Drilling my tank (different question)

[comatose]

I have a 180g all-glass, that i will be drilling next week(1-3/4 holes)
I've read most of the back threeds and all they talk about is how to drill your tank or what to do and not to do.

my question is where is the best place to drill the holes(2) in the bottom, and how far away from the edge of the glass should i stay away from? should the holes be close to the sides of the tank or close to the center? what are the advantages or disadvantages either way?

and while i'm drilling would anyone recommend drilling return holes in the back glass? if so where? or should i continue with the over the top method with 2 90* pvc elbows.

 

[Anonymous]

The drilled returns may interfere with the rockwork. A glassier would be able to advise you about where to drill.

 

[DaisyPolyp]

If you're drilling in the bottom make sure it is not tempered.

 

[SDMike]

If you're drilling in the bottom make sure it is not tempered.

This is a VERY important question to have answered BEFORE you start popping holes in a tank!

I had my 80 drilled for a pair of 1" bulkheads by a bud. Zip, zap, done.

Other than the drill bit, all you need is a piece of plywood and some clamps to keep the bit from wandering around on the glass.

Since I wasn't planning on running an internal overflow, I had mine drilled about 3" from the bottom of the plastic trim and about 6" in from the sides.

I'd recommend going at least 2" bulkheads on the size tank you've got. More flow is better than not enough... At 6', I'd probably do two on the ends and two centered from the middle, but that's a WAG on my part.

M

 

[comatose]

If you're drilling in the bottom make sure it is not tempered.

This is a VERY important question to have answered BEFORE you start popping holes in a tank!.

I don't think there was any 180g all-glass tanks that were made with tempered glass.

I had my 80 drilled for a pair of 1" bulkheads by a bud. Zip, zap, done.

Other than the drill bit, all you need is a piece of plywood and some clamps to keep the bit from wandering around on the glass..

I have a special jig that will prevent that from happening

Since I wasn't planning on running an internal overflow, I had mine drilled about 3" from the bottom of the plastic trim and about 6" in from the sides.

same here, i planned on drilling about 2.5" from back and about 6" from the sides.

I'd recommend going at least 2" bulkheads on the size tank you've got. More flow is better than not enough... At 6', I'd probably do two on the ends and two centered from the middle, but that's a WAG on my part

that seems like overkill, my last setup i had two 1800 magdrives running and the two 1.5" bulkheads handled that water flow fine.

 

[comatose]

I drilled the two holes today and everything went very smooth, each hole took about 15 minutes.
they are 2.5" from the back and 6" from the sides.
all i need to do now is build the overflow boxes, any preference on black or blue or clear, any advice from you all ?

i'll try to take a couple pics today and post them.

 

[comatose]

right side

left side

here are the drilled out pieces of glass

inserted the bulkhead fitting

 

[Anonymous]

Looks nice.. - With the blue background I'd say matching blue overflows would look best. - Unless you plan on letting coralline/xenia or whatever take over, in which case it doesn't really matter anyway..

So have you decided on drilling the returns or not? If it were me, I probably would.. - Less restrictive w/o the need for 90's and gives a "cleaner" appearance (IMO)..

 

[comatose]

I've decided not to drill the hole for the return because i can't decide where to put it that would fit my setup best, anyway the main thing is that i have no overflows on the outside of the tank taking up huge space anymore, and thats 7/8's of the battle in my opinion.

like i said before my two holes are 2.5" from the back & 6" from the sides, any advice on how big each overflow box should be? i was thinking 4x8 inches, does this sound good?