whats the story on drilled tanks?

[ryangrieder]

alright, here is the senerio. my buddy is getting a 135. its not drilled. he wants to get it drilled. i have seen and know people who have drilled tanks and pet stores that do it. thing is is that everyone is saying you CAN NOT drill tempered glass because thats the main support. i understand that, but isent all large tanks becides acrilic or some other material, all glass tanks are tempered on the base? is this is true how do you drill a tank if you cant. a pet shop and a glass company buy me said they drill fish tanks all the time, big and small, but it cant be tempered. every tank is tempered? what the heck? i know myself how to do it with a dimond core drill bit and yatta yatta. then how do you do this and what do you reccomend. whats the story?

AND does anyone know who sells the black peice the covers the accessory kit pipes. not the pipes, but the black corner peices.

 

[mheaven]

Most tanks are tempered , but mainly only the bottom. And yes you def can't drill them on the bottom.

The black piece your talking about are called bulk heads. look them up on line.

 

[ryangrieder]

i know what the bulkhead is, i ment the tall protector. that 24inch black plastic peice that covers all the pipes. i though the bulkhead is just the fitting that goes where the hole is?

ALSO, i forgot, if you cant drill the bottom, what about the back side bottom, so instead of the pipe going strait down, it does down then elbows out the back of the tank? would that work better

 

[NL146]

If you try to drill tempered glass it will shatter. This is a consequence of the tempering process. A lot of (bigger) brand name tanks have tempered bottoms and usually have a label with this warning. My aqueon (all glass) 46g bow front has a warning label that the bottom is tempered. Have your friend do an internet search on the tank by manufacturer. He should get info on which panels are tempered, if any. For instance, when I wanted to drill the back panel I got the tel# for Aqueon from the internet and gave them a call. They confirmed that the bottom panel of the 46G bow front is tempered but the back panel is not (but if they run out of regular glass for the back they might use tempered glass). If you can find no information or manufacturer contact for the tank then drilling will be risky.

 

[ryangrieder]

the tank is most likely all glass aquarium who i believe is aqueon now. thats really good to know, ill have to find this out

 

[BHDMC]

This may help;http://www.aqueonproducts.com/assets/012/23821.pdf

 

[paintballe48]

They tend to drill through the side of the tank if the bottom is tempered they make the drains and returns come out the sides... if your gonna go that route ur better off just getting an overflow box. And i think the black things your talking about are the overflows? You cant really buy overflows because the company does not sell them unless they are sold with a tank. Hang on back overflow ur best bet imo

 

[jrobbins]

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store...-drill-bits-overflows-uniseals/overflow-boxes

 

[bizarrecorals]

you can order the tank pre-drilled.

 

[House of Laughter]

easy to remedy:

drill back for drains - use external Durso standpipes
install overflow box
drill back for returns on each far side of back panel
Plumb

reef ready - should cost you about $150 to complete with the majority of the cost being the overflow box. A tank that size should be a full tank overflow not the smaller ones typically used for smaller tanks.

HTH

House

 

[SevTT]

alright, here is the senerio. my buddy is getting a 135. its not drilled. he wants to get it drilled. i have seen and know people who have drilled tanks and pet stores that do it. thing is is that everyone is saying you CAN NOT drill tempered glass because thats the main support. i understand that, but isent all large tanks becides acrilic or some other material, all glass tanks are tempered on the base? is this is true how do you drill a tank if you cant. a pet shop and a glass company buy me said they drill fish tanks all the time, big and small, but it cant be tempered. every tank is tempered? what the heck? i know myself how to do it with a dimond core drill bit and yatta yatta. then how do you do this and what do you reccomend. whats the story?

I'd say that once you get beyond about 75 gallons, it's almost certain that the bottom will be tempered. It's done because the tempered glass is, simply, significantly stronger.

So long as it doesn't get scratched in a significant way. If that happens, it'll pretty much shatter into itty bitty bits.

If you can't drill the bottom of the tank, you can always go in through the side or rear, which generally aren't tempered (but, again, you want to check with the manufacturer.) You'll just need about three or so inches of space of clearance for the external pipes.

That being said, practically any fish store or glass place can do the drilling for you. There's always a chance that the tank will break during drilling, too.

 

[Dre]

(SevTT) Most AGA tanks are tempered from 37 gals ,the 40 breeder isn't though.(ryangrieder)Have you thought about using overflow boxes?They do work you know.

 

[SevTT]

(SevTT) Most AGA tanks are tempered from 37 gals ,the 40 breeder isn't though.(ryangrieder)Have you thought about using overflow boxes?They do work you know.

Yeah. I know some other manufacturer's'll go larger, but in that range, it's a toss up.

 

[skimmerman100]

dude dont drill the tempered glas it is designed to break into little cubes when tampered or struck with something. this is for safety purposes so the glass doesnt break into dangerous sharp pieces that can hurt someone. buy a reef ready or an overflowbox instead of drilling it. being cheat with something only makes it more expensive.