Step-by-Step: Drilling Holes in Your Glass Tank for Bulkheads

JustOneMoreTank
The holes that you put in the tank for close loop.
what is it for a wave movement action or?
And the overflow boxes is is for what?
Just looking at everyones ideas.
 
fishtk75 said:
JustOneMoreTank
The holes that you put in the tank for close loop.
what is it for a wave movement action or?
And the overflow boxes is is for what?
Just looking at everyones ideas.
Click to expand...

The holes I drilled in the back wall are all going to be used for my Closed Loop. I first drilled the two holes for the pair of 1" Bulkheads. Reading here on RC I figured that the holes would not be large enough for the pump that I wanted to run. At first I was going to use something like a Quiet One pump for the Closed Loop. Later I decided that a Sequence Dart would be a much better choice. Now I needed larger holes for the intake of the Dart pump. I then cut a pair of holes to allow placement of the 1.5" Bulkheads that will T together to provide water to the intake of the Dart pump. I will use the smaller holes that I drilled to return two of the four outputs from the Oceans Motions Super Squirt coming from the Closed Loop Dart pump.
As far as the overflow plumbing... I am planning on using both of the 1" drains to go to the sump. One will feed the skimmer and the other will empty into the sump. The 3/4" plumbing will be plumbed to act as an emergency overflow and return into the sump. These two smaller pipes will extend up higher than the waterlevel in the MegaFlow Overflows and only drain water in an emergency if the main 1" drains are not draining the tank properly.
I hope that helps clear things up some. :)
 
10 buck's for 1.5 is not a bad deal.
i use'd a dremell & it took for ever then my friend drilled a 1.5 slot by 12 inch long for an external overflow with a tile bit an a dewalt hand tool took about 10 minutes on 1/2 inch thick glass, ever since i have been drilling all kinds of holes & slots,a 1.5 inch hole on 1/2 inch thick glass takes 5 minutes or less. i did use a diamond hole bit one time from my friend & it took less then 2 minutes so for 10 bucks im going to buy one.
:)
 
shanebc21 said:
I bought my bits from this guy http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZlauQ2aQ2aQ2a . He can send you any size, just ask him. Great prices, got it in 5 days. As you can see they got the job done. (this info is for other reefers who read this thread)
Click to expand...

I imagine for his prices that these are not top qulity bits. How many holes have you gotten out of a bit and what thickness glass?
Having said that, if you get 4 or more holes out of each bit you are way ahead of the game, just about cheaper than a dremel bit anyway :thumbsup:
 
Once you use the Diamond coated hole saw you will not ever go back to using the Dremel I promise.
I have purchased one Diamond Hole Saw from the Ebay seller lau. I only needed to cut one last hole for my 1.5" Bulkhead. I think that it could easily cut 2 more holes. I had purchased a set of Diamond Hole Saws from a different seller off Ebay name was something like Richon_Tools. The bits are of the same quality. Both are out of Hong Kong. Both are way cheaper than anything you can find in the US. The bits that I have seen for the same purpose cost $50 to $90 each!!! Perhaps the expensive bits will last longer but not long enough to justify the massive jump in price.
I am not sure how many holes the expensive ones can cut but that is way too much money for bits when the Hong Kong units cut great and give you 3 to 4 holes. The glass I have been cutting varies from thick (120g AGA tank) to medium in thickness (50g AGA tank).
:)
 
Keep in mind that I have contacted any the major tank builders IE: All Glass and Perfecto...If you discribe your tank, and which pannel you insist on drilling, they will tell you yes or no on the tempered glass.... ALL 55 gallon tanks are TEMPERED!
Jason

By the way... Great post.... can we just referr everyone to this from now on... holes seem to be very common topic... maybe lock this in...
 
"if you get 4 or more holes out of each bit you are way ahead of the game"

Guess i wasnt thinking how many holes u can get out of the bits i was just thinking wow 10 bucks, so u are probably right derek, i have used one tile bit on 7 holes 4 1.5 & 3 1.0 inch the 4 i.5 where on 1/2 inch thick glass & the other 3 where on 3/8 guess im back to square one oh well..
there is nothing like making a perfect hole but i just cant see paying over 50 bucks to only get 10 to 12 holes,cutting glass is so easy most people brake the tanks cuz they use to much pressure & not enough water.
 
You really should not have any problems breaking tanks... I just spin the drill at a fast to moderately fast speed, try and keep the area wet with water, and use very little pressure against the glass. Also NEVER try and drill on tempered glass! Usually the tank will have a sticker on the pane of glass if it has been tempered. Also if you are concerned you can call the manufacturer and ask which panes of glass on your size tank are tempered.
Good luck and have fun. :)
 
This needs to be a sticky. Great info. I was talking to a guy locally who wanted $35.00 to drill each hole! I told him he was nuts and this thread proves it. (I think I'll e-mail this to him)

Ed C
 
DerekW said:
I imagine for his prices that these are not top qulity bits. How many holes have you gotten out of a bit and what thickness glass?
Having said that, if you get 4 or more holes out of each bit you are way ahead of the game, just about cheaper than a dremel bit anyway :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
I only needed one hole each, so five bucks each worked for me. They got the job done. My bulk heads are in with no leaks. I cleaned the heads with a toothbrush, they still feel pretty sharp. Im guessing I got two or three more holes left in each bit.
 
shanebc21 said:
I only needed one hole each, so five bucks each worked for me. They got the job done. My bulk heads are in with no leaks. I cleaned the heads with a toothbrush, they still feel pretty sharp. Im guessing I got two or three more holes left in each bit.
Click to expand...

Just make sure to throw the toothbrush away! I am sure that it would do a number on your soft gum tissue with any glass in it! :eek1: :D
 
I've also been using the bits from richon-tools and so far I've been able to drill atleast 6 holes for 1" bulkheads and atleast 12 for 1/2". I keep thinking that this is the last hole for this bit but they just keep on going. I'm very happy with the bits and the cost, cannot beat it anywhere. Also as far as breaking tanks while drilling I have drilled through 3 of my own tanks varying is size from 50G to 10g and have never had even a close call.

Rich
 
h20cooled said:
I've also been using the bits from richon-tools and so far I've been able to drill atleast 6 holes for 1" bulkheads and atleast 12 for 1/2". I keep thinking that this is the last hole for this bit but they just keep on going. I'm very happy with the bits and the cost, cannot beat it anywhere. Also as far as breaking tanks while drilling I have drilled through 3 of my own tanks varying is size from 50G to 10g and have never had even a close call.

Rich
Click to expand...

The number of holes you get out of the bits will depend on two things: The thickness of the glass you are working through and the diameter of the hole that you are cutting.

If you are cutting small diameter holes through thinner glass (like drilling a smallish tank to use as a sump for instance) the bit will last many holes for sure. I managed only 2.5 holes with the 60mm bit for my 1.5" Bulkhead and I wimped out. I stopped using the bit because I thought maybe it wasnt cutting well anymore. So I ordered a new bit off of Ebay because they are so super cheap and I did not want to risk the tank. So my bit came in the mail and I finished my last big hole on the back glass of my 120g tank. The original 60mm diamond hole saw probly could have finished hole number three but I chickened out. :D
It is really very easy and just about anyone should be able to do this. :)
 
When drilling holes, how far apart should the holes be at least?3inches from center?? Is there a rule of thumb?so you don't risk undo stress on the glass.

Also how far away from the sides of the glass should you stay?

EXAMPLE

A-------Distance from edge? MINIUM?
B-------Width between holes? MINIUM?


rule.jpg
 
arconom said:
Thanks does that apply to the holes in example B also?
Click to expand...

Yes that rule does apply when placing holes near each other. I was not aware of this rule before I drilled my tank. I accidently placed two holes very near each other. The flanges of the Bulkheads are just barely not touching each other. Ooops. It should be fine however. We will see. :)
 
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