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

H20ENG said:
Glad you did not use antifreeze.
Many people have misconceptions that antifreeze causes the water to be more heat conductive, or will magically cool itself. Pure water is the best coolant and heat transfer fluid- which is why every other materials specific heat is compared to that of water- which is 1.0.
Antifreeze is used for just that purpose- to lower the freezing temperature of the water (mix). It actually hampers its heat carrying capacity a bit, but that is the tradeoff for being able to not freeze up in cold weather.
Click to expand...

I believe the intended use of antifreeze was not necessarily only for heat transfer but also for its' lubricating properties. However, it is a poisonous substance that needs to be disposed of properly and I would not use it. Glass shops use it diluted along with diamond grit/dust to make a slurry as they drill. The bits that many older glass shops use are not diamond encrusted, they are copper tube type and use the diamond grit to grind through the glass. These bits last forever, my local shop has had their bits for over 40 years! And, they drill some thiiiiick glass for commercial uses (banks, etc).

I'm contemplating how I'm going to drill my brand new Oceanic 30g cube, I want a Calfo style overflow but don't know if I should drill holes or a slot in the back for an external overflow box. I will also have a single hole for a CL.

Bill.
 
causeofhim said:
Thanks for giving me the guts to try it out.
Click to expand...

No problem. Did you finish the job or have you just got up the courage to start the drilling this weekend. Be sure to take some pictures and show everyone here on this thread. We would all like to see your results. :)
 
I have been thinking of using a 8mm or 6mm bit to drill a number of holes/slots to be used to create an external overflow on a tank. Anyone see a problem with doing it this way? The dremel method seems like it would be a real pain to etch out all the slots, and the drill bit would at least give nice clean circles.

Thanks,

Bob
 
FWIW, a glass cutting company published that you should not exceed something like 200RPMs when drilling glass with a diamond hole saw. i can't recall why, but that's what i did. very slowly and hardly any pressure. i was too affraid of cracking my new 55g tank. 3 holes went nice :) just that the hole saws werent 100% true. they wobbled a bit. i even bought a new drill of a different brand and corded, and it still wobbled. oh well.
 
super thread! thanks to all who have contributed their experiences.
I just ordered 35mm bits from lau from Hong Kong on ebay.

All I am doing is trying to create an overflow in my soon-to-be setup 10gallon refugium

I vote for sticky of some sort
 
You don't want "slots" for an overflow. This has to be one of the most useless "fads" or "trends" in reef keeping. The only time slots are usefull is when the linear overflow length is to short and the water going over the falls is 1/4" or more deep. Making a wider overflow is the solution, then teeth will not be needed to keep critters out.

ANy time you add teeth, you diminish the surface skimming ability of the overflow. If it is already to narrow and teeth are needed to keep out the critters, then all the teeth will do is make that much worse! In conlcusion, teeth should nerver be used, as they defeat ther purpose of a linear style overflow.

Bean
 
This has to be one of the most useless "fads" or "trends" in reef keeping

are u talking about a bunch of slots or one huge slot?
 
I'm certainly not trying to be argumentative, but I do not see why slots/teeth in an overflow diminish skimming ability? If I id not have teeth, and have a 12" wide opening for the water to flow, this would be the same as having a 1/2" opening every inch for 24 inches. Exact same area for water to flow, only the teeth will keep my fish (my wrasse and hawkfish are jumpers) out and keep snails, etc out. Fishing my wrasse out of my overflow really is not a fun task!

I would certainly be interested to hear more about this.

Bob
 
i think i understand what he's saying. you reduce the skimming capability when you use deeper slots and less of them. one solid "waterfall" type could be long and cover more area of the surface of the water, skimming more of the surface. with the slots, you get the surface and also under the surface. i assume that skimming only the surface is more efficient.
 
Ahh, that would make sense - though in my tank, I have so much flow on/near the surface I doubt there is an increased amount of organics on the surface versus just below the surface. Certainly worth keeping in mind.

I've got 8mm bits (for the slots) and a 45mm bit for the overflow drains coming - I'm hoping to do the drilling in the next week or two. I am thinking of adding some holes to the back of the tank as well for a possible closed loop. How many holes can I have without affecting tank integrity? These would be 45mm holes for a 1" bulkhead, and keep in mind the back of the tank will also have the slots at the top of the tank (which I dont think should affect integrity much).

Thanks,

Bob
Bob
 
BraenDead said:
I'm certainly not trying to be argumentative, but I do not see why slots/teeth in an overflow diminish skimming ability? If I id not have teeth, and have a 12" wide opening for the water to flow, this would be the same as having a 1/2" opening every inch for 24 inches. Exact same area for water to flow, only the teeth will keep my fish (my wrasse and hawkfish are jumpers) out and keep snails, etc out. Fishing my wrasse out of my overflow really is not a fun task!

I would certainly be interested to hear more about this.

Bob
Click to expand...

Yeah! What he said.
 
i've got 3 holes in the back of my tank for a closed loop. two for 3/4" bulkheads and one for a 1" bh. plus the usual 2 in the bottom for the overflow. i think they need to be like a radius of like a few inches to be on the safe side. i don't recall the exact amount, just dont stick them close together is all.
 
let's see no slots snails in the pluming = water in the floor = a bad day.
slots in tank no sanils in the pluming = no worries.

everyone i know that has done an open slot all ways finds water in the floor.
i have so much flow in my tank that there is no worries of scum on top of my water, but everyones tank is diferent.
 
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