can a petco 10 gal tank be drilled ?

[hottuna]

Just wondering...thinking of drilling the SIDE or REAR panel not the botttom...any way to know if its tempered without shattering it during drilling ???

[joem1cha3l]

id be willing to bet its not tempered. but its also a 10g tank, so worse comes to worst its only a $10 experiment, right?

[reepher315]

Polarized glasses are suppoed to help determine if something is tempered or not. You will see a pattern in the glass if it is. Or just drill it... If it explodes it was tempered.

[RobinsonFam1]

thin glass is the most difficult to drill. cracks super easy. careful

[RocketEngineer]

Originally Posted by RobinsonFam1

thin glass is the most difficult to drill. cracks super easy. careful

^^^ THATS why.

[OnceTrueFalseBr]

What are you drilling for overflow? Youre gonna lose a lot of space. Space = water volume

10 gallons after sand rocks and equipment will end up only holding 5 or so gallons of water...

[cidbozek]

Worked fine for me, just go slow and don't push. Lasted for two years until I hit the pipe with some force. Then came the spider crack, then the drips, then the panic!

[CaliCal]

have the water hose running and let the drill do the work, don't push it. mines a 20 not a 10 though.

[SGT_York]

I've drilled several with an 80% success rate, 1 in 5 and the glass cracked. (Don't ask me why I helped a guy drill three of these the other two were for my first refugium worked for years) It's just really thin so you may need to try it a time or two before you get it right.

[shermanator]

I'm no expert driller (no problems on a couple 40 breeders), but I've drilled three 10g (Petco $1 per gallon type) and cracked 2 of 3 doing it. I tried to go slow but it seems even the smallest chip leads to a ruined tank. That is using the BRS drill press (and obviously flowing water).

I gave up on my plan for them and decided to get some custom acrylic tanks instead.

[avandss]

ok well i drilled 4 of them, 100 % success

i have drilled over 30 holes at this point, not one crack

just take your time, i often take 10+minutes drill a even the smallest hole

on thin glass you should only use less than the weight of the drill, in other words lift the drill a little not to put to much pressure, also i DUCK tape both sides

[sam75]

drilled one several years back with a drimmel... took a while but worked fine.

[NanoReefWanabe]

yeah i prefer to use a dremel and a tile cutting bit (rotozip style one, carbide) pierce the tank and cut away, very easy and any pressure you put on the glass is going parallel to the glass rather then perpendicular would you be drilling it. i used a wood template, tape and a garden hose, no issues...

[jimmyj7090]

I've drilled several 10Gs without any problems. Unfortuantely most of them ended up getting cracked somewhere down the line when something slightly bumped into the plumbing.

[Nor_Cal_Guy]

Good bit and patience as others have said...better bit, better drilling. Water, water, water to keep it cool.Try making a pool for the bit to drill in, you can buy the donut/puck at a tile store usually to make drilling easier.

[SeanRB]

I just got finished drilling a 10G to replace one that I slightly bumped the pipe causing it to crack. I used a left over 1/4" scrap from one of my sump projects and cut it in (2) 5"x5" squares. I then sandwiched them with silicone and used a couple wood blocks to clamp the glass until the silicone oozed out from both sides. The next day, I simply drilled through the 1/4" , then the 10g then the other 1/4" and it is now a very tough overflow. I use the tank to keep live rock before it goes into my sump

[thejuggernaut]

they are 15 dollars, find out lol. My advice is to start the hole on the inside of the tank. The side you start the hole on is always the cleanest and that will ensure a good seal when you put your bulkhead fitting on. The gasket always goes on the flange side (not the nut side) and you should be good to go!

[hottuna]

Originally Posted by OnceTrueFalseBr

What are you drilling for overflow? Youre gonna lose a lot of space. Space = water volume

10 gallons after sand rocks and equipment will end up only holding 5 or so gallons of water...

10 gal is gonna be a "filter" for a 20 gal...10 gal will contain plenum/jaubert setup and trickle back into the 20 via gravity feed...

[Nor_Cal_Guy]

This is the best drill helper IME:Keeping water on the bit at all times keeps heat down and cracking or splintering to a minimum.
`


http://www.amazon.com/Toolocity-STSC...ntainment+ring

[TreyK]

Originally Posted by Nor_Cal_Guy

This is the best drill helper IME:Keeping water on the bit at all times keeps heat down and cracking or splintering to a minimum.
`


http://www.amazon.com/Toolocity-STSC...ntainment+ring

I just use some plumbers putty. I've drilled a lot of glass this way

[Nor_Cal_Guy]

Originally Posted by TreyK

I just use some plumbers putty. I've drilled a lot of glass this way

I'm a plumber, never thought of that...

[TreyK]

Originally Posted by Nor_Cal_Guy

I'm a plumber, never thought of that...

Haha, I hope you are being facetious!

[NanoReefWanabe]

Originally Posted by hottuna

10 gal is gonna be a "filter" for a 20 gal...10 gal will contain plenum/jaubert setup and trickle back into the 20 via gravity feed...

i hope you are kidding about that…..

that is so 1970's way of running a system…

look into a CPR BAKPAK if you are planing on going the route you mentioned here….

there is no room in this hobby for a plenum system

[sleepydoc]

So would it help to have a piece of wood (or plastic, or whatever) clamped on the back side of the glass when drilling to support it and reduce the risk of chips and cracks?

[OnceTrueFalseBr]

Originally Posted by sleepydoc

So would it help to have a piece of wood (or plastic, or whatever) clamped on the back side of the glass when drilling to support it and reduce the risk of chips and cracks?

I put a piece of wood on the side i was drilling that had a hole drilled out using the same bit for the glass and and a piece of wood on the inside and sandwiched the glass between the pieces of with with a spring loaded clamp making sure to keep the hole in the wood where i needed to drill the glass. i ha dmy brother drill the glass while i used a ketchup squirt bottle filled with warm water and kept a steady stream aimed into the space between the wood and drill bit to keep the glass and bit cool as well as keep glass particles out from under the bit. no cracks, no leaks, no chips.

the trick is go to slow, stead, even with the glass surface and no pressure.