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Dion Richins 
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Joined: April 03 2005
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 Posted: May 07 2011 at 2:42pm |
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If it were me. I would buy another one and pay a lfs to drill it. If you decide to drill it again yourself take it very slow. Any pressure applied as it goes through will increase the chance of breaking it.
36g tank is built out of very thin glass. The thinner it is the easier to crack.
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faviasteve
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Posted: May 07 2011 at 8:04pm |
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It's too dangerous to use "as is" IMO. Silicone a piece of patch glass over the hole. 1/4" would be better because it's much stronger that the thin glass. After the silicone has dried, redrill slowly like Dion says. The old hole will be a good guide. Lots of water, slow drill speed and make sure the bit is perpendicular to the glass. If it starts to go crooked, that's when it will bind and crack the glass. Also, put a layer of packing tape on the back side of the glass to prevent chipping when the bit goes through.
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Steve Burton
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: May 08 2011 at 6:30am |
 Jerrick wrote:
I was going to have it connected to my main display tank and didn't want to have a siphon to the sump.....better suggestion? |
Possibly. Where would you like to place this frag tank in relation to the main tank? Side by side, above or below level? Side by side is the easiest and absolutely safest way. A simple siphon can connect the two water bodies so that water pumped into one flows over to the other. Starting a siphon and periodically removing a growing air bubble is also an easy modification.
BobC63 wrote:
And, not sure if this is the case, but always remember that you
should treat tightening a bulkhead like tightening an oil filter on your
car -> Hand tighten, then 1/4 turn with a wrench -> Only try more pressure if you fill it and it leaks.
Don't keep tightenening until you can't turn the wrench anymore.
That is too tight - and will stress the bulkhead gasket, and possibly
crack the glass. |
This is the most important advice ever. 
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downhill_biker
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Posted: May 09 2011 at 9:36am |
faviasteve wrote:
It's too dangerous to use "as is" IMO.  Silicone a piece of patch glass over the hole.  1/4" would be better because it's much stronger that the thin glass.  After the silicone has dried, redrill slowly like Dion says.  The old hole will be a good guide.  Lots of water, slow drill speed and make sure the bit is perpendicular to the glass.  If it starts to go crooked, that's when it will bind and crack the glass.  Also, put a layer of packing tape on the back side of the glass to prevent chipping when the bit goes through. |
I would never do this if it were me. Just find a new piece for the whole back pane, or buy a new tank. You can find them cheap. I wouldn't even bother with a patch.
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Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum.
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sanddune600
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Posted: May 09 2011 at 11:34pm |
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I know a guy here in Logan that drills hundreds of tanks for making dart frog habitats I can get you his number if you want someone local to drill it with tons of experience
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Andy Jorgensen
My number is four three 5 7 six four 8 0 three four
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08TRDOFFROAD
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Posted: May 14 2011 at 8:25pm |
Mark Peterson wrote:
You have to know glass.
Once it has a crack, IT WILL CRACK MORE. IT WILL FAIL.
Just a frag tank?
Why drill it?
Anything will work for a frag tank.
Again I ask, Why drill it 
The wise advice here is free. Not following the advice is costly.
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Mark,
What would you do as a substite of drilling the tank?
An overflow box? DIY pvc?
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GaryF
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Posted: May 15 2011 at 1:59pm |
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In aluminum the only way to get a crack to stop spreading is to drill a small hole at the end of the crack. This eliminates the single point at the end where all the pressure is, and increases the area where the pressure is going to be. But then you have to drill the tank again. Better off buying a new tank IMO.
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Gary Finnegan
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: May 19 2011 at 9:15am |
In my opinion, this drilling business has gotten out of hand. Before we started drilling tanks we just used aquariums as simple boxes of water. Sure, connecting tanks together is nice. It can be very nice. I started the practice here in Utah with the first RDP Regugium back in 1996, but drilling is much safer on larger tanks with thicker glass. Drilling a hole in a small aquarium is risky, as this thread shows. The glass is so thin that it easily cracks. One of my coral farming tanks is just a 40 gal box with a powerhead to move the water around. This tank is growing SPS coral like crazy. It's using up Alk and Ca so fast I really should use a Ca Reactor. The single powerhead is a $25 Maxijet 1200 modified into a Poormans Wavemaker. It's simple and it works fantastic. Another alternative to drilling is to place the two tanks on the same level. Pump water from one to the other and use a U tube to siphon water back. That's what I currently have on my Clownfish Nursery. And of course there is the simple DIY overflow box. Maybe I should update and post my old write up of that. 
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08TRDOFFROAD
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Posted: May 19 2011 at 1:28pm |
Mark Peterson wrote:
In my opinion, this drilling business has gotten out of hand. Before we started drilling tanks we just used aquariums as simple boxes of water. Sure, connecting tanks together is nice. It can be very nice. I started the practice here in Utah with the first RDP Regugium back in 1996, but drilling is much safer on larger tanks with thicker glass. Drilling a hole in a small aquarium is risky, as this thread shows. The glass is so thin that it easily cracks.
One of my coral farming tanks is just a 40 gal box with a powerhead to move the water around. This tank is growing SPS coral like crazy. It's using up Alk and Ca so fast I really should use a Ca Reactor. The single powerhead is a $25 Maxijet 1200 modified into a Poormans Wavemaker. It's simple and it works fantastic.
Another alternative to drilling is to place the two tanks on the same level. Pump water from one to the other and use a U tube to siphon water back. That's what I currently have on my Clownfish Nursery.
And of course there is the simple DIY overflow box. Maybe I should update and post my old write up of that.
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Do you have links to the methods you just described, especially the DIY overflow box??????
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: May 19 2011 at 7:19pm |
Okay, I've posted the Simple DIY article here: http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=49040I don't know what else to say about the other two alternatives. If you want to see them in action feel free to call and come visit. I work from home so you can call and drop by almost anytime. Hey Daniel, could I ask a small favor? When you post, rather than clicking on the Quote button, just write it in the Quick Reply box below the last post or click on the Reply button. Thanks, Mark
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08TRDOFFROAD
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Posted: May 20 2011 at 5:53pm |
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No problem! Thanks for the reply and the link!
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