View Full Version : Broke my tank drilling it
vwluv10338
03/12/2006, 10:35 AM
Well I'm fairly upset. I was drilling my 55 for a Calfo overflow and shattered the back pane. Everything was going fine and I had just started a nice circle cut and thought I was in the home stretch where all I had to do was let it finish the cut and BAM, the whole thing shatters. I dont know if I was using too many RPMs or what because I wasnt putting much pressure on the drill. Now I have to start over trying to get a seahorse tank up for my girlfriend. At least the tank was free.
Eric
BeanAnimal
03/12/2006, 10:46 AM
If it shattered into tiny pieces, it was tempered. This kind of glass can not be drilled. If it broke into jagged shards, then you simply messed up while drilling.
SDguy
03/12/2006, 11:07 AM
I'm not sure how often you've done this, but if it was just a mess up on your part (and not tempered glass), might I suggest you practice on some spare pieces of glass. That's what I did.
hth
speenach
03/12/2006, 11:54 AM
was this a regular glass tank? I am thinking of doing a similar idea by drilling a small hole in the side and put and external pump on the outside so i can send saltwater back to my tank during water changes. My worry was that it would shatter the glass. You can easily find cheap used glass tanks but I dont want the hassle if theres a chance it will crack.
jman77
03/12/2006, 12:22 PM
Some 55's are tempered all around. You were one of the lucky ones to get one that was.....
At least it was free.
vwluv10338
03/12/2006, 01:44 PM
It broke into tiny pieces like automotive window glass. It had a sticker on the bottom that said the bottom was tempered but it didnt say anything about the sides. When I was at the fish store most of their 55s had a factory sticker that said "55temp." I guess it was tempered all around. If I buy another tank is there any way to tell if it is tempered? I want a drilled tank but I couldnt stand breaking a new one.
Eric
REEFKEEPA
03/12/2006, 01:51 PM
I am about to buy a 215 gallon tank from a LFS. They will order it from the factory drilled to my specs. It is only $13 dollars per hole
any size. I think it's worth the POM to let them do it.
jman77
03/12/2006, 02:24 PM
Drilling is simple if you have the right tools. Just get the hole bits from Harbor Frieght or Ebay and go to town. Normally you have tanks with just the bottoms tempered..it's that some 55's ( the ones that came in kits) had pretty thin glass all around and so the glass was tempered on all the panes.
If you buy a new tank you should be ok... I would call the company that made the tank just to verifiy that the bottom pane was the only one they tempered. I've drilled 2 tanks myself ( 10g & 27 bow )and had no problems. I'm going to be drilling my 58 Oceanic soon to make a Calfo overflow like i did for my 27 and am not worried about it at all.
It's really easy as you can tell... as long as the glass isn't tempered ;)
If your nervous when your about to drill the next one... I heard MR Red Stripe helps that problem :bum:
mpomfret
03/12/2006, 08:28 PM
vwluv,
Your post didn't mention cooling. Were you running water over the glass while drilling ? If not, that could by why the tank broke.
It was a tempered tank. You can't be successful drilling a tempered tank, it will shatter. (well it might work, but you would be very lucky)
You can have the LFS order a non-tempered tank for you.
BeanAnimal
03/12/2006, 08:42 PM
No such thing as luck.. tempered glass can not be drilled, end of story.
superedge88
03/12/2006, 10:13 PM
BeanAnimal is correct. Even if the glass does not shatter when you are drilling, at some point it WILL shatter GUARANTEED.
jman77
03/12/2006, 11:04 PM
tempered glass will blow while your drilling it.... not later...
Kent E
03/12/2006, 11:10 PM
We all know it was tempered but what exactly happens to the tempered glass that causes it to shatter? Is there some hidden tension that is released when the big goes through?
superedge88
03/12/2006, 11:16 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6941289#post6941289 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jman77
tempered glass will blow while your drilling it.... not later...
Not true. Saw this happen...This guy drilled his 29 gallon with a hole saw, then slightly bumped the tank with his foot as he reached over to put the drill back onto the table and the whole pane of glass shattered.
I admit that it is extremely rare and don't understand how it could happen but it did.
BeanAnimal
03/12/2006, 11:29 PM
Pretty simple. When glass is tempered the molecules on the surface of the glass line up and form very ordered crystaline chains that are very hard and cross linked together. When you drill the glass, this "skin" made of these neat tidy cross linked bonds is broken. If you brake enough of these bonds you trigger a chain reaction that shoots over the surface of the glass and breaks the rest of the bonds.
Yes you may get a whole drilled into the glass, depening on how it was tempered and how thick it is, but it WILL break, as the stability has been removed from it's skin.
Rich_Lucas
03/21/2006, 08:56 PM
Is there any way to know for sure if a tank is tempered or not?
Timothy01
03/21/2006, 10:27 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7010536#post7010536 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rich_Lucas
Is there any way to know for sure if a tank is tempered or not?
call the manufacter of the tank and ask them
jay24k
03/21/2006, 11:39 PM
You can use a polarized camera lens. I can't recall off the top of my head but by using two of them, you can tell the difference between tempered and not tempered. Probably not worth it but you could find a pair of 2 for about 25 bucks.
Rich_Lucas
03/22/2006, 12:48 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7011883#post7011883 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jay24k
You can use a polarized camera lens. I can't recall off the top of my head but by using two of them, you can tell the difference between tempered and not tempered. Probably not worth it but you could find a pair of 2 for about 25 bucks.
Hmm may have to check that out. I have a couple friends that are in to photography so I can probably just borrow the lenses from them.
javatech
03/22/2006, 01:25 AM
Look at it through crossed polarizers - tempered glass usually shows a lot of strain bifringence. Get some polaroid material (cheap plastic clip-on shades will work) and view through the glass with one sheet on each side rotated 90 degrees to each other. For instance, clip on one pair to your glasses, hold the other polarizer in front of your light source and rotate it until you get maximum extinction. Now insert the glass in question between the polaroids. Tempered glass will exhibit distinct patterns of dark and light bands or other shapes. You might even get groovy colors. If you can see through the glass edge-on, then it will show a dramatic pattern of colored bands parallel to the faces. If you see no patterns, and light is evenly extinguished as you look through it, then it is not tempered and is pretty well annealed.
Finally, you can examine the glass closely for any brand name etched into it. Examine the edge for any sign of fire polishing. Examine the surface for little dimples where tongs may have indented the glass. Any of these indicate tempering, and you should not try to cut or grind this glass, or you will have a terrible mess.
I can see tempered glass with my polarized sunglasses - those light and dark spots you see on car windows.
Rich_Lucas
03/22/2006, 09:02 AM
Hmmm, yeah I've noticed that just never gave it much thought as to what it was. Have you tried looking at your aquarium thru your sunglasses to see if you could tell?
Fl_seagull
03/22/2006, 10:23 AM
It works but the angle needs to be correct and the sunlight has to be direct not indirect.
I set a known temperred plate on the tank to insure I get the angle correct.
Timothy01
03/22/2006, 10:26 AM
dont know what type of tank it is but for kicks i emailed all glass to find out which panes are tempered and got a reply this morn here it is
If you look on the bottom of the tank for a manufacturing tag and its
green, the tank cannot be drilled at all. If the tag is white only the
base of the aquarium is temepered and not the side or front panels and
can be drilled.
Thank you,
Dorothy
All-Glass Aquarium
800-255-4527
dbaker@central-aquatics.com
tibbs2
03/22/2006, 10:31 AM
I hear if you have the right kind of sunglasses you can also see skull-faced aliens!
alien9168
03/22/2006, 11:06 AM
I shattered a 5g I was drilling for a sump. :(
-alien
Rich_Lucas
03/22/2006, 07:00 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7014130#post7014130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tibbs2
I hear if you have the right kind of sunglasses you can also see skull-faced aliens!
Only if your Rowdy Roddy Piper!
(Isn't that who was in that movie?)
alien9168
03/22/2006, 09:18 PM
What? lol
-alien
Rich_Lucas
03/22/2006, 10:01 PM
It's an old really bad(if I remember right) movie where aliens are taking over the world and pretending to be humans and Rowdy Roddy Piper found these sunglasses that let him see who the aliens were vs who the real humans were. He then proceeded to lay the smack down on the aliens.
Rich_Lucas
03/22/2006, 10:03 PM
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096256/
alien9168
03/23/2006, 05:38 AM
Thanks. lol. I have yet to see the film, and I thought---for a second--that I was in the wrong thread or something. lol :)
-alien
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