anyone every drilled a hole into a tank

[Trump]

Has anyone every drilled a hole into a tank to install an overflow?
I received a free 30 gallon tank. I want to get this reef tank up and running as CHEAP as possible. It is all glass, no overflow. I don?t want to see a on the back filter and there isn?t much room for one anyway. I was thinking of drilling 2 holes in the bottom of the tank and running pvc piping and hose under the tank to a 10 gallon tank and use that as the sub filter. I found in home depot a 1 3/8? diamond hole saw($20). I also bought some 1 ?? pvc pipe($3). Any help? Any suggestions? Any other ideas?

 

[fcamargo6thave]

from what i know you cannot drill a hole in tempered glass and in most fish tanks sold they have tempered glass on the bottom glass but you need to make sure with the manufacturer it should state it on the sticker

 

[tangmaniac]

+1 before you drill you have to know if the glass where you want to drill it is not tempered, to drill the hole is not that hard , but you you heve to keep in mind that glaas is not that thin couse it can break easy, what's the dims of your tank? and glass thicknes?

 

[SWITCH420]

dont drill the bottom drill the back of the tank

 

[Trump]

size

There is no sticker on the tank
30x12.25 by 18.5h .25 thick

 

[OctaviousMonk]

I agree. Don't drill the bottom, drill the back. Even if the bottom is not tempered you would need an overflow box for bottom drains.

 

[OGGISPORTS]

+1 better and easier to from form side not bottom

 

[Trump]

side

Thank You. I will do side not bottom. Anyone drilled a tank before?

 

[tangmaniac]

i've drilled 2 holes so far , your glass thikness seams ok , if you dicede to do it , there is some video on youtube that can give ideas, hope that helps.

 

[ClosetFishGeek]

This should help you.............http://www.glass-holes.com/ check out the demo..

 

[bbreef240]

i think that they only put tempered glass on tanks starting from 50 gallons and up...well thats what someone told me ...but i have drilled glass tanks before and if you have the right bit and you keep it wet it goes threw like butter....

 

[Imbarrie]

Practice on scrap glass pieces

 

[xc800x]

A drill press may help as well to keep the bit straight.Build a wall around the area with clay to keep water on bit to cool it.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

Drilling glass is one of those things that seems daunting if you've never done it before. After that first hole, you'll perk up and I promise (as long as you didn't smash the tank within the first 10 seconds because you went in on too much of an angle and have the grip of a 3yr old girl like someone I know) you will wonder what all the hype was about. The bit you get is important. A $20 bit will probably get you a few holes before it's either useless or needs to be sharpened. The bits we use are from a machine shop on long island and they cost a lot more but we did a few hundred drills in the store before we felt the need to sharpen it. The shop will also repair any bits you bend or crack and they told us that we should easily be able to get over a thousand holes out of each one. Don't forget to match the hole saw to the bulkhead you intend to use. The holes are going to be bigger than the bulkhead. Tanks under 50 gallons are not tempered bottoms and you can just as easily drill the back or the bottom, it just depends what you prefer and which is fits into how you want the tank to look. On a small tank I would drill the back and use an elbow so you can put the rock where you want. If you do put it on the bottom, you don't need an overflow tower, water can exit the tank the same way as if it were drilled on the side.

 

[Trump]

Well attempt #1 was not so successful. Five minutes into drilling it shattered. That sucked but the feel good news is that it was tempered glass. There where no tangs on the tank and it was free. So attempt #2 on the tank I bought today will be tonight. Since I bought the tank I was able to call the manufacture and find out that this tank is tempered only on the bottom.

 

[House of Laughter]

You're not that far away from me - let us know if we can help. Good luck with attempt #2

House

 

[ecvernon]

i have drilled a couple of 40 breeders succesfully . most important thing is to go slow..its not a quick process if you are using a hand drill

 

[DHaut]

This should help you.............http://www.glass-holes.com/ check out the demo..

this

 

[bbreef240]

don't put your weight into the drill ...let the drill bit do the work ...if you push it will crack....and put duct tape on the inside of the glass were you are drilling the hole so when you come threw the piece of glass don't fall and damage the tank...

 

[NL146]

Also, make sure you have your measurements right. I have a 46g bowfront with a rim and drilled too close to the top. It was a struggle to fit the bulkheads and I had to use silicone because it didn't fit snuggly on the glass. I have to be careful handling the plumbing now too because if I jiggle it just a little bit joke it might start leaking. Make sure the holes are not too close to the edges.