Drilling my tank

trackfast

trackfast

Princess Trainer
I just drilled my first tank (Yay!); there's a hairline .5" crack adjacent to the hole. (Boo!) It's a 20G long that'll have a 10G sump underneath. I'm still going to try to use the tank but I realize that I might have to silicone a little bit later.

I think my mistake was trying to rush the end. I started out slowly but wasn't as patient as I should have been. That, and the drill shifted on me a little; either one could have caused the crack.

FYI - I got the glass hole bit from Amazon ($5.87; two day shipping with Prime). If anyone would like to borrow it just PM me. Thanks for your time.
 
I just drilled TDB42's 40B. It was my first time drilling a tank but it went pretty smooth on all three holes. I used a guide that helped a lot to keep the bit from moving around. The guide and bits were from glass-holes. I didn't trust myself to the tilt method. The first one I did was for the glass holes 700gph overflow and it went really good. Same for the first smaller hole for the return. The second hole for the return on the other side of the tank took at least twice as long. Not sure why though. Maybe the bit was getting dull by then. Pictures of the final product are on his build thread under members reef.
 
The hydraulic vibration coming from the plumbing you attach to that bulkhead will cause that crack to grow on 3/8" glass. Might not be apparent but bulkheads place alot of pressure on a glass panel and the hole needs to be clean - no cracks. May be sooner or later but the length of that crack is greater than the thickness of the glass. It's a leak waiting to happen. Tubing over PVC would reduce the vibration and slow the fluid penetration, but for how long do you want to risk it?

It's about $45.00 for another tank that size. If the crack crept and started to leak or caused the glass panel to fail altogether, you will spend much more money on the loss of livestock and whatever tank replacement/water damage done to your house. It's just not worth it.
 
I regretfully have to agree with Skimmo.
I've done quite a bit of glass cutting, stained glass,specifically, and it really doesn't take much pressure or vibrations to have a linear crack run. Silicone may waterproof it, but ultimately will not prevent the crack line from getting longer. JMO
 
Skimmo said:
The hydraulic vibration coming from the plumbing you attach to that bulkhead will cause that crack to grow on 3/8" glass. Might not be apparent but bulkheads place alot of pressure on a glass panel and the hole needs to be clean - no cracks. May be sooner or later but the length of that crack is greater than the thickness of the glass. It's a leak waiting to happen. Tubing over PVC would reduce the vibration and slow the fluid penetration, but for how long do you want to risk it?

It's about $45.00 for another tank that size. If the crack crept and started to leak or caused the glass panel to fail altogether, you will spend much more money on the loss of livestock and whatever tank replacement/water damage done to your house. It's just not worth it.
Click to expand...

"I regretfully have to agree with Skimmo.
I've done quite a bit of glass cutting, stained glass,specifically, and it really doesn't take much pressure or vibrations to have a linear crack run. Silicone may waterproof it, but ultimately will not prevent the crack line from getting longer. JMO"



Thanks for your observations. I got this tank at the $1/G sale so I wasn't too disappointed that it cracked. I'll be better prepared for the next one I drill! :)
 
Victor, I may have an extra 20L that you can have if you want to try it again and I am pretty close to you as well. I will let you know if I decide to use it or not.
 
Thanks. I appreciate that. I think all 20Gs can be drilled; they're not big enough to warrant tempered glass.
 
When I drilled mine I first drilled through a piece of glass for a "template" and clamped that to the tank to hold the bit steady. I also put another piece on the other side of the glass so that when you drill through the hole has support. Got a better finish that way.
 
bluvulture said:
When I drilled mine I first drilled through a piece of glass for a "template" and clamped that to the tank to hold the bit steady. I also put another piece on the other side of the glass so that when you drill through the hole has support. Got a better finish that way.
Click to expand...

Jason,

All the threads you are bumping are 3-6mths old - Instead, how about you make an introduction thread telling us a little about yourself, hobbies, how long you've been in this hobbies/experiences, and current/past set ups. Oh and we love pictures :)
 
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