Need HELP drilling tank.

[Rox]

Hi all. I just picked up a new AGA 30 breeder and a AGA 40 breeder. I got a fab deal on these so I had to pick them up; however, I need help drilling the tanks. I know the tanks can be drilled because they came with one 1/2" hole drilled into the bottom of the tanks. I am looking to drill larger holes to accommodate bulkheads. Can anyone help me drill these tanks or does anyone know of someone that could assist me? I have no tools or experience in working with glass. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

-Rox

[jon_56048]

Try this person IIOHAB he was the one every one told me to go to for drilling my tank

[Rox]

Jon:

Did he (IIOHAB ) help by drilling the tank for/with you or did he just provide instruction(s) and/or tools to do the job?

-Rox

[Rox]

I would really like to learn how to do this if someone has the tools, time and expertise. Anyone?! Bueller?! Bueller?!

-Rox

[coldwaterreefer]

Make sure the hole was made post production or it might still be tempered? just a thought

[Rox]

CWR:

It appears so, due to the fact that I can see tiny jagged chips around the circumference of the drilled hole. Am I incorrect in my assumption?

-Rox

[jon_56048]

He did not help me he had no time when I wanted to get it done. However, RogersCG and one other member help me out, RogersCG has the tools and the other member help me with drilling, but after see how easy, it was I felt somewhat silly wanting help but ask RogersCG he still might be of some help for you.

[Rox]

Jon:

Thx for dropin some names. I'll PM them and ask for some help.

-Rox

[hamdogg08]

It's more stressful than hard. I did it with a bit and Mendard's cheapest 20 dollar drill on a 20 gal. I can give you the resources I used, however if you're looking for an expert, keep looking.

[David Grigor]

While it does sound intimidating it is really easy and doesn't really require any special tools or skill.

If you bring the bit and the tank to the meeting. I bet someone would do it for you there. Unfortunately, I can't make it to the meeting or I'd offer.

[Rox]

Thanks HD! Any and all efforts/advice to help me regarding this matter is highly appreciated. I want to do this the "right-way" the first time and learn from someone experienced with drilling tanks, so I don't waste my time and/or money. Besides, this hobby is enough of a drain on me; I need more stress from it like i need a hole in my... well, you get the idea. Anywho... how thick of glass did you cut through and how long did it take?

-Rox

[Rox]

David:

Thanks for trying to soften the blow. I hope I learn/find-out it's as easy as you say it is.

-Rox

[Rox]

Sweet! I got a response from my PM. I am now armed with mighty expertise. Time to start my battle plans on the new tank project! Wish me luck and a steady hand (Damn Redbull). Thx all.

-Rox

[hamdogg08]

When I drilled mine I:
-Drilled a hole into a 2x4 with a hole saw and clamped it on as a guide.
-Some people recommend certain things for heat sink/lubrication, but water worked fine for me.
-It said on the last link that you should drill super slow, so that's what I did.
-I had a cracked 10 gallon, so I practiced on that first. The thicker the glass, the easier it is to drill because the surrounding glass isn't as weak
-I used a piece of tape on the inside of the hole as I was drilling to keep a chunk of glass from crashing down once the hole was finished.
-I think that it took me 5-10 minutes to drill through my 20.
-Last, here's a video of how to drill a tank:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxnugJGiT3o


Additional links that may help:
The bit I used:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-Diamond-Tile-Glass-Marble-Hole-Saw-Drill-bits_W0QQitemZ130085506295QQcmdZViewItem

Thread on RC that goes on and on and on.... about drilling tanks
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=603816

Hole size calculator in relation to GPH:
http://reefcentral.com/calc/drain.php

How to use the bits:
http://www.diamond-drill-bit-and-tool.com/Diamond-Drill/Default.htm?DD1.htm
http://reefcentral.com/calc/drain.php

[David Grigor]

Dan, with your permission, I'll write up a little document including those links to put on the forums article section. This gets asked quite a bit and would definately help more people in the future with a video.

We probably should be doing more of that than we do as often little trouble is it is to put together......


Drilling is a very good skill to have and the bits don't cost $100 like they used to. It's totally worth doing your self just to save the lugging the tank somewhere to have it done.

[hamdogg08]

Yeah, that'd be great!

I've asked enough questions, it's about time to answer a few eh?

[Rox]

HD:

Super. Thanks for the resources & links. The video was helpful and gave me an idea of what I'm getting into. I'll check out the rest of the links.

-Rox

[hamdogg08]

HD:



Do it! They're all pretty cool. You can also check out reefvideos.com too. They have a lot of cool vids there too...They even have a podcast.

[jon_56048]

Take look here

http://www.tcmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5449&highlight=drilling+tank+video

[tico mike]

Terry (tjp) has some awesome video of he and a friend cutting a tall aquarium down. Yes, they cut the top of an entire tank off. He's also drilled. He's not on here a ton, but if he sees this maybe he'll post a link. It's pretty dang cool.

[storrisch]

I have drilled tanks for a few people on here as well. If you need I could take care of drilling the tanks for you depending on what size holes you need.

I would also recommend contacting the manufacturer w/ the production date of the tank to make sure it is not tempered.....no sense in watching it crumble because you didn't make an easy phone call.

[Goldpony75]

I would reccommend that you find a way to plug the old holes and drill new ones. A glass drilling bit really needs the support of a full piece of glass on the inside. I have never tried drilling a existing hole bigger but dont think it would work very well. JMO If someone has suceeded at doing this i would like to hear about it.

[Rox]

Tico:

Yeah I saw the video and some pix. I PM'd him and he sent me the link. It was strange at first because I wasn't sure why he needed a circular saw for drilling holes then looking at the after shots I understood that he wasn't drilling holes but chopping the top. It was neat.

-Rox

[hypertech]

I think if you clamp a wood template over it it would probably be ok. It would work as a guide and to brace the glass around the area being cut.

[RogersCG]

Do you know what size holes you need?

[Rox]

storrisch:

Thank you very much for the tip. You're absolutely right. I would NOT want to put all my efforts to waste because I didn't do a little homework first. I'm glad I know when to swallow my pride and ask for help. I guess thats why I started this thread otherwise I would have been in a world of hurt trying this myself without the proper tools and knowledge.

-Rox

[Rox]

Goldpony:

Hmmm... that's an interesting idea. I'll have to keep that in mind.

-Rox

[Rox]

Hypertech:

Interesting theory. Do you know anyone whom has tried this method successfully and/or at all?

-Rox

[Rox]

Rogers:

I'm NOT sure yet. I wanted to be certain of the availability of proper plumbing components and have them in-hand prior to measuring & drilling of the holes. Besides, it would be so simple to validate the fruits of the job if I had the parts there to immediately drop in the fresh cut holes as opposed to having to then drive to a LFS or hardware store to scavenge for plumbing parts that may nor not be available or even fit.

Furthermore, I have NOT done enough calculations about proper flow rates. Do you (or anyone reading this) know what the conservative stats/specs of flow rate in relation to the diameter of the (soon to be ) drilled holes?

-Rox

[superman]

Here's a link to a glass drilling video I put together, it might help you out a little.
http://www.tcmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=135&highlight=glass+drillng+video

[IIOHAB]

It is not a problem making an existing hole larger :biggthumpup: I have done it a few times with no problems. You can actually place them very close togeather also. I just drilled five holes 4 for a 1" BH, and 1 for a 1.5" bulkhead in a 8x8" area. Rox let me know what you want and I will help you out. :beerchug: :beerchug: :beerchug: :beerchug: