getting glass drilled??

[arizona reefer]

ok i wanna get the glass drilled on my tank. it is a 125 gallon long tank (72,18,22). i hear that you can not get tempered glass drilled, so how do i find out if my tank is tempered. also will a glass shop drill it for me? how big of a hole do i want and how far do i want the hole from the top of my tank?

 

[24 hours? NE!]

Depends on how you want to run the water. If you're going to use regular overflows, get 4 holes drilled as close to the top as you can- 2 towards the middle and 2 on the ends of the back panel. Pick out your bulkheads first and get them drilled to that size. I don't know what size tubing you should use for the size of sump and waterflow you need. Be sure to use the new type of bulkheads that use the same size glass hole but have different sized fittings for the overflows and the returns.

 

[arizona reefer]

what is the reason for having 4 holes drilled?

 

[fishfreek]

Do you know who made your tank? Tempered panels sometimes have little paper notices saying they are tempered. Most likly if a tank does have tempered glass its only the bottom so drilling the back is ok. If its an all glass aquariums tank then you can go on their website and see if its tempered bottom.

Size the holes based upon the bulkhead you need. For example a 1" PVC bulkhead might require a 1 3/4" hole to be drilled. SO first figure out what size plumbing your going to be putting thru the tank and then get the proper bulkhead for that and it will say how big a hole you need.

The concept for 4 holes is two returns (the ones on the ends) and two drains (the ones inthe middle). The two drains will provide redundancy for the most part where as the two returns will maximize water flow.

Use at a minimum 1" plumbing for your drains. 1 1/2" plumbing would be better. Size your returns based upon the pump your using.

 

[fishfreek]

Oh and I forgot. Yes a glass shop should be able to drill it for you. I had a glass shop drill a sump of mine once. I found it a ton cheaper than what I have heard others when they talk about how much their LFS charges for a hole.

 

[Clown Monarch]

I doubt it will be tempered - and like ff said it would probably be noted on the glass. Plate glass will crack into shards, tempered glass will shatter into thousands of tiny pieces. I can't think of any benefits to tempered glass as is pertains to a fish tank.

 

[Bearfan]

They use it for bases alot because it's stronger.

 

[fishfreek]

As noted above. Tempered glass is stronger therefor you can build a tank with thinner glass. Since glass is more expensive the thicker it needs to be you can make a tank cheaper by using thinner tempered glass oftentimes.