Drilling a Hole in a Glass Aquarium

[@jonpiotrowski3506]

A circular bubble level on the back of the drill,(held on with putty)is helpful in keeping the drill plumb and perpendicular to the glass...great video...thanks

[@colingorrin2867]

Hi there one Question where did you get the rubber dam from and where do you buy it from ok that was 2 questions lol

[@melevsreef]

I borrowed it from a friend, and he didn't remember where he got it from. But you can make one out of Plumbers Putty very quickly.

[@freemansaquatics5326]

This video and many more alowed me to muster up the courage so much so i recorded my very first attempt at this and it was a success ty and hey a running hose works fine and will save a few more bucks. Reguardless ty good Sir

[@maddawgzzzz]

I just keep the hose running on mine the entire time I drill. Love the idea of a little guard to keep water in though.

[@demoney914yo]

Thanks for getting back so fast

[@BALD8BIL]

I enjoy watching your videos right now I have a 55 gallon with a hang on overflow box I have had water overflow about 6 times and I have been there to stop it before it got bad. my next move will be a 75 gallon aquarium with holes in it are find someone to drill the holes for me

[@JosephV0211]

Where did you buy the rubber water dam?

[@scottwhitemyer5501]

great info, i need to try this to cros ventilate a small glass enclosure for a tarantula

[@TheHobbyist412]

Thanks. I will be using this technique when I drill my 40 gallon.

[@StudioReef]

Very nice tutorial :D Thank you for your videos. Thumbs up from here

[@oceanmax9685]

Are there some size tanks that are easier to drill than others? I cracked four 10 gal. tanks, right at the end of the drilling process. I have a 20 gal. that I planned on drilling, which has thicker glass; but, now I don't know if I should try it or not. Thanks for the informative video!

[@melevsreef]

10g aquariums use very thin glass and are prone to cracking. I've drilled 20g, 29g, and 40g aquariums. Thicker glass is less brittle. It's better to take longer to cut through with little-to-no pressure on the glass itself.

[@oceanmax9685]

Ok, slow and steady. I'll give it a shot. Practice makes perfect.....I hope. -Thx

[@mrmarlow]

@@oceanmax9685 You may never see this, but I'm curious if you successfully managed to the 20G?

[@genepierson1728]

Nice lawn. Looks like a professional football field

[@jaymealcay1977]

nice a 40 gallon breeder my next tank build for my spouse what are your plans with the 40 gallon. I would like to see the whole set up from plumbing and the over flow installation :)

[@melevsreef]

I did install an overflow box and plumbed it into a sump. The entire setup was a raffle prize I donated to MACNA in 2012, and you can see two pictures of it on this page. First and last picture specifically. www.melevsreef.com/node/1260 Also, I took pictures of the plumbing and documented it here: www.melevsreef.com/articles/plumb-single-overflow-two-zones

[@jaymealcay1977]

oh nice I see looks great I see you have your own booth to

[@melevsreef]

jayme alcay I run an online business which includes quite a bit of custom acrylic work. When I set up at a tradeshow, that's my booth. www.melevsreef.com/catalog

[@jaymealcay1977]

melevsreef really nice I need a internal overflow box I want one off your page for a 40 g

[@Savario]

melevsreef Hello, just a question about the EZtube frame stand how much weight will it hold? I notice in the pictures that the tank is empty, so was wondering if the frame was just for empty display purposes. Thanks

[@jonpiotrowski3506]

Forgot to mention,when I drilled my 75 gallon,I used a hose to constantly flood the dam of putty around the hole,with a lower “spigot “shaped section of putty funneling the water and glass particles to my running shop vac..This kept cleanup to a easily manageable minimum...

[@cassbelair7636]

Is the rubber dam actually what it’s called? (The blue thing to help seal the water in for drilling the hole) by googling it to try to find one, it’s not showing up. Thx in advance!!

[@melevsreef]

I never did find the source, sorry. It was a kit I borrowed from a friend. You can make a dam with a upper section of a styrofoam cup and some plumbers putty where that rim touches the glass. That’s cheap and works quite well.

[@NanaReefer]

Another winner!

[@GENISIS1TWENTYONE]

Great tutorial

[@dubaiaquaponics844]

Hello and thanks for sharing this educational video. How comfortable did you feel by drilling two hole so close from one another? I just bought a 100G tank and it has an overflow placed pretty much in the middle of the first third of the tank, not aesthetic at all. I would like to plug this hole and drill a new hole closer to the corner/wall. Any recommendations would be welcome. Thanks

[@melevsreef]

I don't have an exact measurement to provide you regarding tensile strength of glass, but maybe such a thing exists on the web. You may be able to google for specifics. For me, it's a common sense decision, I try to drill close-ish to each other, yet leave enough glass between them that the area can retain strength. The bulkheads help reinforce those holes. Basically you'll want about 3" of solid glass between each hole, or more. You can not drill tempered glass, so you do need to know if the panel you plan to drill is tempered or not.

[@dubaiaquaponics844]

melevsreef thanks, great intel :)

[@KR9970-k5f]

I want to drill on a 10 gl tank which has 1/8" thickness. I heard it is not easy to drill on that thickness. But due to the space I only have a 10 gl option. Appreciated if you could advise or post a video on drilling on a 10 gl tank. Thank you

[@melevsreef]

It is very brittle. Take your time, and realize it may not work out (could crack).

[@irishrich2291]

just the video i've been looking for thanks mind if just run this by you , i bought 2nd hand fish tank 52 gallon filled it to check for leaks , when got dark put the light on in tank to find lots of scratches , would it be possible to remove bulkhead seal up holes with glass and move bulkhead to opposite far corner so can flip the tank round back of tank now becomes front , there is not a mark on the back and still has the black paint on from factory and just remove the b. paint ?? if you get me ?👍

[@melevsreef]

Yes, you can definitely flip it to use the back and the front. You can seal the holes with a glass patch (same thickness would be my suggestion), or screwing in a permanent plug into each bulkhead instead. You could even reverse the way the bulkheads are installed so they are more streamlined, instead of sticking out the old end of the tank 2".

[@irishrich2291]

melevsreef mate you're a star even better idea thank you

[@michaelmachadojr9906]

Where can I get the blue rubber water dam? I’ve been looking for one but can’t find one.

[@ericolsen9799]

I will be starting a 60 g. marine innovation tank soon. These tanks have black backgrounds like most nano's. I've noticed that with these tanks grow Corlline algae over the tank in the back with the familiar purple growth. I know it is beneficial on rock but I have never liked it growing in the back panel. I have seen some aquariast build a 3 d background with egg crate,foam,sand and some small rock and build a panel to epoxy on the back. What would you think about just applying foam on the black panel and spreading dry sand on it to create a sandy background for the whole backside. Is this a stupid idea? would the sand be to heavy for the back panel? Any thoughts?

[@melevsreef]

+eric olsen I've seen it done in a few tanks, and in the end this is up to personal taste. I didn't like the final look, and it's even worse if algae has taken hold. My preference is a nice clean back, and I';ll make the time to scrape it clean once a month. If the tank has a black (paint, vinyl, or sign material) background, once cleaned well the corals and aquascape pop against that backdrop. Not unlike how nice a diamond shines against a black velvet background. If any of your background peels away or is nipped away by fish, you'll see the harsh color of the foam product. It may be an eyesore. It also may peel away and float upwards at some point. That's not all that surprising to me.

[@TropicalSunriseTans]

Great vid as always. What speed do you run the drill at?

[@melevsreef]

I start off slowly to get it scored, but then full speed.

[@andrewrodriguez5190]

Do you have any advice for me, Im going to set up my 75 gallon with a glass-holes.com 1500gph over flow kit and I want to use the Bean Animal overflow system. What size plumbing should I run and what other advice could you give me going forward with this project? Ive learned a lot from your channel and I really enjoy your videos by the way!

[@melevsreef]

The overflow box you buy will come with specific holes for the bulkheads. That will be the size plumbing you'll use. You can read the full article about the beanimal drain system here: www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

[@JRenee141]

so unrelated but....that lawn is beautiful 😍 ahaha

[@melainewhite6409]

Hole placement, you put yours in the corner, is this better or worse or the same as in the center? Tape, is this a good idea, bad idea?

[@melevsreef]

I like the overflow in a corner rather than the middle of the back pane. Tape on the underside to hold the glass piece a little longer?

[@krishnaraomantha8899]

how to determine is the glass is tampered or not.......there is no label on my glass!

[@melevsreef]

Google tempered glass and polarized sun glasses. I've heard that mentioned many times to find out what type of glass your tank has, but I've never needed to do it so I don't know the exact details.

[@aaronle2398]

Hi, i have one inch bulkhead, could you tell me what size of the diamond drill should i get?

[@rafyrahman72]

25mm

[@danielulaan]

What is the rubber water dam? I can't find anything by that name on Amazon.

[@melevsreef]

It was part of a kit I borrowed, but you can make a dam with a styrofoam cup and some plumbers putty. Cut the cup on half, throwing away the bottom half. The upper half will make a great collar. Now roll the plumbers putty into a long snake-like shape, and form a circle around the spot you want to drill. Press the styro-collar into the putty, and add about 1/2" of water. It's ready to drill the rest of the way through the glass now. :)

[@mogtrader8]

Where you got that drill bit?

[@salahudinuvaise8269]

thanks for the video

[@robertpowell7616]

Sounds crazy I suppose but I am having trouble finding the bit any suggestions?

[@melevsreef]

You can check glass-holes.com, ebay, or your local fish store.

[@queenbvanity727]

Question where can you get that rubber Dam at can you please let me know thank you

[@melevsreef]

That was something I borrowed from a friend that had a drilling kit in his pile of handy things. You can make a dam out of plumber's putty. Just shape it like a snake, lay it on the glass into a circle and press it into the glass to create a temporary dam.

[@OnTheMapTravel]

So how do you drill tempered glass, then?

[@melevsreef]

You cannot. It must be drilled before it is tempered.

[@OnTheMapTravel]

@@melevsreef k thanks.

[@915Mang]

Nice man!

[@scottmurphy3896]

Brilliant

[@GUYANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]

Where do u live that u have shorts on in Feb?

[@melevsreef]

I filmed this a few years ago, but only found the footage last month. This was shot in September when the mosquitos were annoying.

[@GUYANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]

o ok lol

[@demoney914yo]

what size drill bit is that?

[@melevsreef]

I'm not positive. Usually these bits are in mm size. A 1" bulkhead needs a 1.75" hole. That's about 44mm

[@faithhopeloveislife]

Great tips

[@samyish]

What size hole/bulkhead did you do?

[@melevsreef]

This one was a 1" bulkhead, and the hole size of that bit.... I don't recall. Usually those are measured in millimeters, not something like 1.75" or so.

[@DeeFromBrooklyn]

Nice man. I wish my reef was drilled. Would make so much easier. Not crazy enough to do it with animals in there.... Maybe when upgrade to e comes

[@FARMBOYREEF]

Dee From Brooklyn I am doing a mini series on setting up 2 tank one for each my children. Going to explain and show everything. From start to finish. Should check it out ! I always watch your vids keep up the great work.

[@jhrice]

Finally found the magic search terms for the blue rubber ring. Can be bought here: www.amazon.com/C-R-LAURENCE-Suction-Drilling-Round/dp/B002DVPDGK

[@tunet329]

The bottom couldn’t have been tempered glass

[@melevsreef]

+Darla Neptune Correct.

[@sdqsdq6274]

why dont just drill a hole at the bottom , rather have ugly pipings behind running around

[@melevsreef]

Those were in the bottom of the tank.