Drilling tanks at home

[wrasse]

I'm not sure if this has been covered.....?

I'm planning ahead. I will want to drill holes in some currently unused tanks for pipework.

Can existing tanks be drilled successfully at home?
If not does this mean taking the whole tank to a glazier/ glass supplier for drilling? Or is it better to remove the glass piece that you want drilled?

Has anyone had a go at this themselves?

[Richard B]

I'm pretty sure Mats has done this so he'll be along shortly.

The only thing i'd recommend is that you practice on some scrap panes of glass first (to perfect your technique) - particularly if you can set the test piece up so it is in the same position/orientation as the proper piece will be.

[MatsP]

I've drilled all 11 tanks in my fish-room myself (that's 14 holes, as my latest tank has "double" overflows, plus two holes in older tanks before I got my new ones). Glass thickness on the last 2 holes was 10 mm, others 5, 6 or 8mm.

I use a 30mm diamond tile hole-saw from B&Q - obviously, you should find one the right diameter for whatever pipework you are using. The bit I've been using is about a tenner. And I'm on the same drill bit as when I started out, so they last quite a bit.

You need to have a template for when you start off, as the bit tends to "walk" if you don't have a grove for it. Best template is a piece of perspex or other clear plastic [so you can see where it's going and stuff around the drill site], but don't spend a lot on buying plastic if you happen to have some plywood or some other thin/strong material. If the template is thin, you can attach it with some sturdy tape. If it's thicker, a G-clamp is probably better - I use a bit of wood for the other side, to make sure the clamp isn't too hard against the glass.

I use a battery powered drill/driver at high speed (about 1000 rpm).

And you need to supply water for cooling. I use a spray-bottle (like what you use for pot-plants and such).

I've used a bit of sticky tape to hold the "middle of the hole" bit in place when I get through - otherwise you have a 25mm diameter [in my case] piece of glass falling around in the tank [assuming you drill from the outside].

Talking of drilling from outside/inside. For BEST results, you should drill from both sides - but this assumes you can match up the position precisely. I don't do that - you get a little tiny bit of splinters off the edge of the hole if yo don't drill from both sides. But as long as you take it easy when you

Take your time, and before you drill your expensive tank, find some "scrap" pieces of glass to practice on. Hint: It's quite nice to have a hole in the glass covers for putting feed in and using as a handle.

--
Mats

[wrasse]

Brilliant Mats, thanks for that. Covers all the questions going on in my head!