Burn, Cut Or Drill?

[MermaidMel]

I want to put the pipes from my Tetratec Ex into the lid of my Trigon 190

The tubes go into hard plastic square U shaped pieces

If I make a neat hole about an inch away from the edge of the lid, it will hold the U shaped pieces nicely in place

So the question is how to make a hole that isn't along an edge - that would be easy, I could use a pen knife

If I drill plastic, would it snap?

If I burn a neat hole, what would I use to burn it?

Suggestions please wise people x

 

[rabbut]

I'd drill myself Take it nice and slow to avoid melting the plastic, and let the drill do the work. Take breaks every 10-20 seconds too to allow it to cool

 

[MermaidMel]

I'd drill myself Take it nice and slow to avoid melting the plastic, and let the drill do the work. Take breaks every 10-20 seconds too to allow it to cool

Nice. Sounds good to me. Thanks Rabbut.

 

[DJ ArKaDaRkA]

you should be able to drill through without stopping the plastics only thin it wont burn or melt it

 

[saltynay]

You can also burn using a wire cutter get a 8V battery and short circuit it with a long thin piece of wire attach at first on the far ends of the wire. As you move the electrodes closer together the temperature will begin to rise in the wire and you should stop when it gets to the point where its red hot. Take the excess wire and cut it off you can hold it bare-handed if you wish there should be no charge running through the end sections. You now just follow your score on the plastic and do some funky shapes in it

 

[MermaidMel]

It's done, drilled, no problem.
Getting the pipes to sit right is a problem however.
I am having a bit of an issue having an external in the Trigon cabinet really. The pipes are kinking and I need the slack to be able to work on it. If I pull them taut, although I won't get the kink, I won't get the slack I need.

 

[rabbut]

Can you post pics of the offending pipes, mebe a solution can be found for you?

 

[MermaidMel]

Can you post pics of the offending pipes, mebe a solution can be found for you?

It's all sorted thanks

 

[mrapoc]

Can you post pics of the offending pipes, mebe a solution can be found for you?

It's all sorted thanks

i was looking at a trigon and fitting a tetratec ex700 to it

how did you sort it and what does the final product look like?

 

[MermaidMel]

Can you post pics of the offending pipes, mebe a solution can be found for you?

It's all sorted thanks

i was looking at a trigon and fitting a tetratec ex700 to it

how did you sort it and what does the final product look like?

Hi if you look at my thread in members aquariums section everything you ask is answered there

 

[mrapoc]

Hey

Looks awesome - Easily modded for external too

Love the structured background, think il get similar

Did you silicon the background to the tank? Sorry dont recall seeing if you did or not in the log

 

[MermaidMel]

Hey

Looks awesome - Easily modded for external too

Love the structured background, think il get similar

Did you silicon the background to the tank? Sorry dont recall seeing if you did or not in the log

Hi thanks, yeah I did silicone the background, just make sure you slightly trim the top off the background before you do it so it fits really snugly and sticks well

 

[Leaky]

Im not sure if its been posted as i read the first few and then scrolled down to reply.

Personally i would drill, mark out where you want the hole drilling lightly with a centrepunch or half a turn on the drill, then use a small drill bit (much smaller than that of the desired hole) and drill slowly through the plastic avoiding melting, then gradually get bigger, this way there is no big cuts and the plastic wont crack !

Hope this helps, Chris.