Veedubshafer's 150 build.

Never ever glue any of the overflow piped from the adapter or bulkhead up just stick them together you will have to pull them apart sometime.

 

+1 to tangster. i learned this the first time i setup my overflow. glued it all in. was annoying to throw away later on...

 

Too late for that. It's not like they cost more than $5 to make anyway so i'll just make a 3rd one for a spare thats not glued to replace one if I need to in a hurry. I thought of that as I glued them all up. But I doubt i'll have a problem with them ever.......just kidding! Thanks for the advice Roger.

 

Ok, so I got around to working on this tank a little today. First I emptied all the water out that I had it filled up with to make sure there were no leaks. Then I scrubbed the inside down with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and plain old white vinegar. Then I decided to drill one of the drain holes. I was kind of nervous about this and did alot of reading and had decided on how I was going to do it. I made a little dam with plumbers putty around where I wanted to drill. I cut off an old windshield washer fluid jug and sat that below where the hole was going to be to catch the oil and glass after the cut. I filled the dam about 1/2 way or more with some vegetable oil. Instead of using the drill guide method I cocked the drill sideways a bit to get the bit down into the glass a little then slowly brought the drill back up square. The drill I used for this is a variable speed drill and has a little thing on the trigger that you can turn to limit how far you can press the trigger making it impossible to go too fast without knowing it. I adjusted it so the drill only went about 1/4 its max speed. I did this to keep it cooler and figured this isn't like drilling wood where you can rip right through it. So, as I proceeded to drill I am figuring this is going to take quite a while. I never pressed on the drill at all. I just let the weight of the drill and gravity do the work. I was about 2 minutes if that into driling it and I noticed my oil was already starting to drip through the other side! It was no more than 3 minutes to drill the hole. I was really surprised because this tanks glass is pretty thick. I felt the bit and it was barely warm so what I did worked good to keep the bit lubed and cool. Well, heres a couple pics I took. Thanks for looking.

 

You going to drill it for a circulating loop and pump ? I would if you are going with a reef or atlest drill the ens and run one high volume pump to keep a good steady current passing through and then you can use a wave maker and some 1200 maxies to make the currents erratic

 

Yeah, circulationg loop "closed loop" as people are calling it for sure. There will be no pumps or powerheads in my display tank if I can help it.

 

This is gonna be an awesome build VW! I just read the thread for the first time and gotta say I'm impressed with the professional look to your cuts in both the acrylic and the glass.;D
I'm slowly putting together the parts for a display fuge and to drill it but just don't have the sack to do it myself. Nobody in my area will touch it cuz of liability.

 

Hey, thanks for the kind words. I am taking this thing real slow and trying to work in anything I can think of or what folks suggest to me. I have made a few changes in my plans already but my main concern is that I don't want to buy or make anything and then decide on something else.

 

3 minutes a hole 1/2" thick???? If thats the case you are lucky duck. Mine were in the 30 minute range per hole. 7 holes in the back of mine.. Good to see its comming together though, nice update.

 

Yeah, I mean honestly it could have been 5 minutes I guess considering I wasn't timing it LOL. But I really don't think so. I was REALLY surprised that it went so quick. The fact that the cut went so quick and smooth and the bit wasn't hot at all at the end tell me vegetable oil is a good idea. And no worries about contaminating the tank like using antifreeze, ATF or other things found around the garage.