Drilled my tank!

[captexas]

Well tonight I finally broke down and did one of the scariest things I have done yet to a fish tank. I drilled it! :o

It was scary because I wasn't 100% sure if the side sections were tempered or not. It is a Top Fin tank I got at PetsMart and there was a sticker on the bottom that said "do not drill, tempered glass". I prayed that it was just the bottem after Dean was told that the 150g he got there was tempered all the way around.

I drilled two 3in. holes for 2in. bulkheads for my drain lines and I drilled 4 1.5in. holes for 3/4in. bulkheads for my return lines. I borrowed a mini drill press from a friend in order to keep the hole saws in place while drilling. Just kept the water hose on it and drilled with no problem. The hardest thing to do was get the drill press elevated to the right height and to get it and the tank level before drilling each hole. Overall it didn't take long and wasn't hard to do.

Kind of weird being excited about holes in my fish tank! :-D

[witecap4u]

Hey,

You need more practice :-D

I've got 10 gallon that could use drilling....cs

[fishtankrob]

I am interisted in drilling a 10 gal. Anyone know who may be able to do it? What bit was used? And, who in san antonio has bulkheads???

[captexas]

WELCOME TO MAAST

As Josh mentioned you can get a few carbide tipped hole saws at Home Depot. Every store is alittle different so you may have to look in a couple places to find them. They are usually in the tile cutting section and also in the tool corral with the drill bits. I have found them in both places and different sizes in both places at the same store.

10g tanks have very thin glass that can break very easily, even with the slightest pressure at the wrong angle. Fortunately, they are cheap to buy if you break one. If you are going to drill the back of the tank, lay the tank on it's front (cushion it so it doesn't scratch) and drill downwards. I suggest you put something inside the tank near the hole to support the side you are drilling, kind of like a brace. This will keep the side from flexing too much. Like Josh said, don't put any pressure on the drill, just let the hole saw do the work. It may take alittle time, but it will cut through. Also pour some water on the hole saw to keep it from getting hot.

Hope that helps and good luck with it!
Chris

[Charley]

How difficult is it to drill a tank with a diamond edged blade? I have never seen it done, but would also like to learn what it takes to make that happen. I would not mind a DIY refugium or sump one day.

In addition, how hard would it be to drill an acrylic tank? Not a large one, I am thinking something along the lines of an Eclipse. I have 2 6s, and wouldn’t mind trying to turn on into the refugium for the other.

Charley

[Tim Marvin]

Charley,
you are supposed to use antifreeze or something like that to drill glass, but I have just used water like Josh. I ran the hose on a slow stream and let the drill do the work. It takes a while time but if you get in a hurry it will crack. Don't push on the drill let the drills weight do the work. I have also drilled the acrylic with a regular wood hole saw it melts a little so you should cool the acrylic with water also.

[matt]

I think the ideal way to get a bulkhead hole in an acrylic tank is to use your holw saw to drill a nice clean hole in a piece of wood, then use the wood as a template for routing the acrylic. You just use double side tape to attach the wood with the hole to your acrylic, drill a pilot hole, and use a flush trim bit to rout the hole. It comes out perfect; no acrylic melting.

Matt