125 reef build

[melosu58]

That is one great looking stand. Great workmanship. You probably could make a living doing that. LOL

[Ziggy953]

I'm glad to see you polied the inside as well believe me it is well worth the little bit of time spent on it.

The stand is looking awesome! I am very impressed! For the canopy one suggestion I have is this; hinge it so you can get in from the front instead of the top. If I had it to do over again I would have built mine in such a way that I could lift the top up and open the front. As it is now I have to remove the canopy from the tank to do anything in the tank. That is a pain!!! The next tank we setup will be a built in and I will have access panels from the back for the lighting.

[Bearfan]

Looks great thus far. Very nice.

[cccapt]

Glass Drilling 101
Actually this turned out to be way easier than I thought. Once you get past the fear of the glass breaking when you hear the drill bit grinding thru, you're OK. Total time to drill the hole...5 mins.

I got everything ready. Diamond bit from Ebay ($6), plumbers putty ($1.99) and bulkhead from LFS ($10). I layed the flange where I wanted the hole and just outlined it so I knew where to drill.



I made a dam with the putty and filled it about 1/2 way with water. I also read that using foiled duct tape on the back will help prevent chipping. In my case, it was a waste. The hole didn't go thru exactly straight and when the bit went thru on the one edge first, the tape fell off when all the water drained thru the opening.



Here we are about 1/2 way thru. The water was white from the ground up glass. I mopped up the water but you can still see some of the white glass grindings.



Success!



And the finished hole with the bulkhead in place.



This was really easy and fast. What I did learn was when starting the hole, drill it at the highest speed you can. I used a Craftsman cordless drill and tried going slow at first, but the bit just slid around. I pulled the trigger full speed and even tho it got pretty loud with the grinding noise, the bit caught and away it went. I stopped about 1/2 way to take a pic. I wouldn't do that again either as it was scary restarting the hole. Once you start, keep the drill full speed and go until you are thru the glass. I used virtually no pressure on the drill. I just let it go on it's own.

[Devilishturtles]

I love the way this is turning out so far. Nice pictures, and thanks for sharing

[Ziggy953]

I drilled my 55 a few weeks ago but it took me a lot longer to do it because I was afraid of breaking the glass. It is a nerve racking process!!! You are much more bold then I, I don't think I could drill a brand new tank.

As it appears that is the end of the tank and I don't recall reading what you said you were drilling it for. So what are you drilling for?

[Bearfan]

Thanks for sharing the glass drilling experience. I've thought of doing this on multiple occasions.

[Ziggy953]

Nevermind I just got to looking at the pics more closely and that isn't the new 125 you are drilling. LOL...

Continue on...I will sit quietly and watch.

[austinsdad]

However you build that canopy, thiink of access to as much of the tank as possible. That said, my best access is when I have my canopy completely lifted 12-15" above the tank. I'm not sure how that translates to what you need to do, but reaching in from the top is gonna be a bit more difficult for access to the floor of the tank.

Also, somehow be able to still see with the lights at whatever position the canopy is raised, swung, hinged, etc.

The work is outstanding! Looking great!

[cmor1701d]

Great pics and advice. Keep it going.