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

Will someone check my math?
Savko 2" bulkhead needs a 3 1/4 inch hole.
25.4 x 3.14 = 79.756
On Ebay Lau has a 80mm that I think would work or should I go to the 85mm?
Any help would be great.
Doug
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9183819#post9183819 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by douglass
Will someone check my math?
Savko 2" bulkhead needs a 3 1/4 inch hole.
25.4 x 3.14 = 79.756
On Ebay Lau has a 80mm that I think would work or should I go to the 85mm?
Any help would be great.
Doug
Click to expand...


3-1/4 in = 3.25 in

Which means

3.25 in * 25.4 mm/in = 82.55 mm
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9116918#post9116918 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JustOneMoreTank
I have two 1.5" bulkheads that T together into a common 2" PVC to feed my Dart. That works well for me.
Click to expand...
Chris, I'm ordering some new hole saws (1.5", 2", and probably 1") but I don't think they'll be here by Saturday! :) Shane's going to just have use 1", I guess.

By the way, do you think that two 1.5" drains work better than one 2" drain for the dart?

Thiago
 
Too bad they wont make it for the meeting. :( Not sure how many holes that 1"er has done either...
Yes I like my two 1.5" drains they work well in my 120g tank Ted together. I am not sure but one suction point *might* be too great even with a screen over it and cause inverts and fish to have problems getting by it. I dont know because I have not ever seen a 2" intake in a tank. Maybe you could rig up a long suction PVC bar and distribute the suction over a larger area???
 
Yeah, I was actually going to do a 2" bulkhead and inside the tank a 2" tee with the middle of the tee to the bulkhead and the two sides with a section of pipe and holes/slots all over it for the water and a cap at the end with holes as well. I figure that would definitely help with the high velocity suction. What do you think?

And as far the hole drilling this Saturday, are you coming to the meeting? I was supposed to have a 50G drilled and I was going to set it up as a second tank but have since decided to use it as a sump for a 180G setup I'm hoping to put together soon. So instead of a bunch of holes, I just need one larger hole for a return pump intake, so either 1.5" or 2". I'm not sure if I should just bring it to the meeting and have you or Shane drill it with the 1" for the sake of the presentation and when I get the 1.5" or 2" hole saw in, I'll make that hole bigger. What do you think about that one?

Sorry for the long post. This should have been a PM but it seems like this might help some other folks, too! :)

Thanks.

Thiago
 
I will be at the meeting and we can get that tank drilled however you want no problem.
I think that a 2" hole and then you T that inside the tank and have in effect 2 bulkhead screens each at 2" diameter would be awesome. This way critters could effectively walk across the surface of the screen. The snails and hermits have a really really tough time getting across my pair of 1.5" bulkhead screens without getting pulled thru. So two 2 inchers would be great.
:)
 
55 gal tempered?

55 gal tempered?

I read early in the post that all 55 gallon tanks were tempered glass. I am going to use one for a sump and would like to install a bulkhead in the side of the tank. Are all the sides tempered or just the bottem?
Thanks
Jeff
 
If this was already covered in this thread im sorry, I dont have the luxury of putting my tank on its side to drill the holes i have to do it while the tanks is standing up and tips suggs.

thanx
Leo
 
its 8 feet long and im drilling one of the ends, plus its in a custom stand that covers the bottom trim so it would be a real pain to take it out
 
Hey Bleedingthought!
Well today my fish club and I drilled three holes in two tanks. Both tanks were top/open side up and I drilled them on the back glass. Our reef club will have a video posted on the website hopefully sometime soon. Ohh great... now everyone gets to see me sweat it out in front of a crowd drilling a pair of tanks. :D
I find it just as easy to drill the tank laying on its side or standing upright. Although I will admit that it does help to have someone watching from the side to tell you if you are working directly in or if you have the drill angled up or down. It is difficult to tell sometimes when you are holding the drill exactly how perpendicular you are to the tank surface.
We will post a link so that people can see the video tutorial on tank drilling. :)
 
leozava-
I drilled 24 holes total in the two ends of both of my tanks. They were in the upright position, not on their sides. Lubrication was provided by my wife or daughter squirting a spray bottle at the hole saw on a regular basis. You can do it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9326026#post9326026 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JustOneMoreTank
Hey Bleedingthought!
Well today my fish club and I drilled three holes in two tanks. Both tanks were top/open side up and I drilled them on the back glass. Our reef club will have a video posted on the website hopefully sometime soon. Ohh great... now everyone gets to see me sweat it out in front of a crowd drilling a pair of tanks. :D
I find it just as easy to drill the tank laying on its side or standing upright. Although I will admit that it does help to have someone watching from the side to tell you if you are working directly in or if you have the drill angled up or down. It is difficult to tell sometimes when you are holding the drill exactly how perpendicular you are to the tank surface.
We will post a link so that people can see the video tutorial on tank drilling. :)
Click to expand...
So, I'm hoping to put an order in tonight for those hole saws. Buying through e bay. Company is THK DIAMOND TOOLS the username still the same - lau***. :)

I was going to get the hole saws for a 1", 1.5", and 2" bulkheads (Schedule 80, which are heavyduty sized bulkheads). And here are the size translations (mm are rounded) for these:

1" bulkhead = 1.875" hole = 47.63mm hole
1.5" bulkhead = 2.625" hole = 66.68mm hole
2" bulkhead = 3.250" hole = 82.55mm hole

Now, they don't have any of those exact sizes available. The closest are: 48mm, 65mm, 80mm and 85mm. The 48mm and 65mm are pretty close to what is needed for 1" and 1.5" bulkheads. But for the 2" bulkhead, the 80mm is about 3/32" too small and the 85mm is about 3/32" too big. Which brings me to my question, would it be better to have the smaller one and bore the hole out with a dremel or would the bigger one work?

Thanks!

:D
 
Last edited:
Not too sure on what to do with the 2" bulkhead hole for the Sch 80. Since the bits are so cheap I would go ahead and purchase both. Then you could cut a hole in some cardboard box that you have laying around and test fit the bulkheads thru the cardboard.
Usually when you cut thru the tank if you measure you will find that the hole made is slightly larger than what the spec is. This is due to imperfections of you holding the drill steady going thru the glass. You are "wallowing the hole out" a little as you are moving thru. This will make the hole slightly larger in diameter.
Shane had to make one or two of his holes a little larger with a dremel or the drill I think when we drilled his 150gal tank. It was pretty easy to make it a little bigger. I think that you will have a much bigger challenge making the hole a little smaller if it is cut too big to start. ;)
Hope this helps ... Try the cardboard first and see what you think with both bits. :)
 
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