Aquoen tanks

Surfside74 · Mar 19, 2018

Petco is doing the $1 gallon sale again and I am thinking about getting 40 gallon breeder aqueon tank and setting up for SPS. I want to drill the back and add the synergy reef 16" shadow overflow box. Does anyone see a problem drilling this type of tank? Thanks.

Rob

Crabs McJones · Mar 19, 2018

Surfside74 said:
Petco is doing the $1 gallon sale again and I am thinking about getting 40 gallon breeder and setting up for SPS. I want to drill the back and add the synergy reef 16" shadow overflow box. Does anyone see a problem drilling this type of tank? Thanks.

Rob

No problem whatsoever. My current tank is an aqueon 40 breeder. Drilled it no problem

NS Mike D · Mar 19, 2018

from Aqueon's website

Aqueon Glass Aquariums Tempered vs. Non Tempered: Due to glass availability, Central Aquatics may temporarily substitute regular or non-tempered glass panels with tempered glass panels. Anytime a glass substitution is made, a sticker will be adhered to the aquarium bottom as a precaution to the end user. Please Note: Any aquarium that is altered in any way (i.e. - drilled, attempted to be drilled, the center brace removed) by an individual outside of Central Aquatics, will deem the warranty null and void.

check the bottom of the tank for a sticker at Petco t make sure they didn't use tempered on the actual tank you buy

Surfside74 · Mar 19, 2018

NS Mike D said:
from Aqueon's website

Aqueon Glass Aquariums Tempered vs. Non Tempered: Due to glass availability, Central Aquatics may temporarily substitute regular or non-tempered glass panels with tempered glass panels. Anytime a glass substitution is made, a sticker will be adhered to the aquarium bottom as a precaution to the end user. Please Note: Any aquarium that is altered in any way (i.e. - drilled, attempted to be drilled, the center brace removed) by an individual outside of Central Aquatics, will deem the warranty null and void.

check the bottom of the tank for a sticker at Petco t make sure they didn't use tempered on the actual tank you buy

I didnt see any stickers hence my concern

joec · Mar 19, 2018

Aqueon 40 should have no tempered glass but you can verify with laptop computer monitor. Youtube Tempered glass laptop test

Pntbll687 · Mar 19, 2018

It's a bright orange sticker about 2-3 in long. If it's there you can't miss it.

Marineland/Perfecto does the same thing. I work for a distributor that carries both, we usually get a message about glass shortages or any substitutions before hand. Haven't seen anything the last couple of months, you should be good.

Surfside74 · Mar 19, 2018

Ok. Cool. Just need to do it then and not overthink it. Think it will turn out nice but just afraid I will outgrow it too quick. LOL

NS Mike D · Mar 19, 2018

Surfside74 said:
I didnt see any stickers hence my concern

the way I read their notice is the sticker is only for when they use tempered. Otherwise their tanks are made without tempered glass.

Kev311 · Mar 19, 2018

Does that go for the bottom too or is the bottom always going to be tempered?

joec · Mar 19, 2018

Kev311 said:
Does that go for the bottom too or is the bottom always going to be tempered?

There should be no tempered panels on Aqueon 40 breeder,

Water Dog · Mar 19, 2018

Synergy Reef’s Shadow overflow drilling tutorial actually uses an Aqueon 40 breeder in the video...

Saltyanimals · Mar 22, 2018

I’ve drilled a 40b $1 gallon tank myself. 3 holes all gravy. No issues.

JMetaxas · Mar 23, 2018

Not to scare you, but I cracked two 40 gallon breeders doing my first holes.

I initially used a handheld drill and went too slow. Right before it broke through the other side, a crack happened. Twice. I then took out my electric drill and increased the speed dramatically. I practiced about 5 holes on the broken tanks to be confident enough to drill the final 40 gallon breeder.

It was an expensive lesson, but taught me to drill faster. I drilled two holes in my 180 gallon afterward. Yes, I was nervous, but it worked fine.

Solis Reef · Mar 23, 2018

I drill the a 20 gallon that I’m going to be using as my refugium

Wiskey · Mar 23, 2018

I used a junky battery powered drill and chipped my 75 so badly that I had to over drill from 3/4 to 2.5 inches to get the first bulkhead to seal.

In the next couple holes I used a plug in drill with a much higher speed and had no issues.

My new Ryobi drill with Li batteries would have no problem, but make sure you are not using some old 12 volt nicad drill.

Whiskey

Saltyanimals · Mar 24, 2018

I did something very similar as Solis reef did with a template. Drilled 3 holes on the first try ever. Maybe I just got lucky but it was really easy. I think the key is to take your time and not push but let gravity and the bit do the work.