Who drills aquariums in NYC?

[kyri]

Wondering if you guys know of a good place to have my tank (untempered glass) drilled?

-kyri

 

[DallasNYC]

I'm sure almost all of the stores listed in the 'NYC Stores' section can get it done for you. I remember calling a bunch of glass places, they all said they could do it, but none would take responsability for the tank if it broke. I ended up buying a diamond bit and doing it myself. Let me know if you decide to go that route and want to borrow the bit.

[ October 08, 2003, 08:46 PM: Message edited by: DallasNYC ]

 

[ISLANDREEFANDFIN]

there was a store in brooklyn called aquarium king who would travel to your home and drill it...the guy was quick and cheap.
u might wana think about him..
ps i drilled my own also.. like dallas said with the bit its pretty easy

 

[FRY]

Aquatic Creations came to house and drill 3 holes and bulkhead for $100 nice guys over there

[ October 08, 2003, 10:04 PM: Message edited by: FRY ]

 

[4angel]

Hay fellas how difficult was the drilling? How about some details, i have never drilled glass do you aplly much pressure to the bit? How did you determine the number of holes to drill? I have two hang on over flows would I drill two holes?

 

[wedfr]

do you have a router? or a drill?

 

[DallasNYC]

The diamond hole saw that you use basically grinds the glass. It doesn't really cut it. So, yes, you go real slow. I have a mag5 return pump and one 1" return can handle it. I put a second hole & return just in case the first one gets clogged or blocked by something.

 

[FRY]

use a wax ring that is used for toilet seal place it over where the hole is going to be drill and press down to stick to glass tape a plastic bag on the other side of hole and fill wax ring with antifreez now drill hole with very light pressure ,make sure you hold drill steady

 

[4angel]

I have two over the tank overflows and getting ready to set up the tank. I was giving this idea a toss. The tank I have is an old tank with 1/2 glass what do you think?

 

[DallasNYC]

I'd go with drilling the tank.. I used to have the over the tank overflows. And I got fed-up with them losing thier siphon and spilling onto the floors. I havn't had a wet floor since.

 

[mgchan]

Dallas >

How is your tank setup? Two drains in the center and returns in the corners?

I'm going up to a 58 gal Oceanic and don't want the built-in overflow because of the space it takes up. I've been agonizing over the HOB overflows or drilling.

Thanks, Mike

 

[DallasNYC]

Mike, I have the two drains over on the right hand side, because that's where the lines enter the refugium below. Then the return is in the middle. I have a closed loop that blows from both corners, so I don't have any circulation issues.

Your solution of 'Two drains in the center and returns in the corners' makes good since too.

 

[4angel]

whats the name of the drill bit and approx how much

 

[DallasNYC]

The bit was like $40.00. I got it from a company called "C.R. Laurence Co., Inc." You are always welcome to burrow my bit. I even have a little jig that I made to help hold the bit in place.

 

[4angel]

Hay thats a great offer D. Im in the process of sanding and finishing my stand (check out the gallery). I will more than likely take you up on that offer in about a couple of weeks.

 

[wedfr]

4angel. It seems you are into the DIY stuffm if you have a router you can get a diamond bit in teh dremel section of homedpot for liek 12 dollars. It has a 1/4" shank unlike most 1/8" dremel bits and you can make a hole anysize you need, Comes out super clean too.

 

[4angel]

Thanks Wedfr but I dont own a router and don’t have much experience with this so please bare with me. I just want to understand, the hole is drilled in the tank and the bulkhead and hose are then connected, the line directed into the sump. How much gurgle noise are we talking here?

 

[wedfr]

ok then forget my suggestion,

the gurgle noise all depends on how you hook it up and how much flow is going through and how far the drop is to the sump.

Check out www.reefcentral.com's DIY section and do a search for Durso or Stockman both of those will quite the noise considerably sometime make it silent

 

[4angel]

Thanks Wedfr I took a look at the post. I understood them to be related to the use of overflows. I thought drilling the tank would eliminate the over hang and in tank overflow.

 

[DallasNYC]

I found that if you go with a hose adapter on the return side. Then you can feed an airline through the bulkhead to help any air escape. The gurgling is just about the same as an overflow (where it uses the stiff air tube) If you get the hose just right you can get it pretty quiet.

If you go the PVC route, you can put a 'tee' in and you can put a durso cap. It's a pvc cap that you put on top (no glue) then drill a hole through both the cap and the pvc tube. Then you twist the cap to get the smallest hole with the least sound. I've got mind to where it is neglegiable.

http://home.nyc.rr.com/dnolty/durso.gif