Drilling A Tank

[gatorman543]

I now have a 10 gallon tank for a sump, and i am about to buy a 15 gallon tank. I plan on setting them up and end of having a 25 gallon system. But my question is my 15 will be to small for an overflow box, therefore i believe i will be foreced to drill unless there is any other way. Anyone know? Well my question is who has tried to drill a tank, and been succesful, or do you know the type of place where they will cut it for me. Thanks for your comments

 

[SkiFletch]

I've never tried drilling, but I can comment that an overflow box will look very out of place in a tank that size and a drilled overflow is much more desireable.

 

[crazyelece]

I have drilled a couple tanks now and with the propper time and tools it can be done fairly easily. Get a diamond hole saw off ebay. place some putty around where you want the hole. fill it with water to cool the bit. Drill away. Start the bit at an angle so it doesn't chatter and slowly work it up until vertically plumb. Clamp a piece of wood on the inside (th eexit side) to keep the bit from chipping when it exits.

 

[Fatty]

I have drilled a couple tanks now and with the propper time and tools it can be done fairly easily. Get a diamond hole saw off ebay. place some putty around where you want the hole. fill it with water to cool the bit. Drill away. Start the bit at an angle so it doesn't chatter and slowly work it up until vertically plumb. Clamp a piece of wood on the inside (th eexit side) to keep the bit from chipping when it exits.

Yep, thats the way I did it, just go slow and steady, and use a brace if u can get one to keep the drill at 90 deg.

Also do a couple of practice holes in some scrap glass!

 

[Aquascaper]

A template made out of a bit of wood with a hole cut slightly larger than the intended hole to hold the drill bit in place, also acts as a resivoir for the coolant fluid - worked for me

As the others have said too - slow and steady with a brace piece on the other side of the glass

 

[andywg]

And if you fancy a slightly different route, you can always get a dremel with a tile/glass cutting bit and use that to grind the hole out. Worked for me on the 4 or 5 holes I've done so far.

 

[nativecollector]

Ok you guys are talking about a thin peice of glass, what about a 75 gallon tank that has like 3/8" glass in it. Does the same rules apply, or is there something different that needs to be done?

 

[SkiFletch]

Same rules apply, just go slower and use lots of lubricant and coolant to keep the bit cool and the cut smooth

 

[gatorman543]

okay i am not a very DIY oriented guy so is there anyone that could give a more indepth process, with detailed explainatations of the part and everything, i already have a dremel that i could use. Anyone?

 

[andywg]

I was talking about drilling the 10mm hole for my 6x2x2...it's always the same, go slow (with a normal drill, super fast with a dremel) plenty of water and never push hard on the drill/dremel.

Here is a good thread showing dremel drilling:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...72398&hl=dremel

 

[crazyelece]

Ever use a hole saw? same except you are using a diamond hole saw. It needs to stay wet to stay cool so rig it so you can hold water on the spot where you wish to drill. Not too many skills needed other than respect for using power tools. Don't push on the drill let the drill do the work. Also the thickness of the glass is of no concern. the thicker the glass the longer it takes so the more patience you need.