Drilled my first aquarium tonight....

[aldrichg9]

Drilled my first aquarium tonight.
Went well.... until it didn't.
Cheap Amazon holesaw worked great.
Felt my toes getting wet so I knew I was about there, then the drill bit caught suddenly and stopped on something. (like sometimes they do when drilling)
Made a crack across the corner (sigh)

On the plus side - it was only a 20 gallon Aqueon.
I'll just go up to Pet Supplies Plus and pick up another for 20 dollars.

Just for grins I put about an inch of water in it and will let it sit overnight to see if it holds water with the crack, but it doesn't matter.
Will toss it anyways.

Anyone else have this happen to them?

Greg

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Drilled my first aquarium tonight.
Went well.... until it didn't.
Cheap Amazon holesaw worked great.
Felt my toes getting wet so I knew I was about there, then the drill bit caught suddenly and stopped on something. (like sometimes they do when drilling)
Made a crack across the corner (sigh)

On the plus side - it was only a 20 gallon Aqueon.
I'll just go up to Pet Supplies Plus and pick up another for 20 dollars.

Just for grins I put about an inch of water in it and will let it see if it holds water with the crack, but it doesn't matter.
Will toss it anyways.

Anyone else have this happen to them?

Greg

Hi Greg, you don't mention whether you checked to make sure it was non-tempered. I have talked to Aqueon twice recently and they are not keeping up with the type of glass they use. I bought a Seapora tank for this very reason. Not willing to gamble. If it was truly tempered, I am surprised it didn't totally shatter.

 

[F i s h y]

Aqueon tanks def are hit and miss right now. Be very careful. To bad it cracked on you. There is something very satisfying about drilling your own tank.

 

[aldrichg9]

Hi Greg, you don't mention whether you checked to make sure it was non-tempered. I have talked to Aqueon twice recently and they are not keeping up with the type of glass they use. I bought a Seapora tank for this very reason. Not willing to gamble. If it was truly tempered, I am surprised it didn't totally shatter.

Yep I checked several times with polarized lenses, in different light too.

 

[aldrichg9]

Aqueon tanks def are hit and miss right now. Be very careful. To bad it cracked on you. There is something very satisfying about drilling your own tank.

Ya I've read where a few folks contacted Aqueon and got info saying glass types can be a mix, but I triple-checked to be sure.
Also, according to their site the 20 gallon doesn't have any tempered glass.

I'm wondering if I went too slow.
The videos I have watched mention ~60 seconds to cut through, but this probably took at least double that.
Drill was turning at maybe 60-100 rpm.
About as slow as I could make my cordless go.

Side note, Fishy65, I see you are in Columbus. Not far from me.

 

[F i s h y]

Ya I've read where a few folks contacted Aqueon and got info saying glass types can be a mix, but I triple-checked to be sure.

I'm wondering if I went too slow.
The videos I have watched mention ~60 seconds to cut through, but this probably took at least double that.
Drill was turning at maybe 60-100 rpm.
About as slow as I could make my cordless go.

Side note, Fishy65, I see you are in Columbus. Not far from me.

Thats true. Columbus indiana.... always open for trading if your ever interested. The tanks ive currently got arent very old so still building stuff out. Building a frag tank now so that i have more to trade

 

[aldrichg9]

Thats true. Columbus indiana.... always open for trading if your ever interested. The tanks ive currently got arent very old so still building stuff out. Building a frag tank now so that i have more to trade

Sounds awesome man, I'm new however.
Been in freshwater off and on for years, now trying to dabble in saltwater.
Staying small for now to build knowledge and have some fun for cheap, with intentions to expand very slowly after our house build is completed.

When I'm ready though I'll keep you in mind!

 

[SPitts6654]

The bit generally catch when you are almost all the way through, but not quite perpendicular so it breaks trough unevenly. You should be able to set the clutch onto one of the lowest settings to keep it from cracking if it catches.

One thing that also helps on thinner tanks is to clamp a support of some sort (2x4 or ply wood) on the backside to support the glass/reduce vibration while you drill it

 

[aldrichg9]

The bit generally catch when you are almost all the way through, but not quite perpendicular so it breaks trough unevenly. You should be able to set the clutch onto one of the lowest settings to keep it from cracking if it catches.

One thing that also helps on thinner tanks is to clamp a support of some sort (2x4 or ply wood) on the backside to support the glass/reduce vibration while you drill it

Interesting. I'm drilling the bottom though, so it's hard to clamp a piece behind.
Wonder what else I can do to achieve the same?

I just went out and tried a couple more holes in the same tank since it can't be unbroken at this point.
The first hole I tried cracked even worse than earlier, but I figured out that I was pushing on the drill more than I first thought I was.
Drilled another hole this time being sure to not push at all, just let the weight of the drill do all the work, and try to find a level where the drill wobbled as little as possible, and it went perfect.

My suggestion for anyone looking to drill a tank would be to drill a scrap piece first to get your technique down.
For me it turns out I turned my tank into a scrap piece and made my technique better afterwards.
I never could do things in the correct order....

 

[highest_tides]

I must of gotten lucky. I drilled a template wood piece, put water in the hole, and went as fast as i could with no pressure.

 

[skyrne_isk]

The bit generally catch when you are almost all the way through, but not quite perpendicular so it breaks trough unevenly. You should be able to set the clutch onto one of the lowest settings to keep it from cracking if it catches.

This is the best advice. Also, use duct or gorilla tape (even packing would work) on the backside of the glass. Will hold the plug in place and keep it from binding the bit when you’re 99% of the way there.

 

[aldrichg9]

This is the best advice. Also, use duct or gorilla tape (even packing would work) on the backside of the glass. Will hold the plug in place and keep it from binding the bit when you’re 99% of the way there.

I had a bit of duct tape on it, but I’m thinking I used downward pressure on the drill even though I didn’t intend to.
When partially broken through I think my down pressure caused the breakage.

 

[F i s h y]

Sounds awesome man, I'm new however.
Been in freshwater off and on for years, now trying to dabble in saltwater.
Staying small for now to build knowledge and have some fun for cheap, with intentions to expand very slowly after our house build is completed.

When I'm ready though I'll keep you in mind!

I'm building a house to lol... my first ever fish room! All my setups are temp right now growing stuff out in puddles basically so that i can move them to the much bigger in wall build at the new house.

 

[Cell]

You got 3 other sides to practice on before trying a new tank.

 

[aldrichg9]

I'm building a house to lol... my first ever fish room! All my setups are temp right now growing stuff out in puddles basically so that i can move them to the much bigger in wall build at the new house.

That's kinda where I'm at too.
If this hobby sticks with a small puddle in my office I can more easily justify the expenses to the wife when I want to huge tank and a fish room!

 

[aldrichg9]

You got 3 other sides to practice on before trying a new tank.

Exactly.
I wonder how many holes can be cut before a bit starts to wear out?

 

[skyrne_isk]

Exactly.
I wonder how many holes can be cut before a bit starts to wear out?

A good number. I've got a 1" saw that has done probably a dozen or so over nearly as many years.

 

[skyrne_isk]

I had a bit of duct tape on it, but I’m thinking I used downward pressure on the drill even though I didn’t intend to.
When partially broken through I think my down pressure caused the breakage.

I typically entirely tape the opposite side you are drilling from. Keeps your well lubed with water as well when you start to go through. And as opposed to "drilling" like with a bit or hole saw, think of it as grinding a hole - it's probably a more accurate description. I typically apply almost no pressure - let the weight of the drill handle that. The goal is to keep the initial "bite" of the bit tight - it will definitely want to wobble unless you are on a press or have a brand new drill. Get your initial ring made into the glass without the bit wandering on you and it should help improve your quality as well. HTH

 

[aldrichg9]

I’m sure now that I was applying some pressure that caused the breakage.
Just got done drilling a new 20g and it went fine, aside from taking a while because I’ve now drilled 6 total holes including the practice on scrap.
This cheap bit loses its diamond participles quickly I think.

 

[fish farmer]

I've drilled a few small tanks, I go super slow, like take 5 minutes to drill the hole, no pressure. I use a template for the hole taped on the top, use water for cooling. Usually when I get it to bust through an edge is when I really take my time.

I've heard the small tanks like this are more prone to break.