Plumbing/Drilling Advice

E

ElijahTurtle

I'm drilling my tank & I've got a couple of questions about plumbing. This is a 1" over flow & a 3/4" return in my 37G tank.
Drilling is done on the back near the top edge & not the bottom. The bottom was tempered. The glass chipped a bit on the inside, will this affect anything? It's near the top edge on the back glass.
I'm starting on the second hole. Any tips to keep this from happening?
Also do I need to drill the fuge? or is there an internal pump that will work without having to drill it too?

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Move slowly,


No pressure on the drill, let the friction of the diamonds do the work. 3-5 mins per hole is not uncommon.

Even tho it may seem it's not making progress it is, it's especially important not to put weight on the drill when you get started 1/3 way in, because you need as much flow of lubricant or water in the hole as possible to reduce heat and friction.


Once you think you're about to break through. I would put a thick piece of masking or Duct tape over the inside of the glass to keep the piece from dropping in the tank and cracking it. It also helps reduce surface tension and prevent internal chips.


Your chips don't look that bad, but to be sure you get a seal, I would take a Q-Tip with Silicone on it, and silicone both sides of the glass and let it set up a bit before tightening down a bulkhead on it.


Brad
 
Thanks, yeah I spent about 15 minutes of actual drilling on that hole. Went through nearly a whole battery charge. Water flowing pretty fast. I'll have to pick up some duct tape, I think I'm out.
 
Also, i see you're using a battery powered drill.

Don't...

Use an electric one so you get more consistent speed, and torque.

Unless you have a really nice 24V Dewalt or something, you're going to get inconsistent speed and torque out of the battery powered motor in the drill...

BD
 
The second hole is much cleaner. I increased the bit speed, & used little or no pressure. Didn't even let the weight of the drill press into it. I also did away with the template I was using & did it freehand, seemed much easier to control that way.

Here's a shot of the second hole. I scratched the glass using the template, so once I got going I just removed the template.
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