Drilling glass for power heads?

[chaotic_reefer]

So how would I go about drilling the glass, once I had the right diamond bit hole saw that I'm assuming is used, is this done a lot by anyone at home? I feel like it could damage the integrity of the tank glass as far as holding weight, my plan was to do this on tanks up to about 60 gallons.

This seems like a pretty big change to a glass tank, I don't have anything acrylic.

Does anyone have any info or opinion on this, I've never done it before.

I'd also like to use a spare tank I have and make a built in over flow for it to go down beneath the tank, inside the stand for a sump/refugium, I see a lot of cool tanks that have one back corner sectioned off "obviously silicones off as well" it looks like it's just an overflow behind the black plastic walls people have made, what should I use to add one of those overflow areas, I've never done this before and if I can avoid buying a ready made reef system tank I'd like to, any input/opinions are appreciated, thanks in advance

 

[wilescool]

Well first you have to know wether you even can drill, you have to make sure your tank doesn't have tempered glass, As tempered glass will shatter if you try to drill it, so you could check the manufacturer of your tank, or there are some other tests you could do to find out. As for the bit selecting the correct size of hole is extremely important, as the size is what will determine your flow rate, which is related back to the gph of your pumps, so I would recommend doing some reading on that. Drilling itself is pretty simple once you have the technique down, although the first tank I tried to drill I ended up cracking, but then used every other panel on that tank to practice drilling until I could do it perfectly. Before you drill you want to get some clay/ playdough and make a small pool around where you are going to drill, fill it with water and keep Changing the water as you drill as this will keep the glass cool. There are plenty of helpful YouTube videos you can watch but I think my biggest advice is to practice on something first.

 

[chaotic_reefer]

I feel like I am pretty decent at glass drilling and selecting my bit, only because it occurs often at my job, but I appreciate your input, the tankni had the plan for is currently empty, it's your basic 29 gallon cube you'd find at petco, nothing too special, the label on the "bottom" section of glass, does say "tempered" and I'm gonna go ahead and say it's a good idea to leave it as it is, nevertheless, I can always drill into another side panel of glass right? It doesn't seem to be tempered but I can't find any info that tells me otherwise, the hole I want to make is simply for and overflow, nothing complicated, I'm assuming the overflow would be just as good on the side, as it would be going straight up threw the tank water itself, I'm a bit lost and this is completely new territory for me, I have never had a sump/refugium, but it's something I know I need to get started very soon, thank you for your reply, I'll read some more about it in other blogs and sites, anymore info you may have is seriously appreciated, it's so much easier to ask you guys on this app rather than reading 100 articles that may or may not have the answer I am searching for lol, thanks again m8

 

[coralbandit]

Here is a link on overflows...
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/sumps-tanks-refugiums/overflows.html
I have several reef ready tanks and the mega overflow are a little different then most as they draw from surface mid and bottom of water column...
Here is a link on bits
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/pumps-plumbing/plumbing/glass-drill-bits.html
and a video of how they do it.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/howto-drill-aquariums-and-install-internal-overflow/
I believe they sell bits to match certain bulk heads ,this is pretty important to match up IMO..

Just don't drill near any of the tanks edges leaving a thin weak spot...
Finally a link on the best overflow in many peoples opinion...
http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

 

[dalto]

This video from BRS is a good introduction to overflow options and drilling.

https://youtu.be/q1tAnhIGpgA