Reef of Fillory
New member
I just recently drilled my tank for overflow, and wanted to give some feedback on my experience.
From my reading, most tanks have tempered bottom panels, but not back/side panels. I used a UV polarized lens from my DSLR, and my phone/laptop with a white background to determine that my back panel was not tempered. If you have a tempered bottom panel (almost all will have a WARNING: sticker on them) you can tell whether your polarizer source is in fact polarized or not by looking at the difference between the bottom pane and the side pane through the polarizer. If they look the same, DON'T DRILL. My 'polarized' sunglasses were in fact not polarized (cheap, gas station 'polarized' from 10 years ago)
I started looking into drilling my own aquarium and found that I needed:
Drill [corded or cordless, I started with cordless and ended with corded]
Diamond coated hole saw and shank
Plumbers putty
Painters Tape
I decided to do a coast-to-coast style overflow (6 inches on both sides of the tank left for my return bulkheads) and a BeAn system (three pipes, one siphon, one backup siphon and one emergency straight tube). I have no issues with my setup, but I have a 75 gallon tank with 40 gallon sump/refugium and I used 3/4" bulkheads with 3/4" PVC. If I could do it all over, I would have used 1" for the extra capacity (I have tried, and cannot overflow my BeAn setup with 3/4" even with two pipes "plugged").
The hole saw that I used was just slightly larger than my bulkhead fitting "shafts". I took my bulkheads with me to Home Depot when I bought it just to make sure that I wasn't going to have to make a return trip
I cleaned the tank (used, off of craigslist and dirty) with a water/vinegar mixture, then used isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel over the area I was going to drill [probably not necessary].
I then set my tank on its side, and put two spare towels underneath the areas I was going to drill. My recommendation would be to make a template out of paper with the spots you'd like your holes to be. I eyeballed my bulkhead holes and they are not all level (doesn't affect the overflow). Another tip might be to use an oversize hole saw in a piece of 3/4" plywood or 2x4 to create the spacing necessary, and to guide the diamond hole saw while first starting the cut.
One warning: I placed my overflow box too close to the top of my tank, and the water level was way too high. The "spillover" of your overflow only needs to be above the plastic piece on your tank to give you a full water view from the front. I had to scrape and remove my overflow box after testing (read silicone was cured) and move it down 1.5"... you don't want to do that so make sure that you leave adequate space between the top of the tank and the overflow.
Once you've considered all of the above, I put the plumbers putty in a circle around the hole and filled it with some water [just enough to leave a small layer covering the glass], then started at a slight angle holding the drill very steadily, and began the cut. The glass is going to be ground down, not cut through. I used slight pressure the entire time, and even "rocked" the hole saw from corner to corner to "dig" deeper on one part of the circle before moving to the other side. All of my holes came through with no chips or breaks. I used the painters tape on the back side of my cut to both hold the glass piece as well as help against chipping. I used the towels as a safety net in case a piece of tape broke and the glass disc fell to the other side.
I used my drill on full speed, with slight pressure and had no problems. Some people suggest using no pressure. Some also suggest a slow(er) drill speed, but I used full speed Ryobi drill (NO HAMMER DRILLS) and then eventually to a Black and Decker corded drill to cut my holes with no issue.
When getting to the end of your cut, be sure to take that part slowly and don't try to force the bit through the last 1/16" or so. If you force it through, that's where you'll get the chips.
Summary:
It is very easy to drill your own tank, given that you own a drill, and buy a diamond-coated hole saw bit. I used
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-1-1-4-in-Diamond-Plus-Hole-Saw-49-56-5620/204994415
And it worked perfectly (ignore the size in the link, and choose the right size for your bulkheads).
The plumbing is very easy as well...
Add in unions wherever possible (if budget allows), use a check valve on your return pump (you will lose a small amount of flow to a check valve), build your return plumbing to incorporate a T so that you can (in the future) add in other accessories such as reactors, or plumb over to a refugium. You may not think that this is important at the beginning, but it will be at some point and you won't want to have to disassemble or cut the entirety of your plumbing in order to add or change things around.
One tip on plumbing: Determine which return pump you'd like to use before you choose the pipe size for your return. This allows you to use the recommended pipe size for the pump you are using (I am using 3/4" on a return pump which achieves its maximum flow at 1.25" and it is a miserable return rate. I did not follow my recommendations above (could not find a source putting all of this together in one place as I am attempting to do now) and I regret it. I now have to cut into and replace my PVC plumbing with a running tank, which is going to be miserable.
Everything used to build my stand, drill my tank and plumb my tank was purchased at local home improvement stores (Lowes and Home Depot). The materials needed should be available in essentially any town in the USA or Canada.
Disclaimer:
I am by no means an expert at any of the above, I am not a plumber nor a glass cutter. This is merely my experience and should not be taken as professional advice or be held to any standard. Use the information in my post at your own risk as only you are responsible for your safety and the safety of your home/tank.
From my reading, most tanks have tempered bottom panels, but not back/side panels. I used a UV polarized lens from my DSLR, and my phone/laptop with a white background to determine that my back panel was not tempered. If you have a tempered bottom panel (almost all will have a WARNING: sticker on them) you can tell whether your polarizer source is in fact polarized or not by looking at the difference between the bottom pane and the side pane through the polarizer. If they look the same, DON'T DRILL. My 'polarized' sunglasses were in fact not polarized (cheap, gas station 'polarized' from 10 years ago)
I started looking into drilling my own aquarium and found that I needed:
Drill [corded or cordless, I started with cordless and ended with corded]
Diamond coated hole saw and shank
Plumbers putty
Painters Tape
I decided to do a coast-to-coast style overflow (6 inches on both sides of the tank left for my return bulkheads) and a BeAn system (three pipes, one siphon, one backup siphon and one emergency straight tube). I have no issues with my setup, but I have a 75 gallon tank with 40 gallon sump/refugium and I used 3/4" bulkheads with 3/4" PVC. If I could do it all over, I would have used 1" for the extra capacity (I have tried, and cannot overflow my BeAn setup with 3/4" even with two pipes "plugged").
The hole saw that I used was just slightly larger than my bulkhead fitting "shafts". I took my bulkheads with me to Home Depot when I bought it just to make sure that I wasn't going to have to make a return trip
I cleaned the tank (used, off of craigslist and dirty) with a water/vinegar mixture, then used isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel over the area I was going to drill [probably not necessary].
I then set my tank on its side, and put two spare towels underneath the areas I was going to drill. My recommendation would be to make a template out of paper with the spots you'd like your holes to be. I eyeballed my bulkhead holes and they are not all level (doesn't affect the overflow). Another tip might be to use an oversize hole saw in a piece of 3/4" plywood or 2x4 to create the spacing necessary, and to guide the diamond hole saw while first starting the cut.
One warning: I placed my overflow box too close to the top of my tank, and the water level was way too high. The "spillover" of your overflow only needs to be above the plastic piece on your tank to give you a full water view from the front. I had to scrape and remove my overflow box after testing (read silicone was cured) and move it down 1.5"... you don't want to do that so make sure that you leave adequate space between the top of the tank and the overflow.
Once you've considered all of the above, I put the plumbers putty in a circle around the hole and filled it with some water [just enough to leave a small layer covering the glass], then started at a slight angle holding the drill very steadily, and began the cut. The glass is going to be ground down, not cut through. I used slight pressure the entire time, and even "rocked" the hole saw from corner to corner to "dig" deeper on one part of the circle before moving to the other side. All of my holes came through with no chips or breaks. I used the painters tape on the back side of my cut to both hold the glass piece as well as help against chipping. I used the towels as a safety net in case a piece of tape broke and the glass disc fell to the other side.
I used my drill on full speed, with slight pressure and had no problems. Some people suggest using no pressure. Some also suggest a slow(er) drill speed, but I used full speed Ryobi drill (NO HAMMER DRILLS) and then eventually to a Black and Decker corded drill to cut my holes with no issue.
When getting to the end of your cut, be sure to take that part slowly and don't try to force the bit through the last 1/16" or so. If you force it through, that's where you'll get the chips.
Summary:
It is very easy to drill your own tank, given that you own a drill, and buy a diamond-coated hole saw bit. I used
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-1-1-4-in-Diamond-Plus-Hole-Saw-49-56-5620/204994415
And it worked perfectly (ignore the size in the link, and choose the right size for your bulkheads).
The plumbing is very easy as well...
Add in unions wherever possible (if budget allows), use a check valve on your return pump (you will lose a small amount of flow to a check valve), build your return plumbing to incorporate a T so that you can (in the future) add in other accessories such as reactors, or plumb over to a refugium. You may not think that this is important at the beginning, but it will be at some point and you won't want to have to disassemble or cut the entirety of your plumbing in order to add or change things around.
One tip on plumbing: Determine which return pump you'd like to use before you choose the pipe size for your return. This allows you to use the recommended pipe size for the pump you are using (I am using 3/4" on a return pump which achieves its maximum flow at 1.25" and it is a miserable return rate. I did not follow my recommendations above (could not find a source putting all of this together in one place as I am attempting to do now) and I regret it. I now have to cut into and replace my PVC plumbing with a running tank, which is going to be miserable.
Everything used to build my stand, drill my tank and plumb my tank was purchased at local home improvement stores (Lowes and Home Depot). The materials needed should be available in essentially any town in the USA or Canada.
Disclaimer:
I am by no means an expert at any of the above, I am not a plumber nor a glass cutter. This is merely my experience and should not be taken as professional advice or be held to any standard. Use the information in my post at your own risk as only you are responsible for your safety and the safety of your home/tank.
