Used tank question

[SallyWho]

Either I'm asking the wrong questions, or Google has no clue what I'm talking about! Are tanks that are pre-drilled, commonly called "reef ready," generally tempered glass on the non-drilled panels? For example, a 120g with a corner overflow- would its back panel probably be tempered, or does that depend entirely on the manufacturer? And can the holes in the bottom be plugged somehow if I wanted to drill the back for a bean animal overflow? Is that even safe?

I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a used 120 that I can drill for BA, and there's a reef-ready one for sale about 1.5hrs away, which is a bit of a drive just to check if the back panel is tempered- and I'm not so sure I could trust the evaluation to a motivated seller. They might tell me anything I want to hear for the sake of moving that tank. I figured I'd ask to see if anyone else has any experience with this. Thanks!

 

[JoshH]

Who's the manufacturer of the tank?

 

[SallyWho]

Who's the manufacturer of the tank?

I don't know. It's posted on FB Marketplace, and I didn't want to message the seller until I'd seen if anyone on here knew anything definitive. I always feel bad for asking lots of detailed questions, finding out it won't work, and then feeling I've wasted their time! But if that's the only way to tell if the back panel might be tempered, I could ask if the seller knows who made the tank.

 

[JoshH]

It would be the quickest way of finding out. Without seeing the tank in person there are very few ways of knowing if it's tempered or not. Knowing who made it is the best way to getting your answer. And honestly if a seller isn't willing to post the manufacturer of the tank in the info when selling they should expect a few questions oh and to answer your question, typically pre drilled tanks with corner or center overflows are called "reef ready" tanks.

 

[SallyWho]

Yeah, there's really not much info at all! It'd be quite the drive just to go look at it, so I hope the seller can answer those questions for me.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/307097803126993/

 

[ChrisRD]

I don't know about other manufacturers, but I have drilled quite a few AGA (now Aqueon) tanks over the years and I don't ever recall a back panel being tempered...only bottoms. I do agree, it would be a good idea to find out who the manufacturer of the tank is.

Another way you can make sure a panel is not tempered before drilling is to view the panel in good lighting with polarized sunglasses. Tempered panels will show a "pattern" while non-tempered panels don't. In this case it doesn't sound like that's an option because of the distance...but maybe something to keep in mind if this deal falls through and you find something more local.