drilling a 55 gallon all glass

[buckshot1977]

ok i have a 55 i want to drill. looking for some info on how to do it.

1) can it be done with a dermel tool or not?

2) should i put a overflow on each back corner?

3) drill just the back or bottom?

4) any link that could help.

thank you all very much.

[medicdiver]

do a search on TRT for drilling glass. Most glass tanks have temptered glass on the bottom. You cant drill tempered glass. There is also a pretty good video on here somewhere that shows how to drill glass. ANother thing to make sure that the sides of your tank are not tempered as well, few, but some are. And lastly, if this is your first time(as it is mine too), have some small tanks to practice on. You dont want to break the good one on your first hole....

[buckshot1977]

thank you very much. this will be my second tank, first was a 29.

[Fly Guy]

Originally Posted by buckshot1977

ok i have a 55 i want to drill. looking for some info on how to do it.

1) can it be done with a dermel tool or not?

2) should i put a overflow on each back corner?

3) drill just the back or bottom?

4) any link that could help.

thank you all very much.

1- no......well it CAN be done, but just because some things CAN be done doesnt mean they should be

Use a diamond coated drill bit.

2-up to you. 2 is better than one, if you do two, make each of them big enough to handle as much flow as you are going to be putting through your sump. that way if one clogs for whatever reason.......no water ends up on the floor.

3- the bottom is most likely tempered. You need to contact whoever made your tank or search to find out if the back is too. Most 55's are not and fine to drill...but make sure

4-i dont have a link, but i will tell you to take some putty or silicone and make a circular wall around where you are going to drill. The purpose of this wall is to hold in a puddle of non toxic antifreeze while you drill to cool the glass as you go. Let the weight of the drill do the work, especially for the last half of the hole.

Thats pretty much it. As was already said, practicing on a scrap piece of glass is a good idea for your first hole

hth

[buckshot1977]

thank you very much for all the info. i will do all you said. with a 600gph pump what size drain pipe do you all think i should use?

thank you all again for the help.

[spectra]

I just tried drilling my sons 29 today and found out the thing was tempered on all five sides Ended up having to get another tank. Good luck and hope it all works out for you.

[medicdiver]

I have read somewhere that a 1" pipe flows about 600 gph, I would use 3/4 or 1" for both overflows. As already stated, just in case one clogs or fails, also having 1" gives you room for improvement should you want more turnover in your sump in the future..

[buckshot1977]

Thank you very much. do any of you know of a good spot on the net that might have a pic or something around that that i can kind of look at to see how some others did there 55 or any size i quess to try to get me a idea on the best way to go about this. because i know once i drill it i can not undrill it to do it different later.

thank you all very very much.

[Geoff]

get the bulkhead first, then get the bit. bulkheads from different manufacturers are can require different size holes.

putting the holes towards the bottom of the tank help in draining.

a 1" drain will pull about 600gph.

G~

[buckshot1977]

if i put the bulkhead at about 3 inches from the bottom about how tall should i make the stand pipe. it is a standard 55 gallon tank. from the bottom of the tank inside to the top lip of the plastic trim is 19 1/2 inches so if i go 3 inches up and make that the bottom of the bulkhead.

thank you all for the help.