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

It is this thread that has prompted me to drill my 210... All drained and cleaned now, just looking for a day when I will have a chance to take my time. I am planning 3 - 2" and 4 - 1" holes at this point (all in the back panel, there is no way I am chancing the bottom being tempered).
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10130533#post10130533 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fillibar
It is this thread that has prompted me to drill my 210... All drained and cleaned now, just looking for a day when I will have a chance to take my time. I am planning 3 - 2" and 4 - 1" holes at this point (all in the back panel, there is no way I am chancing the bottom being tempered).
Click to expand...
Hey, I'm drilling 2 - 2" and 4 - 1" holes on the back of my 210G. :D Don't tell me you're using a oceans motions unit on it for a closed loop? :)

P.S. If it's an AGA, the bottom is tempered. ;)
 
well i did the cheep thing and i got the bits and the bulkheads from the same guy on ebay saltydepot plus i bought them on thurs and got them on mon. i think that was blazzing fast. i realy dont think he has them shipped from hong kong.
 
by the way i spent $63 for 4 1"bulk heads 1 drill bit for them 2 1.5" bulk heads plus bit for them and dont for get the shipping.
 
Can I drill five 1-3/4" holes in the back of my AGA 120. I want to put one hole in each corner. Two up top between the overflows and then one down below those two for suction for a closed loop. All of these will be on the back pane.

So what do you guys think?
 
got my drills last night

got my drills last night

I have been reading this thread for days, I will agree that the drill on eBay takes no time to arrive :)

I will be drilling my 90 tall tonight 2 x 1" for close loop and 2 x 3/4 for my sump return.

Thanks guys
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10135361#post10135361 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TNTREEF
Can I drill five 1-3/4" holes in the back of my AGA 120. I want to put one hole in each corner. Two up top between the overflows and then one down below those two for suction for a closed loop. All of these will be on the back pane.

So what do you guys think?
Click to expand...

That should be fine; you should not have any problems. I have 6 holes in the back of my AGA 90.
 
No idea who made it, I bought it used (from someone who got it from a buddy...). It has no labels of any kind and no identifying marks.

No OM planned at this time. My main idea was a 2" intake feeding a Dart for a closed loop (the 4 - 1") and the other 2" acting as an intake for the sump which would feed back to a spray-bar-esque thing coming out of the third 2". I though about having more holes to bring the sump water back, but it just seemed like too many.
 
wow

one hour later and 5 hole are done

14499692tank-holes.jpg


small chips but nothing that wont be covered with the bulk head.

thanks for every ones input on this thread, it was a peace of cake :rollface:
 
1 hour = 5 holes? Holy crap! You must have been wide open on the drill! I didn't have the you know whats to go that quick when I did mine (way back in this thread). I took about an hour per hole on my 150 and switched bits just in case. My glass is 1/2", what was yours? No matter how thick, that's still really quick. Good job for not breaking it!!
 
i was in no hurry

i was in no hurry

I used a small air drill and just used the weight of the drill, I was in no hurry, after the first one, I new that I had to remove all the old tape and use new tape all around the old large caracole container I used to hold the water, and I had all my holes all marked so one at a time and I had them all done before the wife got home :D


my water level was all the way to the chuck of the drill, air drill no problem with electricity :)

it is about 1/2 thick.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9993004#post9993004 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by maxwell1295
Yep, drilled 4 holes in a 125g a few weeks back. Worked like a charm and probably saved me a LOT of $$$$$. Thanks!

TankDrilling010.jpg
Click to expand...

I have a tank like yours (125gal, black trim) but no sticker to tell which side is temped or who made but one on the bottle with the name of tech who assembled the tank. How can I can tell which side is temped, wchich is not ?
Thanks
 
Thanks Thiago
I'm building all the stuff around the tank. I'll be a heart broken if I end up drilling a temp one.:)
Can we tell who built the tank by its braces ? Thiago
 
Not necessarily. One thing you might want to try is wearing polarized sunglasses and having the tank outside (well lit area) to see if you can see a pattern in the glass. Stare at different car windows (especially back windows) and you'll start to notice different spots that show up. That's tempered glass. :)
 
The polarized filter method works best with two lenses (I use two camera filters, they work better because they are not tinted like sunglasses), one on each side of the glass. Rotate them to block most of the light shining through and move them simulataneously around the glass. If you see light and dark areas in the pane its tempered. You can try this on the side window of a car as it will definately be tempered.

I wear polarized sunglasses all the time and just "looking" at the glass with them on is not a reliable method to tell if it's tempered or not. The way I describe above is.

Tim:cool:
 
Not to jack your thread, but would 3 1" holes be too much for a ten gallon tank? You seem to be the hole drilling expert on here! :)
 
10g tanks have pretty thin glass. I have a friend who "challenged" me to try and drill a 10g without cracking the tank. I have not tried yet. :)
I would say do-able but why so many holes? Describe the setup you are trying to accomplish and maybe someone could help with a work around.
You will REALLY need to take your time to accomplish 3 holes in a 10g and keep it in one piece.
 
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