The Question? Where to drill??

[Overgreen]

My question is where to drill a tank. I'm looking at getting a new tank and if its not drilled yet to have it drilled. The tank I have now is not drilled and i'm wanting to have one that is drilled. I would like to have the typical job done, just drilled at the bottom like all the rest but a guy at my local fish store says to drill them on the back of the tank at the top as to only have like a small bit of pipe sticking out to act as kinda a overflow from the top of the water. Hes got his tank drilled like that and he says its easier to do it that way instead of having to build a big divider and 2 pvc pipes up from the bottom. It seems to work just fine and it seems simpler but I wanted to ask everyone to see what everyones opinion is on the topic.

 

[KAW750SS]

the number one reason why you do NOT drill the bottom of a tank is because it will shatter. Most tanks are tempered bottoms and tempered glass will shatter. MOST of the time the sides of a tank are not tempered.
The tanks that coem pre drilled I assume are drilled FIRST and then the glass is tempered.

I drilled my 65 gallon tank on the side, what i did was a drilled a hole big enough for a one inche bulkhead and then i pieced together some PVC pipes so it made a 90 degree angle which made the water line up to the serface.

I also drilled my 40 gallon breeder tank in the back, this time I had a built in overflow made so it looks like it was a pre drilled tank.

 

[teesquare]

What brand is the tank? Call the manufacturer. Some tanks are tmpered bottom, but not all of them.
But - as for your desire to have an in-tank overflow, there are a number of things to consider:

1. Desired turnover rate - it needs to be able to handle whatever amount you choose to pump back into the tank PLUS for a margin of error.

2. Noise - probably the number one complaint about improperly planned overflows

3. Reliability/Maintenance - again - none of us tend to think long term enough without focusing on it for a bit!

There are some great threads here on RC - use the search function, and look up a few - therer is a lot of good info - and a number of really cool methods.

Just as a reference - and it may not be the thing you want to tackle right now - here is my build thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1762906&highlight=holy+reefer

The overflow is designed to be silent, high flow and easy to clean/maintain. It can be made smaller or larger - just some ideas for you!

T

 

[dcombs44]

Biggest reason not to drill the bottom, if it leaks, you lose it all. If you drill the back, you only lose a few inches of water.

Check these guys out. Much quieter than a pipe sticking through the glass, and you could build you yourself if you wanted. This is what I use on my tanks, as do quite a few others.

www.glass-holes.com

It's easy to drill your own tank, and their kits come with the proper bit.

 

[E.intheC]

overgreen.. check out the site glass-holes.com. They have kits that will help you out.
When you are finally ready to drill, make sure you go very slowly, keep the drill bit (should be diamond coated) very wet and cool, and don't push down on the hole. The drill should be enough pressure on its own.

Absolutely make sure your glass is not tempered before drilling though. It's not only a smart money move, but you definitely don't want to be around when the glass shatters and literally goes everywhere.

 

[phenom5]

I'd check out Glass-Holes. You can get your overflow kit, diamond hole bit, and bulkhead from them. Just drill where you want it on the back. Better than the overflows that run through the bottom of the tank IMO, because they take up much less space.

Another option is to build a shelf or coast to coast overflow and drill how many holes you want, then build external dursos on the drains. I set up my previous tank like that, worked very well.

Here's a couple of pics...

And yet another option, similar to what I did. Silent & Failsafe Overflow

 

[saltysticks]

dont drill the bottom. +1 to phenom's post. The side is the way to go.plus if you drill the bottom should you ever have to move it you'll have to be extra careful not to bust off the bulkhead.

 

[chimmike]

+1 to the silent and failsafe overflow (BeanAnimal)

 

[teesquare]

Overgreen:Before you get too overwhelmed with all of our opinions ( all valid I am sure) Call the manufacturer to find out whether on not the tank bottom is tempered. It is just a good thing to know, and will begin to help you make choices based on known - not guessed info.

T

 

[rayn]

What type of tank. I have links at home to two different manufactures that list if the bottom is tempered or not.
That said, consider the C2C and a overflow. Chechen my thread.....120 upgrade...... and you'll see what I'm in the process of doing. Also going to run the beananimal overflow, check out the DIY section or ill get that link too.

 

[rayn]

http://www.marineland.com/sites/Marineland/Documents/Standard Aquarium Specs.pdf

There is marinelands specifics. I had one from aqueon but can't find in now, hopefully someone else does.

 

[dcombs44]

This forum has threads on Marineland/Perfecto, Aqueon/All-Glass, and Oceanic Tempered Panels.

http://mikekirkman.com/forum/smf_1-...D=6bf64c77fd797255ebe2ba9e93664f1e&board=20.0