Modified mudskipper Tank

[mxcn]

Im posting my pics as well to get a better understanding of what i wanna do.I have an all glass 55 gallon mudskipper tank & i want 2 drill 2 holes on the left side of the tank. Is it possible?If not where could i have an all glass tank like this made? any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED.

[OneDummHikk]

55 gallon tanks are tough to drill. Any reason it couldn't be acrylic and make it a lot easier on you to drill it?

[mitchmac]

truthfully i have never drilled just due to my own fears of trashing the tank....if it is all glass your gonna wanna go get a 10gal and practice from what ive read and heard you have to take ur time and go vverry slow and get the right bit for drilling glass...if ur going to get a tank made thats pre drilled...can be pricey....but this hobby isnt cheap by all means....just be carefull and dont practice on ur 55 you could end up being very upset if u mess the tank up just an insight

[OneDummHikk]

Good advice, but, all the practice in the world on a 10 gallon non-tempered tank won't do any good if the 55 is tempered and most of them are. They are simply so thin that its tempered and you can't drill tempered glass, it shatters.

[mitchmac]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

Good advice, but, all the practice in the world on a 10 gallon non-tempered tank won't do any good if the 55 is tempered and most of them are. They are simply so thin that its tempered and you can't drill tempered glass, it shatters.

this is true by all means...you will have to contact the manufacturer and find out but yes most if not all non acrylic 55's are tempered and will shatter under any stress of a drill bit...you can ...possibly take it to a local glass place and maybe they will be willing to replace that side with a drilled piece of glass but be ready to be told no or pay for them to reconstruct your tank ... its not going to be cheap at all...might almost be cheaper to try to find another tank that one is pre drilled, which is pricey or two is made of untempered drillable glass or acrylic ... beware tho the price of glass is steadily going up due to the economy ... ive been checking into it and allglass is almost if not neck and neck with acrylic...i for one do not like acrylic much easy to scratch and just doesnt ahve the same look of glass to me ... but on the other hand glass has the wierd look when looking at it from angles as acrylic does not but acrylic you can drill verr easily and glass is a pain and takes time efort and possibly tons of money if ur destroying tanks left and right...jsut see if its tempered which it probably is .... sorry man wish there was an easy solution for ya

[aquawolf]

You definitely need to find out if it is tempered glass or not. You can do so by putting on a pair of polarized sunglasses and looking at the back window of your car. You will see some funky looking patterns because it is tempered. If you look at the tank and see the same type of patterns then you cannot drill it.

YLChik has a picture in her build thread of when her husband attempted to drill a tempered tank. He is sitting there with the drill still in hand and a pile of shattered glass at his feet.

[jenglish]

Are you wishing to drill the side or the bottom?

And BTW, your tank is one of my all time favorites. Just something neat and out of the ordianry. I remember a time I had both a mudskipper and a fiddlercrab living loose in my house

[OneDummHikk]

And when it shatters, you get no warning. One second you are drilling, a quick explosion, and then no more tank.

[mxcn]

i wanna drill the side the left side

[mxcn]

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[mxcn]

whatcha think?
think its possible?

[jenglish]

Originally Posted by mxcn

whatcha think?
think its possible?

The side of a 55 seems like a small thin piece of glass for 2 holes IMHO. Get some polarized sunglasses and see for sure if its not tempered it might work. I would be too nervous to try it.

[mxcn]

Thats What Im Afraid Of!lol!

[mxcn]

Originally Posted by jenglish

Are you wishing to drill the side or the bottom?

And BTW, your tank is one of my all time favorites. Just something neat and out of the ordianry. I remember a time I had both a mudskipper and a fiddlercrab living loose in my house

i just wanna say thanks. i work(ed) really hard on it. wish i could use acrylic, but my whole thing it being brackish water.Wouldnt the acrylic start "fogging" or "frosting".It being glass all i do is use ro water to spray the mangrove leaves to rid them of salt deposits & clean the glass with a NEW razorblade.im sure i hav a couple running around the house.if i dont find them my dog unfortunately will(he's higher in the food chain in his eyes)fiddler crabs ! I HAVE CRABS!LOL!

[mxcn]

im just waiting on the 1 1/8 in drill bit to come in. & i'm gonna go ahead & drill it. i didnt see any of the patterns that a few people have talked about inside my tank.Plus i have another 55 gallon tank im not using @ the time in the garage