To drill or not to drill

[Brandon0034]

I'm setting up a 125 and just sealed my floating overflow to the tank. My original plan was to run two 1" pvc siphons from the top but now I'm contemplating drilling the back of the tank. My only concern is the tank is 10+ years old so I wanted to keep it simple without drilling.

Yes I know in power failure the siphon will break but I can fix this easy with an aqualifter or worst case scenario only powerheads would restart until I got home. Any advice? or if its not worth the risk due to tank age.

 

[Capsle]

I was in the same spot as you a few weeks ago. I decided to drill my tank and go that way. I was surprised how easy it was. I'm happy I did.

If you do decide to drill watch a few YouTube videos. I made a pool of water with plumbers putty. My glass is 8mm thick and I drilled 3 2" holes. It took about 10-15 minutes each. Aside from a few minor chips everything went really well.

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[TauntingBeef]

I order an eshopp overflow should get it tonight or tomorrow but I went that way instead of drilling cuz of an older tank and such. its going on a 55gallon so I got an overflow for a 120 they say let you know how it goes by Wed

 

[Capsle]

FYI my tank is over 10 years old. I'm not sure how hold it is but I'm the 3rd owner. It's a 75g


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[Brandon0034]

Thanks for the input guys. Everyone just seems to think a tank is fragile after x amount of years which worried me. I'm the original owner so I know its never been abused and still holds water fine. It's an older oceanic tank 1/2" glass with a glass center brace so I may just get the LFS to drill it to save me the hassle.

TauntingBeef- I already sealed the overflow with plans of using that same siphon method but now I'm second guessing as always.

Capsle- That makes me feel more comfortable your tank being older as well. Honestly the way I see it is that the silicone deteriorates, not the glass so I'm not sure why everyone advises not to drill an older tank.

 

[Capsle]

Thanks for the input guys. Everyone just seems to think a tank is fragile after x amount of years which worried me. I'm the original owner so I know its never been abused and still holds water fine. It's an older oceanic tank 1/2" glass with a glass center brace so I may just get the LFS to drill it to save me the hassle.

TauntingBeef- I already sealed the overflow with plans of using that same siphon method but now I'm second guessing as always.

Capsle- That makes me feel more comfortable your tank being older as well. Honestly the way I see it is that the silicone deteriorates, not the glass so I'm not sure why everyone advises not to drill an older tank.

Brandon,

You're more than welcome. My tank had a plastic trim and Center brace as well. I needed to reseal the tank and broke them trim and brace while removing it

However I successfully resealed the tank and I euro braced it. Its holding up great.
Everything is a was a lot easier than what I expected. If your a little bit handy and used to doing some DIY's you should have no issues at all.

Good luck and let us know how everything goes.

Caps


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[mcgyvr]

Yes I know in power failure the siphon will break but I can fix this easy with an aqualifter or worst case scenario only powerheads would restart until I got home. Any advice? or if its not worth the risk due to tank age.

Well.. worst case is that the siphon is broken and your return pump stays on causing an overflow of the tank.. (provided there is enough water in the sump to do so)..

And if you are starting from scratch.. Do this.. There is NO better/quieter/more reliable system.. And its simply 3 holes vs 2..
http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

 

[UTCReefer]

Drilling is really easy. Just be sure the glass isnt tempered.