to drill or not to drill

steel3470

New member
setting up a new 120 gal. no holes in it I know the bottom is tempered i have to do the test on the sides to see if they are or not.

im just nervous about drilling it.

if i dont drill im going to make a overflow box i would copy Melev overflow box. but on that should i do two over flows and what size.

I just dont want to build the overflow box and regret it later. and i dont want to drill the side and have it shatter.
 
I'd drill it. Gravity beats a siphon,imo.. Having siad that I've run several j tube type overflows for years without issues but whenever I take a take down I replace it with a drilled one. One of my displays has 2 j tube type overflows. I use 2 in case one siphon breaks; none have in over 6 years.
 
Drill it. Just watch the video on the glass holes site... You can buy the kit or buy separate... Buy a $10, 10g tank and practice a few times... Its as easy as it looks.

very good idea will have to try it out on the 10 gallon. my 75 i had before was RR. i'll get the kit and try it out
 
The best advice I have is to go slow. The thicker the glass, the easier it is to drill. I've drilled about 10 tanks and only broke a small 10 gallon tank that I tried to go too fast on.
 
cool ok I want to order the bit but what size should i get? and how many holes should i drill.

should i drill two for the overflow and two or one for the return and should the overflow and return holes be different sizes?
 
The glass holes kit will come withthe proper bit. Dont practice on a 10g. The glass is thin and flexs too much. Just a tip use a hole saw and cut a corresponding hole in a piece of wood as a template. Ive also thought a piece of wood on the back side would prevent chip out but I haven't tried it to be sure. Use spring clamps or duct tape to hold the template in place to keep the diamond bit from wandering.

Just my experiences.
 
The glass holes kit will come withthe proper bit. Dont practice on a 10g. The glass is thin and flexs too much. Just a tip use a hole saw and cut a corresponding hole in a piece of wood as a template. Ive also thought a piece of wood on the back side would prevent chip out but I haven't tried it to be sure. Use spring clamps or duct tape to hold the template in place to keep the diamond bit from wandering.

Just my experiences.
 
Drilling is very easy, I just drilled 6 40 gallons and 2 75 gallons in under 90 minutes and I had never done it before.
 
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