drilling side of a glass tank

Ok, so I am about to give up finding a decent acrylic tank on CL for my refugium and am starting to wonder if I can drill the side of a glass tank without reinforcement.

Plan is to drill 2 holes on the right side of a 55g for 1" bulkhead fittings about 3" up from the bottom.

My second thought is to add a 1/4" sheet of acrylic to the outside of the tank, using UV cure cement or epoxy to fully laminate the sheet to the tank, and drill through them both... which wouldn't be difficult, just not sure I need to.


Anyone here have a side drilled sump made of glass that's been running for a number of years that they are happy with? the last thing I need is to get this tank set up and have the sump fall apart on me.

Also, I don't have the core drill for a 1" bulkhead, so if I'm gonna spend the $100 on it, I may as well make sure it wont blow up on me.

 

couldnt you order arylic sheets and make a 55g? probly could get the materials and 1 hole saw bit for under 100 bucks.. and you could customize it to your exact needs. I know you'll need to get that special glue/bonding agent for it.. just a thought..

 

I have enough acrylic to make a 100g tank... I just doubt my skills

...still... I might just break down and build one.

 

all you need is a table saw, that acrylic glue/bonding agent and make 1 or 2 top braces to keep the sides from bowing.. just a box without a top.. you'll have something to be proud of. lol

 

I dunno... I was looking around Melevs site and RC for tips on making acrylic tanks, and it seemed more involved than what I've done to make acrylic artwork and display cases.

I've actually done a lot of work with acrylic, I just don't know if I trust myself making a larger water tight tank... yet.

I am considering getting a tank from glasscages and modding it myself.... I dunno...

I'm erally interested to hear from anyone who has drilled the side of a standard glass tank. My concern it the side glass is usually thinner than the bottom of a drilled tank... would it hold up?

 

I've never done it but it really doesn't look that complicated. I'm guessing you already know the glass isn't tempered or you wouldn't be planning on drilling it.
Everything I've ever read always said a good dam with plumbers putty, plenty of water to keep it cool and let the hole saw do the work slow and steady.
Have you looked at saws on ebay or gl*******s? Man $100 is to much unless you plan on making a career out of cutting holes in glass. You can get a good diamond bit saw for under 30 that will last at least long enough to cut a dozen holes.;D

 

I work with glass, so any tool I buy for glass will be used again. eventually. I have larger and smaller core drills, just nothing in the 1 1/2" size for a 1" bulkhead

 

Better check who the manufacturer of the tank is. I believe Marineland is the only one that uses tempered glass for ALL panels on their 55s - better safe than sorry. Drilling out the side panel is easy & won't be a problem. Check with glass-holes for the bit - they'll have it for much less than $100.

 

You should be fine because the hole you are drilling is on the side and the tank will not be full in that section anyway.

Therefore less stress on the glass. I drilled the side of my 40 gallon breeder sump and its working fine. Its in the return pump area and I actually am not using the hole presently, it has a bulkhead in it with a ball valve to close it off for now.
No problems with it.

 

I've done it, check out my photo gallery. You just have to make sure the glass is not tempered or you will have a huge mess on your hands. I drilled my 20G when it was full. I just drained it down about 25% and used gaffers tape on the insde of the tank to keep the pulverized glass/sand from getting into the tank water. I used a diamond hole saw, went very slow and used cold water to keep the glass and drill bit cool.
Let me know if you have any questions on it.