The next tank to be drilled is my 46 Gallon Bowfront. I waited to do this last since it was the most expensive tank to replace if we broke it. Even though neither of us was sure if the back glass was tempered or not, today we successfully drilled the tank for ¾” bulkheads.
I will be building a manifold to handle all the equipment using the lessons learned from my 55 gallon
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/di...g-my-55-a.html and 37 gallon
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/di...-manifold.html drilled tank projects.
I have received several PMs from different forums asking how to drill a tank. I believe there are several methods but I pretty much watched RMC drill all of mine, he is the maestro. This time I made a video of him drilling the two holes for the intake and return so others can watch his technique. Two things I noticed that were keys to success were:
1. Go slow; operate the drill at a very slow speed.
2. Keep the bit lubricated; hot parts are a recipe for disaster.
Hopefully, RMC will chime in and offer additonal pointers.
In the first part of the video the return hole is being drilled, then the intake. We had to switch drills towards the end because the battery drained on the first drill. Keep in mind it took longer to drill these holes than the video represents.
http://media.putfile.com/Drilling-a-46-Gallon-Bowfront
I will continue this thread while I build the manifold and put the tank together…….DC