Chipped glass when drilling for overflow

[Ronnie Burda]

So I was drilling my holes in the side of my brand new Aqueon 120 that is going to be a peninsula tank yesterday. The first hole came out great but not that good on the second one. When the drill broke through the inside of the glass took a decent chunk out around the hole. It’s not to deep of chip but decent size around. It’s a big enough chip that the seal on the bulk head won’t completely cover it. My thought is since that side will be back in the cabinet a inch or two, can I just get another piece of glass cut to fit the inside and seal around the outside edge of the new piece so the bulkhead will seal? And I hoping it will add a little extra strength to that end so the chip won’t cause anymore damage.

 

[flagg37]

You’re probably not going to like to hear this but I’d recommend replacing that piece. Those chips create weak spots and the bigger they are the weaker it makes that piece of glass. Already having a hole in the glass weakens the glass even if it’s cut perfectly. If you were to use a piece of glass on the inside, it would have to be the same thickness and siliconed so that it is taking the full load of the water. In the end it will probably be more work than just replacing that piece.

 

[hotdrop]

You could always drill a bigger hole to remove the damage, that being said the bulkhead fitting should prevent a lot of load from getting there provided you extend past the edge of the damage

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Is it just the way it look in the photo or is that hole really close to the edge?

 

[hotdrop]

Is it just the way it look in the photo or is that hole really close to the edge?

Yeah I think that could be a problem

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Yeah I think that could be a problem

If I'm not mistaken general rule or thumb is 1-1.5 hole diameter from any edge. ?

 

[Greybeard]

Ugh. You probably don't want to hear this.

Seriously. Stop reading.

A little chip out is common, no big deal. IHMO, that's not a little chip.

If you were to patch that, double it up, run the bulkhead through... it might work. Probably, even. Still, you've gotta balance risk vs cost.

Where is this tank going? In a basement? On a concrete floor? With a drain? Sure, go ahead.

Going in your living room, over a plywood subfloor, carpet, with a room below? Finished ceiling, perhaps?

What's a new 120 cost? It's Black Friday... should be deals out there. Balance (another!) new glass box against the cost of repairs to your home should you dump 120 gallons of salt water, rock, sand... not to mention the cost of the animals filling your reef...

I think I'd write it off and try again.

 

[Sailfin11]

You could always drill a bigger hole to remove the damage, that being said the bulkhead fitting should prevent a lot of load from getting there provided you extend past the edge of the damage

This is ABSOLUTELY what you should do. A new $20 drill bit is a lot cheaper than a new tank. If you drilled for 1 inch, I would switch to a 1.5" bulkhead and then just put a reducer on to get to your desired pipe size. Keep us posted on the progress!

 

[Ronnie Burda]

It’s a 1-1/2” bulkhead. It’s 4” from the front glass and around 2” from the top edge.

 

[Sailfin11]

It’s a 1-1/2” bulkhead. It’s 4” from the front glass and around 2” from the top edge.

I would do a 2" bulkhead then with a 75 mm drill bit then. That should work better.

 

[Ross Petersen]

A bit slow joining this conversation... but how do people feel about these chips? The seal extends just beyond the largest clam-shaped chip. Nonetheless, it bugs me as this can lead to tsunamis in the house. Any advice on how to approach this one?

 

[jtl]

A bit slow joining this conversation... but how do people feel about these chips? The seal extends just beyond the largest clam-shaped chip. Nonetheless, it bugs me as this can lead to tsunamis in the house. Any advice on how to approach this one?

You could probably fill the chips with the material they use to repair windshields, you cure the product with a UV light. I have used it and you can actually get it very smooth so the bulkhead seal be able to do its job.