almost ready to give up tired of breaking tanks

Hey, just to let you know thin glassed tanks are the easiest to break. Very few people can drill 10s, 20s and the like.

 

Under my 55g I have a 20 gallon long, I was only able to get it to fit after cutting out a back support, cutting this out had no effect on the integrity of my stand either, im pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

why not buy a pre-drilled tank from LFS? much more convenient IMO.

 

I kinda thought about cutting my stand to get a tank in only problem is that even if I did that I would still only have 10 in of width to work with so I would still have to get something made.

 

The drilling really isn't the problem I have had. I broke one tank drillng. The other 2 broke after installation. It just such a tight fit and with the weight of the water and the vibrations of the motor. I think the tanks are just 2 thin to have that kind of pressure on them. These things are so cheap I'm not sure I would even trust hob equipment on them. The one aqueon seemed like it would work. Just to thick of a rim.

 

My stand only had 10 inches or so too, i cut the lip out and the back of the sump is hanging off the stand by about an inch and a half.

 

could always build ya a stand for a 90, same footprint as the 55 except it's 18" wide instead of 12"
That will give you plenty of room for a 20L sump and the lumber will only cost about the same as the 3 tanks you already broke

 

I drilled two. I broke one so I had a 66% success rate. They are thin and tend to break when the drill exits the back side.

 

If you make the stand like you want ( i never likes store bought stands anyhow ) you can all most use any size sump you want, i had a 29 gal for a sump under my 55 in my previous build. in fact i still use it as my sump in my new build.

 

You sir are very lucky then. The guys I know that won't even try drilling another one are considered "pros" at drilling by others.

One of these is "limpet" from limpets reef in the DIY youtube vids.