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cboylan1606

cboylan1606

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Hi all so I’m new to the hobby all together. Due to my 5year old son wanting saltwater fish. We started a 20g nano a few weeks ago but I soon realized I wanted bigger. Ran across a deal on a 75gallon tank so I just picked it up. Now the question is to drill it or not. I know I want to run a sump just lost completely on what all I need to do to get this tank started. Any help would be great
 
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Deltec
Welcome! I say drill it , I just drilled my first tank and it wasn’t too bad . And make sure it’s not tempered glass
856B7B88-5308-4F88-B4C3-56BB03693FF7.jpeg
 
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www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
Easy to drill, but you must confirm that it is not tempered glass. UV sunglasses and a white screen will confirm it for you. I have an extra overflow if you want or need. Send me a DM if wanted. Welcome to R2R and good luck. Be sure to start a build thread for us with lots of pics.
 
Ippyroy said:
Easy to drill, but you must confirm that it is not tempered glass. UV sunglasses and a white screen will confirm it for you. I have an extra overflow if you want or need. Send me a DM if wanted. Welcome to R2R and good luck. Be sure to start a build thread for us with lots of pics.
Click to expand...

so I did check it and it is not tempered. Just not sure where to even start with this. Sumps are stupid expensive. and I don’t want to do anything until I have the correct sump and overflow matched as well as pump. Our 20g is a AIO so starting it was simple
 
It's fairly easy to drill a glass tank. I just did a 30g tank on Fri. I found the 3/4" bulkheads (threaded on both ends) at marine depot for around 5$ each. You'll need a diamond bit hole saw (1 3/8" for a 3/4" bulkhead) from Home Depot or lowes. You'll need to make a ring to hold some water while you drill (I used some modeling clay I found in the wife's craft junk). I used duct tape on the inside (to catch the glass) and outside to help the hole saw to stay in place. Took about 15 min to do 2 holes. Good luck.
 
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cboylan1606 said:
so I did check it and it is not tempered. Just not sure where to even start with this. Sumps are stupid expensive. and I don’t want to do anything until I have the correct sump and overflow matched as well as pump. Our 20g is a AIO so starting it was simple
Click to expand...
40 gallon breeder from Petco $1 per gallon. Tons of info on DIY sump on here. Baffles on EBay for it cheap as well.
 
You will likely get a range of answers because there probably isn't one right answer. Personally I would lean toward running your AIO as an AIO without drilling it to add a sump. When you do decide to drill a tank, know that it is more of grinding the glass than drilling wood. Additionally, take it slow and apply minimal pressure. Probably even slower than you think you should. Good luck with whatever you decide!
 
Peace River said:
You will likely get a range of answers because there probably isn't one right answer. Personally I would lean toward running your AIO as an AIO without drilling it to add a sump. When you do decide to drill a tank, know that it is more of grinding the glass than drilling wood. Additionally, take it slow and apply minimal pressure. Probably even slower than you think you should. Good luck with whatever you decide!
Click to expand...
+1 on going slow... Let the drill do the work. Try and keep the hole saw level on the glass with very little pressure
 
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Peace River said:
You will likely get a range of answers because there probably isn't one right answer. Personally I would lean toward running your AIO as an AIO without drilling it to add a sump. When you do decide to drill a tank, know that it is more of grinding the glass than drilling wood. Additionally, take it slow and apply minimal pressure. Probably even slower than you think you should. Good luck with whatever you decide!
Click to expand...
So I am leaving the AIO as is. I picked up a 75 to start.
 
cboylan1606 said:
So I am leaving the AIO as is. I picked up a 75 to start.
Click to expand...

Are you planning to drill the 75? The good news is that with a 75 the glass is thicker and won't flex like a smaller tank with thinner glass. I have drilled about 30 tanks and IME it is more difficult to drill a 10g than a 75g. Regardless what the specs of the tank says, I still encourage you to use the polarized sunglasses test on any panel that you may choose to drill (don't ask me how I know).

...did I mention that it is important to go sloooowww.
 
cboylan1606 said:
Hi all so I’m new to the hobby all together. Due to my 5year old son wanting saltwater fish. We started a 20g nano a few weeks ago but I soon realized I wanted bigger. Ran across a deal on a 75gallon tank so I just picked it up. Now the question is to drill it or not. I know I want to run a sump just lost completely on what all I need to do to get this tank started. Any help would be great
Click to expand...
Welcome cboylan.
Drill.
The alternative is siphon tube or 2, which is an accident waiting to happen. If the siphon gets air bubbles, and they accumulate they'll break the siphon and your return will be pumping all over the floor and your ato will/may compensate lowering salinity. Of course some of these can be avoided with failsafe, which imo includes drilling.
Drilling just requires following instructions and patience.
You can't decide to drill once the tank is full.
Im in that boat now, so moving up to a slightly bigger tank and drilling!
 
Orphek OR3 reef aquarium LED bar
Peace River said:
Are you planning to drill the 75? The good news is that with a 75 the glass is thicker and won't flex like a smaller tank with thinner glass. I have drilled about 30 tanks and IME it is more difficult to drill a 10g than a 75g. Regardless what the specs of the tank says, I still encourage you to use the polarized sunglasses test on any panel that you may choose to drill (don't ask me how I know).

...did I mention that it is important to go sloooowww.
Click to expand...
I did do the polarized sunglasses test. But I can’t decide if I want to drill or not. I wanted to drill just for the overflow but then thought about just a hang on
 
Welcome!

I used a HOB many moons ago and wouldn't ever do it again personally (I had no luck with it). I had the service department at the LFS I worked at drill the holes for my DIY "overflow" and returns on my 75. I didn't trust myself to do it and I couldn't even bear to watch them do it.

With all the good overflows available now and the videos I have seen on youtube I would 100% give it a shot today. But if you don't think you can do it go with what makes you the most comfortable...check to see what a LFS might charge per hole, in the end it might be worth the investment.
 
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cboylan1606 said:
I did do the polarized sunglasses test. But I can’t decide if I want to drill or not. I wanted to drill just for the overflow but then thought about just a hang on
Click to expand...

IME the risk of a flood drops when you drill the tank. I know some people recommend them, but I have had a couple of bad experiences with overflows.
 
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