I have no idea should do fine. With either tool the main thing when cutting glass is to keep a stedy trickle of water on the area your cutting. Be warned if your usen the Rotozip bit to wear eye protection.

[keebler1]

I did the rotozip to acrylic and it didnt work very well. Seemed it would cut for a very brief period then melt and then chip the acrylic (wasnt easy to get it off the bit either). Maybe if you kept a real good amount of water on it you could get it to work. Try it on a scrap piece. And definitely keep the eye wear on-- I had that stuff all over the place flying around with the exhaust that comes off the rotozip!

[8BALL_99]

When cutting acrylic you dont use the tile bit. The tile bit is for glass. Acrylic is plastic. You would use something like a Sabrecut Bit for acrylic. Or if your drilling a hole just use a hole saw. Not a diamond one just a plain hole saw like what you use for wood or metal.

[sandisct]

you have to be very careful not to crack your tank else... futile effort...

[8BALL_99]

Its not that hard :D

http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL514/944495/5364694/68926644.jpg http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL514/944495/5364694/68926649.jpg

[Devil Man]

oh sorry not to say that it is a glass tank, kinda forgot that aspect:rolleyes:

yeah i see that its not that hard, it seems like everyone is making it seem fairly easy, ok i got the rotozip tool from my GF dad and i will be hacking my tank tommrow. though i will run a hose to it, in not doing no trickel, there will be a river running by were i am cutting thats for sure. any other thoughts?

[Harleyguy]

Don't electrocute yourself...

Good luck.

[Devil Man]

yeah i will try not too, but with my luck who knows?

[pvtschultz]

Sorry to hack into your thread, but lately there have been some very funny remarks made and it really sparks up my morning. Thank you Harleyguy for making my morning!

[toona]

ok with all this glass cutting you guys have talked me into it. I have a 30 gal that I'm setting up this weekend and I am planning on a 1" drain and a 3/4" return. I was planning on not making an internal over flow but just having the pipes stick up in the tank. Is there a minimum distance from the edge of the tank that I should be drilling or a minimum distance from edge to edge of the holes??

ps. the tank is glass

[sandisct]

must be careful..... I've cracked my tank but managed to sealed it again.. though a lot of pple advised me to change a new one....


so far so good... had it for almost 9 mths and nothing happened...

[Devil Man]

ouch,^ yeah i did a test pecie today it went ok, just not a perfect cut, it was supposed to be a circle and looks liek hell, toona i was wondering the same thing, but i am thinking of doing it about 2" from the edge, i dont know if thats enough of what, i guess i will find out?

[Devil Man]

wo ho, i just drilled the tank:D im soooo happy that this actually worked out, (did it at night since im more of a night person so im more in my enviroment.)and i didnt break anything, guys if i can do this, most of you can:lol: it is just as easy as it looks and the tile bit lets you cut it real fast, i mean i did it all in 30 min, set it up cut another pecie then set up my tank and cut that. its looks good i will post pics tomrow or as soon as i can, might be sat unless i cant get them tonight.

thanks to 8BALL_99 i "geter dun" because of your help and support. cant wait for the plexy glass on sat!!! its almost done

[braymil]

How do you make the initial hole in the glass? Do you just work the bit through at an angle like I have done with softer material (e.g. PVC)? How did you manage the cooling water?

Congrats!!! Can't wait to see the pictures.

Bob

[8BALL_99]

Devil man NP glad I was some help. Look foward to seeing some pics;)
I know how you feel I drilled mine at like 12pm. Those pics in that other thread of my tank outside are at midnight under like 400watt shoplights hehe.

braymil. You just set a hosepipe beside the area your cutting and let a stedy trickle of water run over it while cutting. As far as starting the bit. Its pretty much like you said . You just angle the bit and work it back and fourth in about a 1/2 to 1" area till you break through.

[toona]

also what speed are you guys using on your rotary tool??? 10K ??35K??

[toona]

drilling was soooo easy no problems at all eacept for the fact that I drilled my holes in the wrong place and it won't work for the stand I just built I was soo ****ed I could have spit fire but you live yo learn so I am getting a new tank to cut holes in the right place see my ad if your interested in the tank $25

[8BALL_99]

toona lol .. yep the drilling isnt bad,,, now the measuring ahah

[Devil Man]

haha toona i did the same things excet i can work with my mistake, i just drilled the overflow on the oppiste side no biggie since the tank is what im starting with.

speed i dont know there was on and off, it was the 5amp model, i think though the faster the better?

and to start my hole, i did it like you would with a drill press kinda, just put it over the intial start point and then applied some presure down, then it went through, i also had a hose running to my tank over the area, just it was more than a trickle kinda a good stream, haha i dont mind the shock too much haha.

[toona]

yeah in the Dremel book it says for glass to use the highest setting ( 35,000) Yeah it looks like I can make some modifications to my stand to make the mistake work. It's going to take some time but it'll all work out in the end I think . If I ever get a digital camera I'll take some pictures to show you guys what I did.

[Devil Man]

ok here some pics
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/47994MVC-005S.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/47994MVC-004S.JPG

[Devil Man]

and im going to go pick up my acrylic tommrow, cant wait its coming togther:D

[Devil Man]

i got the acrylic oh boy i cant wait:D

[toona]

well I spent 5 hrs taking apart my stand and going to Lowes and buying some new boards. I got it all back together except the front doors I'll make those later this afternoon. So it's getting there...again. I'll keep you guys posted.

[drblank1]

bump

[Devil Man]

ouch, yeah now i need to build my stand too, eh, well i will post pics of the acrylic on the tank later.

now im working on that idea that i had about putting the overflow/ refugium on the back of my tank. it can serve 3 perposes, 1 it will be an overflow box, 2 it will be a kinda
HOB (but it wont be hanging its glued on) refuge, 3 well the bulk head for the overflow to the sump/refuge will have a T or just be a drain so i can do water changes easier.

[Devil Man]

here are the pics
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/47994MVC-007S.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/47994MVC-008S.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/47994MVC-009S.JPG

[8BALL_99]

Looking good:thumbsup:

[Devil Man]

i glued it on i will take pics as soon as i can

[fkbsar]

Question Guys. Can I use the rotozip tile bit in a regular dremel? I wanted to cut a hole for a regular 1 inch bulkhead. My dremel goes up to 24000.

[Devil Man]

im not sure i was going to do the samething, but i couldnt find a dremel around so i just used the rotozip. i think that the speed is fine, and to be honest i think that the bits can work between the 2, but dont think that im telling you it will, just i think that they will. the best thing to do is just buy a piece of test glass and try it. its what i did

[8BALL_99]

The bit will fit a dremel & the dremel should spin fast enough. Now if it works or not lol I have no idea either. I dont see why it wouldnt. The rotozip has more power But that shouldnt matter much cause you dont use much preasure cutting glass anyway. Like Devil said a scrap peice of glass to practice with probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Its pretty cheap a small peice at a glass shop would only be a buck or two. You might even could just ask for a scrap peice and see if they will give it to you.

[fkbsar]

Thanks for the quick response.

I actually have a 20g that I was practicing on. The first hole that I tried with the dremel cracked just as it was going though. I don't know if it was the pressure I was applying or what. So....after reading this thread I though about seeing if I could use the rotozip tile cutting bit and see if that would work better.

Is there a method to making a hole with the tile cutting bit or is it the same as with the dremel bit.

About how much for a rotozip guys?

[Devil Man]

ouch, i dont know what they cost i just borrowed one, but maybe you were leaning on it or something? did you have water running on it? and that bit should work on the dremal so just do that. to put the hole in i just let the rotozip sit on top and pushed just allitle not to much but not too little. HTH ask anymore questions for help

[fkbsar]

Thanks D-Man. I did see a Rotozip here at Menards on sale for about $60 but will try the tile bit in my dremel before putting out that kind of money on a one shot thing.

I did have water running, had a hose sort of streaming water over the area, but I think it was the amount of pressure I was applying because the dremel bit is worn down too (had a little ball on it - now its just sharp) :D.

[toona]

yeah it sounds like too much pressure. go to walmart and get the 2 pack of dremel diamond tip bits. Use the longer tapered bit and just crank up the dremel and just use the weight of the dremel do the pushing. you shouldn't be pushing hardly at all. by the way the bit set from walmart is like $5.84 USD or something like that, well worth it!!!

[Devil Man]

hope it works tell us what happens

[fkbsar]

Ok....let me get this straight. To drill the hole I should have used the tapered bit? If so that is where I went wrong - along with too much pressure. I used the one with the tiny ball on the top. I'll have to try again this weekend. It's been raining here and I don't have a garage. I still have some bits left - the tapered bit and I have another one of those bits with the tiny ball on it. I bought a set of the diamond bits from Menards for $5.99 the other day and had a few extras.

So should I start the hole with the one with the little ball and then when its deep enough use the tapered one? Drilling idiot here. :D

[Devil Man]

i didnt do the dremal bits, but i belive that you start with the tapered one but im not sure, i did it all with the one tile bit, and let the weight and just a little force of the rotozip to go through the glass and start the initial hole, then i start to follow a line that i drew. thats all i did. hope this makes sense and that someone who did the dreml bits chime in.

[braymil]

Would it be posssible to cut the overflow slots right into the glass? I am guessing glass breaking between the slots would become a problem. I might have to get a 1/2 piece of scrap and give it a go and see what happens. Any thoughts????

Bob

[fkbsar]

How did you guys cut the teeth for the overflow (with what)?

[Devil Man]

it is possible it was done by someone else with a 10gl i just cant rember who, but there was a thread about that. its just that i did it this way cause its easier i dont have to worry about the glass breaking and i can have a colored background. i think that you will be able to get away with 1/4" or like 5/16", between the glass

[Devil Man]

the teeth on the plexy glass, you just buy a regular rotozip bit that is intened for plastic, draw out the teeth on the paper and then follow the pattern. i just had a local shop do it for me to save me the time. it cost me 50 for the holes(6") and the matreial was included

[toona]

fkbsar-

I started the hole with the tapered bit and used it for the whole cut, never changed bits. I started in at an angle in the center of my hole . Once I got through, i cut a line to the outside edge of my hole (drawn on the glass for a guide) . then I just followed my circle around that I drew. Keep the area flooded with water and go slow if you hear a skreeching noise your applying too much pressure and you'll do 2 things 1. break the glass ... 2. strip all the diamond off the bit. feel free to PM me if you need to

[fkbsar]

Thanks Toona. I'm gonna try it again this weekend - weather permitting.

[8BALL_99]

toona, has got you on the right track. You can cut the teeth out of the glass but it will take longer and you will probably want to use a sheet of acrylic in the tank anyway to hide the overflow.

Just take it slow and let the rpms do the work.

[fkbsar]

Guys, just a general question. Why don't we use this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20755&item=4330494490&rd=1

[8BALL_99]

Those are small bits. But wow thats a good price.

[fkbsar]

Ok..... What about this? :D

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4843&item=2276902742&rd=1

1-3/4 hole = 1.75 = 44.45 mm

They have a hole saw that is 45mm which converts to:

45 mm = 1.77

That's only 2 mm larger would that be such a great problem?

Just throwing stuff around.

[8BALL_99]

haha already ahead of you. I ordered a differnt 6 peice set like 2 seconds after I made that post. ;) It was 19.00 buyit now 28 bucks for the set with shipping to the us. Thats cheaper then a single 1 3/4 bit. or atleast any I've found.

[toona]

yeah thats a great price those bits are usually 50-100 dollars

[fkbsar]

Would it work for what we are trying to do (drill a tank)? What kind of tool will you use (hand drill)? I have a cordless drill that has a speed dial on it. I guess that's called variable speed. :D Do you think that would work with that bit. Are you going to try it?

[8BALL_99]

Well I've never used a glass holesaw. I've used holesaws for wood and metal. I guess its the same just have to use water and all that like with a dremel. I dont really need any holes drilled did all mine with my dremel. I'm sure I will need do drill another one sooner or later though. I dont see why you couldn't use a hand drill. I'm sure a drill press would be a lil better.

I'll probably test a bit on a scrap peice of glass to see how it works ;)

[Devil Man]

whoa thats a good price there, i think that i might buy some???

[Devil Man]

right now im in the proccess of building my tank stand. its almost there, i just need to put the extrior skin and stain that, and the moldings and im done. the stand is 48" tall :D, im sick of stands that are 30", i hate to bend over to look, and now the tank will be more at eye level so its easyier to look at. we will see

[8BALL_99]

Haha kewl... you better screw that sucker to the wall :hammer:
But that is a good Idea. I'm kinda of wishen I'd built mine stand for the same reason.

[toona]

yeah I had the same problem I'm 6' 4" and 30 inch stand just don't cut it for me. I built mine 40 inches tall with my 30 gallon on top of it and it's just right!!

[Devil Man]

well im no giant im just under 6' but still i hate those short stands, but i guess they make them more aimed towards kids, so whatever, i save a bunch on building it myself anyways. just cant wait to finsh though

[fkbsar]

Ok guys here's my pictures. I used a rusty one speed drill and the rotozip tile cutting bit. Scratches are from my impatience - not gauging how long the bit was while cutting. Whole process took less then 30 minutes - was taking pictures in between. Messed with the camera longer then I did with the drilling. :D Better then sliced bread....

My Trusty/Rusty Single Speed Drill
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/44993Drill_I_used.jpg

All the Way Through
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/44993All_the_Way_Through.jpg

Almost There
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/44993Almost_There.jpg

Hole Complete
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/44993Done.jpg

Finished
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/44993Finished.jpg

[Devil Man]

:lol: looks good!

man building my stand has taking longer than i thought that it would, hope i can finish it soon

[fkbsar]

Cracked the good tank though - but I think its repairable.

[Devil Man]

:-O what???? what did you do????

[fkbsar]

I find that the drill gives you a better grip then the dremel does. Just as the bit went through I might have pressed a little too hard. Tile Bit was kinda dull too after the first hole. Dunno. But I noticed the tank cracked up towards the top from the hole and down going towards the corner. I'm having a fellow INDMAS member make an internal overflow for me so if I can silicone it enough to keep it from leaking that will be covered anyway. If not I'll just try again. :D I think the bit was too dull too because I wasn't able to finish that hole. The going was really too slow.

[Devil Man]

oh boy^ hope it works out!

hey what do you guys think about a acrylic refgium/sump? im thinking tall! real tall, like maybe 30" and a foot base of a 10gl, cause im going to put magroves in there, that im im going to have a lot of water for evaporation, hopefully i wont loose to much and it condesates and drips back down, but i know that that wont happen. anyways what you you guys think?

[8BALL_99]

I wouldnt' worry about evaporation. I've got a 72 a 29 a 20H refuge a 12 gallon sump and a 18 gallon sump all connected together lol. The 72 gal has 2x250mh and the 29 has 4x65 pc and Refuge has 20watt pc I only loose about a gallon a day. Just make your return pump area big enough to hold around 3-4 gallons and you shold be good to go.

[fkbsar]

Another question guys. I want to drill two holes in the back of the tank one for the overflow and one for the return. Do I make them the same size (to fit 1" bulkhead)? Can someone post pictures of what the plumbing looks like on the inside of the tank when done? Newbie here. Are there guards in front of the holes?

Another question is there a bit (dremel/rotozip) that will cut acrylic without melting it? I don't have a table saw or anything like that.

[Devil Man]

ok thanks

welll the hole sizes all depend on the pump that you have. if it has a 3/4" out then maybe you want to use that size or a 1" for future growth. and you can have the tip fanned if you want but some people dont. and for the over flows there should be something to keep the fish from going in,they sell something here at a LFS that is like a cone with slits all over it, thats what i use right now.

[fkbsar]

Thanks D-Man I have seen those and have one with a sump that I purchased from someone. I need to go and purchase a couple for this tank.

Now for the other question.... Is there a bit that I can use with my rotary tool to cut acrylic?