tank drilling questions

[glxtrix]

alright I ahve a few questions here I'm thiking of drilling my 55g, but I was wondering if anyone knew off hand if it was alright to do so. Its your standard 55g with the black plastic trim and center brace, the bottom glass has the tempered sticker on it,is the back glass tempered as well? There is no sticker but I guess that doesnt mean it is or isnt. Also I'ld be considering doing a center overflow, is there any draw back to having an over flow with the back glass cut, I know they are usually on the bottom so I didnt know if that would mess up anything? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Lee

 

[rgzfly]

Normally, the back glass isn't tempered. There is no problem making an overflow in the center and having the hole toward the bottom of the back glass. Do this at your own risk and go slow. I've done it a few times and lost a couple of tanks. You never know, if you use plumbers putty around the hole and fill with water, making sure you are square to the glass, you just might get lucky and get through it without breaking. My advice is buy a drilled tank and save yourself the trouble. Its risky.
Richard

 

[siege]

yeah, drilling my own tank has always sounded like a bad job, to me.

 

[sprayin70]

I have drilled a couple using the diamond dremel bits. It wasn't hard just really time consuming.

 

[thekid55]

i also drilled my tank just 3 weeks ago. its very easy but i would practice on a old tank first just oone hole to get a feel. i used thos exact directions that leveldrummer gave you and it worked really good

 

[thekid55]

also you can get diamond hole ssaws cheap online on ebay. i bought 2 for 13.50 shipped from a store called THK diamond tools in hong kong
here is my tank build you can see pics here

 

[rhodan]

if it is a newer standard 55 AGA, all the sides are tempered. i have the question a few months back. when i get back home i will post a copy of an email i have from AGA.

 

[thekid55]

my all glass tank is tempered on the bottom but not the sides

 

[rhodan]

Here is the email I received from All-Glass this past March.

The base of this aquarium is tempered. To figure out if the sides are, just check the manufacturing sticker on the bottom of the tank identifying our company’s product. If the tag is green, more than likely the whole tank is tempered and you should not drill it. If it is a white tag more then only the base of the aquarium is tempered.



Thank you,



Dorothy Baker
Central Aquatics
Customer Service
800-255-4527

I found out later that All-Glass, for the 55gal model only, started using tempered glass for the whole tank in the mid 80's. So if it is a newer All-Glass 55 gallon then odds are all the sides and the bottom are tempered. I heard there is some way of using polarize lenes for a true test. I'm not sure actually how that works but you can google it to learn the method.

HTH

 

[glxtrix]

lol that letter pretty much just said the same thing reguarding tempered sides. I know the tag on my tank is white with red lettering.....I think its red lettering. I have no clue how old the tank is, I bought it used off someone.

 

[justonemoretank]

I have drilled a bunch of tanks without any problems. Havent lost one yet. *knock on wood ... er glass*
I started a long thread on ReefCentral in the DIY section you can look for that. Here is a link
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=603816">http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=603816</a>

I find that you need a lot less water than most people use to keep the glass and bit cool. It only takes about 5 to 10 minutes per hole depending on glass thickness. Just take you time and dont push the drill/bit into the glass tank. Just let it slowly grind away the glass and you will have your hole.
Let me know if I can help any.

 

[glxtrix]

I actually read your thread on RC and was going to contact you about it. Sent you a PM