Drilled overflow vs Overflow Boxes

I bought a great lifereef OF box and lived through several outages without any issues. BUT, the option of drilling changes the game. I say drill yourself! Buy some glass at the store or find some scraps and practice first, you won't be disappointed.

 

+1 on the beananimal overflow silent failsafe system, it's what I'm going to use on my new 113 gal tank.

BeanAnimal's Bar and Grill - Silent and Fail-Safe Overflow System

 

How does everyone feel about drilled tanks becoming weaker?

Has anymore any knowledge of a tank breaking due to it's own water pressure? I guess if you drill high enough this isn't a problem.

 

Holy shirt batman, I get my bits from EBay, costs me at the most 25 dollars for a whole set of 3 (3/4", 1" & 1.5") or sometimes even 4 shipped to my door and I have drilled up to 10 holes without replacing the bit.

Drilling a hole in glass is easy, all it takes is some common sense, and a little preparation. All you need is the bit, Drill, as previously mentioned Battery if possible, pipe dope or Pipe putty, water or hose and Duct tape, towels and a small piece of 2x4.

Take some putty and form a 1/2 dam around where you going to cut, leaving at least 1 inch around the edge of the hole and fill with water. tape below where the hole is going to be, nothing fancy but you want enough to hold the glass plug to keep it from falling out and breaking the glass below.

Angle the drill slightly so one edge is cutting and slowly start cutting leaning the drill back upright as the hole is cut. once the drill is standing upright have someone hold the hose so water it running into the dam and continue drilling placing a slight amount of pressure on the drill. Rocking the drill gently helps keep the bit clean of glass dust and it cuts better.

When you feel your getting close to going through you should stop and have someone hold the 2x4 up against the bottom of the glass under the hole. Only then should you continue drilling this helps keep the plug from breaking out the sounding glass and helps keep the hole smooth along the edges. carefully remove the tape and the plug and take the dam off. I then hose off the tank and clean out the inside making sure there is no glass chips anywhere.

I have drill at least 8 tanks for others in the last 2 years not including my 3 and have never broken a tank using this method and the bits I mentioned above.

 

neve heard of them getting weaker, but you do need to leave at lease double the size of the hole your drilling between the hole edge and the edge of the glass. for instance if your drilling a 1" hole is should be 2" for the edge of the glass.

 

And at least 1.5-2 times the diameter of the hole away from the edge of another hole

 

ok thanks

 

Damn you guys are good. If I cant find a drilled tank I might buy a cheaper undrilled and do it my self.

 

I really wish I had not read this thread.

 

They do get weaker if you drill too many holes, and too close together.

I've seen a 90g aga back crack from having like 8-10 holes in it for a closed loop, and the overflow. It cracked after a couple weeks of it being filled.

Drill high,, and toward the corners and you'll be fine. Most folks only need 1-2 holes. You can drill more than that, but the lower you drill, and the closer to the middle of the tank is where you have issues.