anyone ever made a glass hole bigger?

sw1tched · 07/29/2010, 12:42 PM

I have a hole for a 1 inch bulkhead but the 1 inch is barely enough to keep up.
I want to drill a hole in teh same spot but make it large enough for a 1.5 inch bulkhead. has anyone ever expanded a hole in glass on an aquarium?
Thanks.

Kengar · 07/29/2010, 01:03 PM

The "trick" is that you need something to secure and center the pilot bit of the hole saw (assuming you use one, which I think people who don't are nuts!

). To do so, use some silicone sealant to attach a piece of acrylic over the existing hole, with the acrylic extending well beyond the edges of the hole. Then just drill through that, with the pilot bit centered in the middle of the hole. The acrylic will hold the hole saw pilot bit properly positioned until the hole saw portion of the saw gets down to the acrylic and then the glass, then cuts on through. Once you've cut the whole, you can use a razor (or dental floss even) to cut or slice through the silcone, remove the remaining acrylic, and then remove the remaining silicone.

Kapish???

RichConley · 07/29/2010, 01:05 PM

Or you can use a dremel with a diamond wheel.

How much water are you moving? a 1" bulkhead properly set up can move 1000+gph.

Kengar · 07/29/2010, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichConley

Or you can use a dremel with a diamond wheel.

Hammers work well, too!

sw1tched · 07/29/2010, 06:49 PM

Makes sense. I must be one of those nuts, cuz I've never been lucky enough to have a diamond bit with a center hole. I've just gotten used to drilling without.

right now I have a mag 9.5 as a return pump and the 1 inch has a hard time keeping up.
The overflows are "megaflows" and their built into the tank. Im not worried about them overflowing because if the water ever rises, the overflows go full siphon and suck the water down. I'm just thinking about noise.

tried a hammer once... but then the hole was too big and I couldn't find a bulkhead to fit the odd shape. big hassle.

jesserettele · 07/29/2010, 07:27 PM

go to this link for a video http://reefercentral.com/Videos.html

watch the "install video" that shows how to use a hole template in the beginning.

The freehand version is what they show in the glass drilling video which..........

chilwil84 · 07/29/2010, 08:18 PM

i think rockler sells an arbor for hole saws that use the smaller one for the pilot

Kengar · 07/29/2010, 08:21 PM

i'm impressed!

tozzi · 07/29/2010, 08:37 PM

Use a durse style standpipe to quiet it down instead of messin wit the bulkheads. You said "overflows" so im guessing you have 2. I had 2- 1" bulkheads on my 125 and ran a mag 12 wide open with no trouble at all, i could of easily ran a bigger pump. A normal 1" drain easily handles 600 gal an hr. Id say somethin is wrong with your setup or the standpipes or somethin. A mag 9.5 is only 950 gph. By the time you figure in headloss and all you prob only have 6 - 800 gph goin to the dt. So 2- 1" drains should handle that no prob

sw1tched · 07/31/2010, 03:29 PM

I have 2 mag 9.5s and I have the megaflow overflow boxes in my 210.
apparently the bottom is tempered so I'll have to figure out another solution since drilling the glass isnt an option. I would have preferred to drill another hole for a 1 inch bulkhead so I could run 1 in full siphon and the other could take the extra, but I cant do that either.

shifty51008 · 07/31/2010, 03:57 PM

why not just throttle back the pumps?

sw1tched · 08/02/2010, 01:02 PM

some would say that restricting the pumps will degrade the longevity of the pumps, but I'm not sure if that has ever been proven / dis-proven. Also: I like the flow the mag 9.5s create

Jeff000 · 08/02/2010, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sw1tched

some would say that restricting the pumps will degrade the longevity of the pumps, but I'm not sure if that has ever been proven / dis-proven. Also: I like the flow the mag 9.5s create

Add a 90 degree bend or two into the line.

tozzi · 08/02/2010, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sw1tched

some would say that restricting the pumps will degrade the longevity of the pumps,

I have had mags, ehiems, littlegiant, iwaki, blueline, reeflo, panworld, and more. All of these manufacturers clearly state in the instructions that you can use a ball valve to throttle the pump back with no harm or shortness of life at all. Reeflo actually states that if you throttle their pumps back, it wont have to work as hard and will use less electric. If anyone says it will have a negative effect on the pump they dont know what they're talkin about.

Try a glass holes overflow ? You can easily drill the back or side of the tank. Or if you want one drain with a full syphon.... Just drill a bulkhead in to the back of your overflow below the drain for the megaflow. Or put it in the center of the back wall below the overflows with a strainer on it. This would prob easily take one of the pumps and the other 2 drains will easily take the other.

fragboy94 · 08/02/2010, 10:51 PM

Hmm shot in the dark but on my 72 bow I hav a mag 7 and the over flow was noisy. Then I came across a cheap rio2100 like 675 gph and added it along with my mag7 and instantly my overflow went almost dead silent. And its been like that for over 2 months with no problems so mby more flow would help u

07/29/2010, 12:42 PM	#1
sw1tched Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Omaha NE Posts: 130	anyone ever made a glass hole bigger? I have a hole for a 1 inch bulkhead but the 1 inch is barely enough to keep up. I want to drill a hole in teh same spot but make it large enough for a 1.5 inch bulkhead. has anyone ever expanded a hole in glass on an aquarium? Thanks. __________________ 210g mixed reef display, 40g long sump, Euro-reef G4+ skimmer, Neptune Apex controller, 3 AI SOl LED fixtures. 65g FOWLR display, 40g breeder sump, T5 coralife fixture, ASM G3 skimmer. Current Tank Info: 210 gallon mixed reef, 65 gallon FOWLR

07/29/2010, 01:05 PM	#3
RichConley Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bostonian in Chicago going to DC Posts: 9,908	Or you can use a dremel with a diamond wheel. How much water are you moving? a 1" bulkhead properly set up can move 1000+gph. __________________ NO TANKS!!!

07/29/2010, 06:49 PM	#5
sw1tched Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Omaha NE Posts: 130	Makes sense. I must be one of those nuts, cuz I've never been lucky enough to have a diamond bit with a center hole. I've just gotten used to drilling without. right now I have a mag 9.5 as a return pump and the 1 inch has a hard time keeping up. The overflows are "megaflows" and their built into the tank. Im not worried about them overflowing because if the water ever rises, the overflows go full siphon and suck the water down. I'm just thinking about noise. tried a hammer once... but then the hole was too big and I couldn't find a bulkhead to fit the odd shape. big hassle. __________________ 210g mixed reef display, 40g long sump, Euro-reef G4+ skimmer, Neptune Apex controller, 3 AI SOl LED fixtures. 65g FOWLR display, 40g breeder sump, T5 coralife fixture, ASM G3 skimmer. Current Tank Info: 210 gallon mixed reef, 65 gallon FOWLR

07/29/2010, 07:27 PM	#6
jesserettele Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Spring Branch Posts: 72	go to this link for a video http://reefercentral.com/Videos.html watch the "install video" that shows how to use a hole template in the beginning. The freehand version is what they show in the glass drilling video which.......... __________________ If you want to play you gotta pay. Current Tank Info: 75 display, 75 sump/fuge

07/29/2010, 08:37 PM	#9
tozzi Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: JERSEY Posts: 825	Use a durse style standpipe to quiet it down instead of messin wit the bulkheads. You said "overflows" so im guessing you have 2. I had 2- 1" bulkheads on my 125 and ran a mag 12 wide open with no trouble at all, i could of easily ran a bigger pump. A normal 1" drain easily handles 600 gal an hr. Id say somethin is wrong with your setup or the standpipes or somethin. A mag 9.5 is only 950 gph. By the time you figure in headloss and all you prob only have 6 - 800 gph goin to the dt. So 2- 1" drains should handle that no prob __________________ Your dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare a man whos the best with guns knives his bare hands A man whos been trained to ignore pain ignore weather eat things that would make a billy goat puke Current Tank Info: 215 sps

07/29/2010, 01:03 PM	#2
Kengar Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Gaithersburg, MD (D.C. Metro Area) Posts: 1,970	The "trick" is that you need something to secure and center the pilot bit of the hole saw (assuming you use one, which I think people who don't are nuts! ). To do so, use some silicone sealant to attach a piece of acrylic over the existing hole, with the acrylic extending well beyond the edges of the hole. Then just drill through that, with the pilot bit centered in the middle of the hole. The acrylic will hold the hole saw pilot bit properly positioned until the hole saw portion of the saw gets down to the acrylic and then the glass, then cuts on through. Once you've cut the whole, you can use a razor (or dental floss even) to cut or slice through the silcone, remove the remaining acrylic, and then remove the remaining silicone. Kapish???

07/29/2010, 08:18 PM	#7
chilwil84 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: down the shore Posts: 780	i think rockler sells an arbor for hole saws that use the smaller one for the pilot

07/29/2010, 08:21 PM	#8
Kengar Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Gaithersburg, MD (D.C. Metro Area) Posts: 1,970	i'm impressed!

07/31/2010, 03:29 PM	#10
sw1tched Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Omaha NE Posts: 130	I have 2 mag 9.5s and I have the megaflow overflow boxes in my 210. apparently the bottom is tempered so I'll have to figure out another solution since drilling the glass isnt an option. I would have preferred to drill another hole for a 1 inch bulkhead so I could run 1 in full siphon and the other could take the extra, but I cant do that either. __________________ 210g mixed reef display, 40g long sump, Euro-reef G4+ skimmer, Neptune Apex controller, 3 AI SOl LED fixtures. 65g FOWLR display, 40g breeder sump, T5 coralife fixture, ASM G3 skimmer. Current Tank Info: 210 gallon mixed reef, 65 gallon FOWLR

07/31/2010, 03:57 PM	#11
shifty51008 12-5 Chiefs record Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 10,134	why not just throttle back the pumps?

08/02/2010, 01:02 PM	#12
sw1tched Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Omaha NE Posts: 130	some would say that restricting the pumps will degrade the longevity of the pumps, but I'm not sure if that has ever been proven / dis-proven. Also: I like the flow the mag 9.5s create __________________ 210g mixed reef display, 40g long sump, Euro-reef G4+ skimmer, Neptune Apex controller, 3 AI SOl LED fixtures. 65g FOWLR display, 40g breeder sump, T5 coralife fixture, ASM G3 skimmer. Current Tank Info: 210 gallon mixed reef, 65 gallon FOWLR

08/02/2010, 10:51 PM	#15
fragboy94 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: urbana and chicago. Posts: 1,365	Hmm shot in the dark but on my 72 bow I hav a mag 7 and the over flow was noisy. Then I came across a cheap rio2100 like 675 gph and added it along with my mag7 and instantly my overflow went almost dead silent. And its been like that for over 2 months with no problems so mby more flow would help u __________________ 29 gal jbj fowlr the 180gal cube is no more :( newest project is non reef but my 240sx. sr20 swapping it at the moment. boost! Current Tank Info: too many fish and coral to list now

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