They said it was easy...

[JB33t]

I have 2 tanks to drill, used my refugium tank as a practice for my first time drilling a tank before I went on the DT, well I had my dad do the first hole. Figured he would probably do better since he has cut tile. Well it cracked, it’s not tempered glass. He went too fast the hole took him 30 ish seconds and he probably applied pressure. So I said okay perfect we have this as practice tank for my DT that I have to do 3 holes on. So I drilled 2 holes my self they took a long dang time I made sure to take my time and not go too fast. He told me to hurry up, then I reminded him what happened.

it was suggested to me to just take it to the local glass shop and have them drill it. Eh I think I’ve got this

 

[AquaLifeStudio]

Did you use a hole cutter that was diamond tipped? Were you using a template to hold the hole saw steady?

 

[JB33t]

Did you use a hole cutter that was diamond tipped? Were you using a template to hold the hole saw steady?

Yes i had a template and a diamond drilled bit

 

[zalick]

Sorry. Ugh. Looks like you did it right even with the tape backing....

 

[homer1475]

First hole is definitely what happens when you apply to much pressure.



Ask me how I know.......

 

[polyppal]

Its harder to drill small tanks like 10g vs larger tanks with thicker glass. Go very slow with the drill speed and torque, ensure there's water running in the gap and pulling out the chalky glass powder, dont use much pressure at all and should be fine. It takes me about 4-5 minutes to low speed drill a hole.

You can also put something inside (like a piece of wood) to relieve the pressure on the glass around the hole if its really thin glass like a 10g

 

[JB33t]

First hole is definitely what happens when you apply to much pressure.



Ask me how I know.......

Haha yep hey it’s a learning experience

 

[JB33t]

Its harder to drill small tanks like 10g vs larger tanks with thicker glass. Go very slow with the drill speed and torque, ensure there's water running in the gap and pulling out the chalky glass powder, dont use much pressure at all and should be fine. It takes me about 4-5 minutes to low speed drill a hole.

You can also put something inside (like a piece of wood) to relieve the pressure on the glass around the hole if its really thin glass like a 10g

Good advice thank you

 

[JB33t]

I’ve still gotta do the big tank I’ll probably do it sometime tomorrow. Wish me luck! I’m sure it’ll be fine

 

[JoshH]

You can also put something inside (like a piece of wood) to relieve the pressure on the glass around the hole if its really thin glass like a 10g

Solid advice there, if you have a template clamped on you should be able to clamp a piece of plywood on the opposite side of the hole

 

[zalick]

Ahhh, I missed that the crack was on the practice tank!

All the advice above is great. Very light pressure, low torque.

I like to drill mine horizontally and not downward, with just a trickle of water going down. FWIW

 

[zalick]

Yes i had a template and a diamond drilled bit

Did you use a guide like this? Not sure if necessary but I use one and find it helps.

 

[JB33t]

Did you use a guide like this? Not sure if necessary but I use one and find it helps.

Yep that’s the one I use

 

[JB33t]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/took-me-45-mins-to-drill-one-hole.800951/ here is part 2