Tank drilling tips and hardware?

[Rickdareefa]

Hey guys getting ready to drill my first tank. Any suggestions on overflow box, good hole cutting bits, or just overall pointers. Not looking for anything too pricey as the tank was something I wasn't able to sell so I thought what the hell I'll make a frag/grow out and plumb it into my 120. Also could use some ideas on the best way to plumb two returns to 1 return pump. Thx

 

[ZapataInc]

Ill be right there learning with you.

 

[bhodges82]

Diamond bit from bulk reef supply worked for me. I put tape on the bottom side of the hole so the piece didn't fall when it was drilled. I also bought a 1/8" sheet of acrylic from Amazon to use as a template, drilled a hole in it and used it so the bit didn't move around in the glass, this also severed as a bowl at first to hold water. Drill on high speed, don't push, let the drill do the work. Ear plugs help.

That was pretty much my experience.

 

[Steve Burton]

Diamond bit from bulk reef supply worked for me. I put tape on the bottom side of the hole so the piece didn't fall when it was drilled. I also bought a 1/8" sheet of acrylic from Amazon to use as a template, drilled a hole in it and used it so the bit didn't move around in the glass, this also severed as a bowl at first to hold water. Drill on high speed, don't push, let the drill do the work. Ear plugs help.

That was pretty much my experience.

Similar, i ordered a cheap glass hole saw from Amazon, used a scrap piece of wood as a template, which also helped hold water in, and laid a towel under the drill site to collect water and plug when it fell. Used a cordless drill, no pressure but the weight if the drill.

 

[lmm1967]

I have 2 different hole saw sizes - both purchased from BRS and each has drilled at least 10 holes.

Like other have said - something to help as a guide. Plywood, 2x4, acrylic - doesn't matter really. As long as you can drill a hole in it very close to the size of the diamond bit. I use wood working clamps to hold it in place.

I always lay the tank on it's side and drill from the inside towards the outside. It's very easy to get a little chipping on the exit side of the hole. You want that to be on the outside of the tank so the bulkhead gaskets have the best surface to seal against.

Go S L O W and use water. Personally I use a slow steady stream of water from the garden hose and I let the weight of the drill be the ONLY pressure on the bit..

Tape on the side that is away from the drill bit so the glass piece doesn't fall and break anything.

Keep the holes at least 1.5 times the size of the hole your drilling apart from each other (If you're drilling a 1" hole - keep the space between the next hole at least 1.5").

 

[lmm1967]

Also could use some ideas on the best way to plumb two returns to 1 return pump. Thx

I've done this a couple times - it works fine as long as you...
- keep the drain lines separate - yes, that means you will have 6 drain lines dropping into your sump (if you're doing a bean animal drain)
- you can only run 1 single return pump that feeds both tanks. You can not "tune" 2 pumps on 2 tanks reliably for a long period of time without having trouble.
- return pump output gets a T fitting. One output goes to tank A, the other goes to Tank B. On each side of the T fitting you need a gate valve to be able to adjust the inbound flow to each tank individually.

 

[Rickdareefa]

Cool thx for the advice! Would you happen to have a pic of how you have the 2 returns connected?

 

[ricky5415]

Make sure that glass side are not tempered. Go slow, run some water while drilling + don’t force it too much. If u are close to Norcross I can help too

 

[lmm1967]

Cool thx for the advice! Would you happen to have a pic of how you have the 2 returns connected?

See the red arrow - that is the return pump that was feeding both tanks. This is during tear down of those tanks so its disconnected on te right side - but - this should give you a visual for what worked for me. Ran for over 2 years with zero issues.

 

[Rickdareefa]

Got it thx man:$