Drilling Tank

[abushr]

Hi everyone,

This may be a crazy question, but here goes anyway....lol...

My friend was asking questions about drilling her tank (don't know who she asked) and was told that if the tank is larger than 20-29 gallons, she can't drill the bottom of the tank, she has to drill the side.....something about the glass on the bottom isn't strong enough to handle the water pressure if you drill it. Is this really true or is someone feeding her a line of BS?

Thanks again!

 

[MrGone]

Its more along the lines that above that tanks tend to have tempered glass on the bottom. I'm not sure if 40 breeders do but I'm pretty sure 55g and larger have tempered bottoms.

 

[ac7av]

I think it depends on the brand too. Its really best before you drill at all to find out about that tank. I’ve herd that even some of the tall tanks and regular 55s have tempered sides. I saw first hand what happened to the front of a 30 +or- tank someone had fresh water in. it was tempered and flew apart like your typical safety glass in a car. A million little pieces of glass, water and fish on the floor in 1 second flat.

 

[Murfman]

This will help you figure out if your glass is tempered or not;

http://www.salt-city.org/showthread.php?t=9542

 

[noworries]

Using the above method the Aqueon 40Breeder I have does not have any tempered glass.

 

[eww]

I believe the 40B's that Petco sells do not have any tempered glass in them at all. At least thats what I've read on here several times. We have one in the garage but haven't done anything with it yet. We were planning on drilling the overflow and closed loop through the bottom though so we could have the tank closer to the wall. No that someone mentions it I wonder if that will effect the strength of the bottom glass. Anyone ever do this and have any problems?

 

[noworries]

Yeah the 40B at Petco are the Aqueon brand. I got mine there a long time ago during their famed $1/gal sale. Just now looking to set it up. For those that don't have polarized sunglasses you can use a polarizing filter for a camera, that's what I did.

 

[burning2nd]

I would just suggest not drilling the bottom... and going for the rear

 

[eww]

I would just suggest not drilling the bottom... and going for the rear

Can I ask why you would suggest not drilling the bottom? Is it a strength thing? Is it because of potential leaks? Have you had a bottom drilled tank that had problems? We have a spacial restriction that would really work better if we can have the tanks back as close to the wall as possible and plumbing out the back moves it 4-6" away if not more.

 

[ac7av]

I would just suggest not drilling the bottom... and going for the rear

+ one more on that.

 

[ac7av]

Can I ask why you would suggest not drilling the bottom? Is it a strength thing? Is it because of potential leaks? Have you had a bottom drilled tank that had problems? We have a spacial restriction that would really work better if we can have the tanks back as close to the wall as possible and plumbing out the back moves it 4-6" away if not more.

Well you could put it on the side and then you could still put it all the way to the wall. I have my tank side drilled and say if it was on the back it only sticks out the side of the tank 2 and 3/4 inch and that’s for an over flow that could easily handle 1500 gallons. I don’t know why you would need it to stick out so far from the back to take up 4 inches or more. I have not scientific reason for my opinion on the side drill vs bottom drill on a tank that was not designed that way other then the thickness of the glass on the bottom and extra weight of the stuff in the tank pushing on the bottom with the hole drilled in it that wasn’t in its original design. I’m sure it could be done with out any problems but it just gives me an uneasy feeling.

 

[mike_dani]

Using the above method the Aqueon 40Breeder I have does not have any tempered glass.

Here is a great link on Aqueon aquariums, click on the catalog specification PDF file.

And the 40B are not tempered.

You can drill them just fine, now with that being said the bottom will become much weaker with a hole in it. I have many with the holes in the bottom but i also get the pink rigid insulation from home depot and cut a piece for the tank to sit on, this will help support the bottom and in the event a rock falls lessen the chance of glass breaking.

 

[Jesse_emel]

i got my overflow kit from glass-holes.com they provide the overflow kit, hole saw and instructions. I've drilled like 8 holes so far with no problems. check em out the kit came in like 4 working days.

 

[thatguy559]

so if its a tempered bottom does that mean you cant drill the sides? i would like to drill my 120 for a closed loop

 

[burning2nd]

sure.... Both reasons One strength.... And two the lower the hole the more the tank will drain when and if it leaks.

I have a AGA RR tank the over flow in the rear is drilled at the bottem but the over flow is sealed... so if the bulk head leaks the tank will only drop about a 1/4 of a inch...

 

[eww]

so if its a tempered bottom does that mean you cant drill the sides? i would like to drill my 120 for a closed loop

No you can not drill tempered glass, period. You will end up with a pile of little glass pieces and no bottom to your tank.

 

[noworries]

so if its a tempered bottom does that mean you cant drill the sides? i would like to drill my 120 for a closed loop

You can drill any pane of glass that is not tempered. So if the bottom is tempered, don't drill. If the sides are NOT tempered, drill away.

 

[jaygalindo]

yup i have drilled a few 40b's recently and there are stickers on the bottom that say bottom is made of tempered glass do not drill. But the side definitely aren't. The best way to make sure if there is no sticker is just call the company that made your tank and ask.

 

[thatguy559]

No you can not drill tempered glass, period. You will end up with a pile of little glass pieces and no bottom to your tank.

i understand that you cant drill tempered glass. my question was if the bottom was tempered what are the chances you can drill the back of the tank.

noworries- thanks for the input. im still worried about drilling my aqueon 120g for a closed loop

 

[eww]

i understand that you cant drill tempered glass. my question was if the bottom was tempered what are the chances you can drill the back of the tank.

Sorry I misunderstood what you were asking :shock: Most tanks are not tempered on the back but like it was mentioned before it would be a good idea to contact the manufacturer and ask them about the construction or use the method with an LCD screen and polarized sun glasses to see if it's tempered. I have seen some tanks recently in a LFS that were labeled as all the glass is tempered and you can't drill any panels at all.