drilling a tank
 

Hello all ... I have a friend who has a tank and was asking if he could drill a tank that is full he is new to the hobby and wasnt sure of a sump but now he wants one.... i think i already know the answer but i thought i would ask anyways ...... Thanks

Shawn

Its difficult but not totally impossible.

The drill bit should remain wet when cutting through glass so he should empty the tank, place it on it front pane, and drill on the back with a reservoir of some water around the hole site. I usually use some clay to make a circular "dam" around the spot I'm drilling.

To ensure the glass is not tempered view it with polarizing sun glasses. If it is tempered, a pattern will appear, no pattern and it is safe to drill.

You'll need another polarized filter on the other side of the glass to see the pattern. For practice try the side and rear windows of a car for tempered and the windshield for untempered.

I've drilled a few tanks half full, but I wouldn't recommend it. Much better in the long run to start over.

ok thanks for the replys

if he decides to drill i will post results with pics

get the video camera, if it breaks be good for youtube,

I have drilled my tank, but did it empty. Used my Dremel to do it. :P That is Youtube worthy. :) 20G Non Tempered tho. I have heard you can do Tempered, but not recommended.

Maybe ask your friend if he wants fish on the floor if the tank breaks. :)

You can not drill tempered.

I drilled a 160 gallon half full about 5 years ago and to this day the tank is still running fine. It was too big of a tank to take down so that was kind of our only option. Just sprayed water on it to keep the bit cool. Hope that this helps. Ideally though, empty is good. I just drilled my tank empty but not with a dam because I got give wrong hole size dimension, so I had to crawl into the tank and drill the vertical pane. I used one hand to drill and the other to spray water. It was 1/2" glass.

Des

Correct, did it once to prove a point using a full tank, not super difficult when you know how:)

If you are serious about trying (and are sure its not tempured) try going to this web site:

http://www.glass-holes.com/

They sell glass hole cutters and overflow kits for aquariums and they have a bunch of how-to videos that show you how.

I drilled 3 holes for 1" bulkheads in my 75 gal. sump without much drama (I don't think I would have had the guts to drill my main tank however, but that's just me).

I order 2 hole saws, great service and quick.

Good luck.