Crap... something I overlooked... need some advice

[NeveSSL]

Ok, so... as most of you guys know, I'm planning on redoing my plumbing in my tank in about a week or two.

I had planned on just taking everything buy my sand out of the tank, putting into tubs and my QT tank, drill the tank, put the new overflow and plumbing in, etc. etc.

Ok, so now I realize I'm going to have to have water to cool the bits and glass while cutting. Which means no more sand.

Do you guys think it will be a problem having all of the critters come back to new sand? I guess I'm more worried about nitrates than anything. Which may just mean I'll need to do water changes frequently for a few weeks until things have time to set back up again.

What do you all think? Should I not worry about it?

I'm also thinking about doing aragonite this time around, simply because I really prefer the look and it shouldn't take more than 2 40lb bags for my little tank, which wouldn't be too terribly expensive. I'd have to push the reefgeek order back about two weeks, tho.

Anyway, thanks!

Brandon

 

[gsusfreak]

ive always thought about that too brandon.....because when i drilled my 15 gal, it was completely empty and easy to have a running water thru it

now this is my question, since the only reason the water is there--is to keep the glass cool......is it possible to drill the tank vertically, while holding a wet towel on the opposite side to keep it cool?

 

[NeveSSL]

Hmmm... I'm not sure. I'm thinking no, but possibly I suppose. I may need to mosey on over to the DIY forum and see what they think, too.

Brandon

 

[crumbletop]

I think I'd just put in new sand.

RE the water, I have not drilled a tank, but my understanding is the running water keeps cool stuff running by to improve heat dissipation out of the glass. If you leave a towel there it will be stationary and that water will heat up. I think you really want the running water...

 

[NeveSSL]

I may just do the new sand, then. Not sure if I'll do Lowes sand or aragonite just yet, but that will probably be the easiest. I'll try to get as much good stuff out of the top of my sand as I can before tossing it.

Thanks!

Brandon

 

[NeveSSL]

I just had someone suggest using a spray bottle... thats not a bad idea... my little brothers will be here to help... that sounds like a good job for one of them.

Brandon

 

[gflat65]

For drilling, I used a spary bottle and spritzed it every once ins a while. I also took a few breaks from drilling to run the bit under water to remove some of the grit. Critters will rapidly populate your sand bed fro your rock, so no worries there.

 

[DMBillies]

Brandon - It may not solve your problem with taking the sand bed out, but here is a thread that has a lot of information about drilling. It is still actively being posted in, but of course there's a ton to sort through because of that. The "dam" idea that the original poster put up there seems like a pretty good one. I've thought about doing this before, but I'm chicken. The most important thing, from everyone I've talked to, is to have patience and not put any weight on the bit...just let it guide itself through. Good luck with it.

Brian

 

[NeveSSL]

Thanks for the tips, guys.

The good thing is that I've drilled this tank successfully before... I just didn't drill large enough for the bulkheads I'm now wanting to use. The first time I did it, I used the dam method and it worked great! This time, I would have to empty all of my sand out to do the dam method (to lay the tank on its face to drill the back), and I'm trying to avoid that.

I think I should be able to do it this way. I'll have my little brothers to help spray. Also, for some reason I didn't even think about stopping every once in a while... :lol: Thanks Gary!

I think if i take my time I can still do it vertically.

Thanks again!

Brandon

 

[gflat65]

And not get frustrated and start pushing...

 

[Siffy]

Brandon, are you making a hole larger or adding a new hole? Spraying water works fine.

If you currently have silica based sand in there now, you may want to remove it anyway and replace with aragonite. With the tank empty is a good time to do it. If you've already got Ca based sand, you can still reuse it after rinsing it.

If you were having to do it yourself (no extra hands for the spray bottle), you could still use a dam method on a vertical pane. Just temporarily glue half a container to the glass just high enough it butts against the arbor of the drill bit. The hole saw will still be 1/3 or so submerged and keep the bit cool.

 

[NeveSSL]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Will: I am making an existing hole larger, but it will be just like drilling a new hole... I'll just drill it around the existing one... :lol:

I will have my little brothers to help me out. But thats a good idea on the vertical dam.

I am also very seriously considering getting the sand I want. Not completely sure what that is just yet (so any ideas would be great ), but I may not do it, either. I'd really like to add aragonite, but its a bit cost prohibitive when I need to spend money on lights first. We'll see. Depends on how tomorrow goes.

Thanks again all!

Brandon

 

[NeveSSL]

Well, I finally did this stuff. I decided to forgo the aragonite. I've been happy with my silica so far and would rather put the money into a new camera.

I documented everything here (just scroll down). I ended up duck taping an open garbage bag underneath where I was drilling and my wife was spraying and it worked perfectly fine.

Just wanted to update!

Brandon