Drilling a fish tank

I know we have quite a few of these already, but one more, for my reassurance won't hurt.

The tank is a 29g FOWLR(trying to make it into a reef tank) and has one fish in it.

I will empty the tank of everything. First take out the rocks then the fish & put them in a 10g tank. I will use some of the water in my tank ow, basically dong a 10g WC.

Empty the tank out the rest of the way, filling 5g buckets with tank water.

Throw out old CC sandbed. It's filled with detritus. Yuck.

Now comes the hard part...drilling.
-With the tank empty, I will mark the place in the glass where I want to drill.(Yes, I've already checked. The walls are not tempered.)
-With the drill on high power, slowly pull the trigger to carefully cut through the glass, making a 1" hole for the bulkhead.

-I will use water and plumber's putty to keep the drill bit cool. Duct tape underneath so the glass doesn't fall & crack the glass below.

-Once this is done, I will add in 30lb of dry aragonite & let settle for 24hrs.
-Put rocks & fish back in once sand settles.

Did I miss anything?

 

Sounds good the duck tape will help prevent cracks from when the bit comes through the bottom as well.

The most important part I think is taking you time at the very end especially, that way you get a nice clean cut through with out any chips.

Also when you add your water try to use a running water supply to really keep the bit cool... if you can not do that then drill for a while empty the water add new water and drill empty add drill empty add... it is a little annoying but works out well and that is how I did all 4 of my holes.

Also you want to make sure the hole is a safe distance away from the edge not to close to cause a chance for a crack. That is all I can think of it is harder then it sounds just take you time.

As far as the high speed thing goes I would just use the slow speed it goes fast enough. The high speed made my jump around on me some so I turned it down and it still worked well.

And another cool tip is when starting the hole don't lay the bit flat and then power the drill... start the drill and go in at a 45 degree angle so that you can control where it start and as in starts to cut in start to lay it flat.

 

Make sure you set the chuck on the drill low!!! and dont push let the drill do the work....

 

Hobby stores sell glass cutting lube. You can squirt some of that stuff into the water while you're drilling it. Don't press down hard at all.

 

You get a good plan. Just follow the advise given.

 

Thanks everyone.

Low power on the drill. Spray water on the drill as I go.

I have no hobby store in my town. Maybe like Ace Hardware?

 

Don't forget the cold beer. Very important! ;D

 

Glass-holes.com has a great video on doing this. I used the high speed, with the lowest clutch setting in case the bit grabbed. You may also want some hearing protection as it gets quite loud and annoying.

 

Seano, I have cut allot of holes, I cut 9 of them in my tank alone. I have also done it both ways, with running water and a puddle and running works best becasue it keep the glass dust from clogging the bit. Also i really don't think you need any glass cutting lube, I have never even heard of it, not to say it doesn't exist though.

Another thing is to have someone hold a small piece of 2x4 under were your cutting, it helps keep the chipping down and also helps support the glass so it doesn't bend and break. its up to you but I have found this the best way to do it.

Good luck!

 

Thanks. I'll try the 2X4 trick, along with a pair of headphones.

haha. How did I?