Can I drill my Eurobrace

[porkchop-rob]

I want to install two gyre pumps in my 40x36 cube tank. The eurobrace is huge, therefore I’d like to drill two holes (where the lineloc nozzles are to pass the cords through.

Is this ok?

is this a no-no?

 

[Gablami]

Tank manufacturers drill wire holes through eurobrace routinely. I would think it would be ok. Beyond that, can’t be more definitive.

 

[porkchop-rob]

Tank manufacturers drill wire holes through eurobrace routinely. I would think it would be ok. Beyond that, can’t be more definitive.

thanks.

anyone know who I could contact for a definitive answer? I purchased the tank used and it was allegedly a “custom” build. I have no idea who the manufacturer was.

 

[Gablami]

How thick is the rim? If it was 1/2” I’d do it myself it it were mine.

I dunno if @Joe Glass Cages gets tired of getting tagged with these questions.

 

[porkchop-rob]

The sides of the tank measure 11mm, the top and bottom panels are 9mm.

 

[porkchop-rob]

Bump

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

How thick is the rim? If it was 1/2” I’d do it myself it it were mine.

I dunno if @Joe Glass Cages gets tired of getting tagged with these questions.

never... keep asking. sorry of the delay.

first, we didn't manufacture this tank so that makes it difficult to offer truly accurate direction. Second, every manufacture makes their tanks to the desired specs upon order. This is adjustment is following initial design. FYI.

with that out of the way, lets talk real. What is the height and thickness of this tank? I have some thoughts but need to know this detail first.

Thanks so much for asking!

 

[porkchop-rob]

Tank is 25" tall overall (23.5" of water when full), approx 40" wide, and 36" deep. The sides of the tank measure 11mm thick, the top and bottom panels are 9mm thick.

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

Tank is 25" tall overall (23.5" of water when full), approx 40" wide, and 36" deep. The sides of the tank measure 11mm thick, the top and bottom panels are 9mm thick.

hmmm. ok so if we plug those dimensions in the thickness calculator shared on another thread you would get 0.647. in our shop we would round that up to 0.75 or 3/4" thick acrylic for the walls and we could use 1/2" for the top and bottom. looks like this builder used 3/8". so lets be careful. remember, euro-bracing is intended to be just that, bracing. if we were to build bracing that was to have holes drilled, build it wider. so looking at your tank picture. I would not do these holes in the top part of the corners. move them over about 3 to 4 inches in on the back and center them front to back. Hope that makes sense. Please know this is a best guess based on the pictures and the information shared. because this tank was purchased second hand, no one knows the original building specs. so be careful.

 

[porkchop-rob]

hmmm....Hope that makes sense. Please know this is a best guess based on the pictures and the information shared. because this tank was purchased second hand, no one knows the original building specs. so be careful.

Thank you for the replies!

The more I look at this tank, the more I lean toward staying on the side of caution.

Guess I need to find a clean way to route the wires around the brace and then "stick it" to the bottom of the brace back to the rear panel.

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

Thank you for the replies!

The more I look at this tank, the more I lean toward staying on the side of caution.

Guess I need to find a clean way to route the wires around the brace and then "stick it" to the bottom of the brace back to the rear panel.

not a bad idea. this is really a beautiful tank you have there!

 

[Gablami]

hmmm. ok so if we plug those dimensions in the thickness calculator shared on another thread you would get 0.647. in our shop we would round that up to 0.75 or 3/4" thick acrylic for the walls and we could use 1/2" for the top and bottom. looks like this builder used 3/8". so lets be careful. remember, euro-bracing is intended to be just that, bracing. if we were to build bracing that was to have holes drilled, build it wider. so looking at your tank picture. I would not do these holes in the top part of the corners. move them over about 3 to 4 inches in on the back and center them front to back. Hope that makes sense. Please know this is a best guess based on the pictures and the information shared. because this tank was purchased second hand, no one knows the original building specs. so be careful.

I completely respect @Joe Glass Cages ’s opinion and I really think he adds a lot to this forum.

In regards to the drilling of the eurobrace, I guess I thought of it like drilling bulkheads on a tank panel. It seems like drilling multiple bulkheads into a panel doesn’t seem to phase tank builders. I don’t even think it factors much into how they built the tank. As we all know, if a tank fails it’s almost always at a seam, not from the actual glass breaking. So my rationale was that as long as you’re not drilling the eurobrace hole close to the seam, it’s like adding a small bulkhead to a tank. And I haven’t heard of that being an issue in terms of tank safety. Maybe because it’s the bracing as opposed to the actual tank panel?