Step-by-Step: Drilling Holes in Your Glass Tank for Bulkheads
- Thread starter JustOneMoreTank
- Start date
orangezero
New member
Hey,
just wanted to let you guys know, i'm in the middle of cutting three holes in my bathroom mirror for a wallmount faucet. Not exactly like an aquarium tank, but similar. This thread really helped. I picked up a carbide tipped hole saw bit at menards, but they had one at lowe's also. supposed to be for fiberglass, ceramic, tiles, etc. didn't specifically say for glass, but it worked. I have practiced on some mirror 12in x 12in tiles, and made a few decent holes in some 1/8in glass. I'm assuming 1/4in glass will take a lot longer but also be less likely to break as I get through it... right?
the hole saw bit i got actually had a pilot hole in the center so once i get through the center, i should be able to turn it around and get it lined up almost perfectly. does take longer because you have to drill the pilot first, and also, the carbide doesn't work nearly as quickly as the diamond bit. if i had the time, i'm sure i would have ordered one as well, but i really didn't.
Anyway, thought you guys might be interested in knowing others are helped with this. They wanted $40 a hole at the glass shop, and another would only make 3/4in or 2in holes, weird...
I think i'm going to try cutting from both sides after reading through all 14 pages of this thread today.
thanks for the help.
just wanted to let you guys know, i'm in the middle of cutting three holes in my bathroom mirror for a wallmount faucet. Not exactly like an aquarium tank, but similar. This thread really helped. I picked up a carbide tipped hole saw bit at menards, but they had one at lowe's also. supposed to be for fiberglass, ceramic, tiles, etc. didn't specifically say for glass, but it worked. I have practiced on some mirror 12in x 12in tiles, and made a few decent holes in some 1/8in glass. I'm assuming 1/4in glass will take a lot longer but also be less likely to break as I get through it... right?
the hole saw bit i got actually had a pilot hole in the center so once i get through the center, i should be able to turn it around and get it lined up almost perfectly. does take longer because you have to drill the pilot first, and also, the carbide doesn't work nearly as quickly as the diamond bit. if i had the time, i'm sure i would have ordered one as well, but i really didn't.
Anyway, thought you guys might be interested in knowing others are helped with this. They wanted $40 a hole at the glass shop, and another would only make 3/4in or 2in holes, weird...
I think i'm going to try cutting from both sides after reading through all 14 pages of this thread today.
thanks for the help.
GoldStripe
New member
I think you'd be fine with four holes in the back panel IMO. And I don't think it would be necessary to glue a second panel to the back, I couldn't see that really doing much. I drilled 6 holes in the back of my 4' tank with no problems.
swedish steel
Member
I drilled 1 7/8", 2 9/16" & 3 3/16" for overflow and closed loop in my 300, which has 5/8" glass and my 130, which has 1/2 inch glass. These are on both ends as I will build an island of live rock for sps viewable from both sides.
swedish steel
Member
I forgot to add that these were drilled in an upright position with my wife or one of my two children squirting water on the hole saw every few seconds. Let the drill and hole saw do the final cutting at the end with very little pressure to reduce any chipping when the saw breaks through.
Barto
Alleged Lounge Moron
FWIW...
What I used as a backstop (if you will) for my drilling thru was a piece of 2" thick styrofoam. I took a small square about 6" or so and held that in place behind/below where I was going to drill and propped/wedged it in place with a piece of 2X4 with another piece of styrofoam on the other end. (You are only holding the foam in place, no excessive forces are needed or suggested) Wedged in and well supported, I had almost zero chipping on the cut-through. Gentle drill pressure, letting the bit all do the work of course. I used the "plumbers putty dam" method for cooling water.
HTH
What I used as a backstop (if you will) for my drilling thru was a piece of 2" thick styrofoam. I took a small square about 6" or so and held that in place behind/below where I was going to drill and propped/wedged it in place with a piece of 2X4 with another piece of styrofoam on the other end. (You are only holding the foam in place, no excessive forces are needed or suggested) Wedged in and well supported, I had almost zero chipping on the cut-through. Gentle drill pressure, letting the bit all do the work of course. I used the "plumbers putty dam" method for cooling water.
HTH
GoldStripe
New member
I just plumbed mine last night. The 4 way is 1.5" in and 1" out. Paul @ OM can do custom work though if you need a different size.
GoldStripe
New member
go back one page
GoldStripe
New member
if you need other pics I can post them
Nathan4Wvu
Do you like Phil Collins?
How long has it taken on average to get the drill bits from hong kong?
What would be my best option for the returns? I know that the have a couple options for the return order. Any suggestions?
GoldStripe
New member
The best way that Paul @ OM recommends can be found here . If you can follow that you will get awsome flow in your tank. I couldn't follow that exactly because I don't have the bottom front CL outputs. My CL will blow straight down behind the rocks and that straight forward thru the rocks to the front of the tank. If you're seriously considering an OM talk to Paul, he's very easy to talk to. How big is your tank going to be?
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