Drilling a tank that is already running?

[BilgePump]

I want to drill my 10-gal sunlit reef for an overflow but I do not want to re-scape or transfer the contents of the tank. Is it at all feasible to drain most of the tank and just do it? Or do you figure the likelihood of disaster to be pretty high? There is a link to the tank in my signature.

[jedimasterben]

Drilling a 10g tank usually ends in failure even in the best of scenarios (the glass is too thin and breaks easily, and even if you do drill it successfully, bumping the bulkhead or plumbing can shatter the panel), but having it half full and still attempting to drill it (you'll need to keep the bit cool by running a hose over it) is almost guaranteed to make you have a bad time.

[ManGups]

Most people will say NO NO !!

 

- tank may crack and everthing is on the floor

- glass micro particles in tank

 

Other can elaborate better - I have never drilled a tank and would not go the way of drilling a tank already in use.

[CrazyEyes]

Personally I'd rather tear a tank down and rescape then cleanup saltwater off the floor. Here is my thought, if you have to ask about it then more than likely it's not advisable. I've drilled a couple tanks, most were 1/4" - 1/2", and all were completely empty. I would never even think about drilling a tank with water in it, not just from a unsafe stand point but you will more than likely get glass dust inside the entire tank. Either empty it or don't drill it.

[Beer]

If you don't have much experience with hand tools and drills, I wouldn't recommend it.

Even if you did, I'd still avoid it. As stated above the glass dust is the biggest issue. You end up with some extremly fine particles that will wreak havoc on the livestock.

[gulfsurfer101]

Drilling a tank with livestock in it can be done and there's videos on YouTube, however there are many more ten gallon drilling disaster videos by far than there are of what your trying to do. Your asking for major trouble. Honestly , how difficult can it be to tear down a ten and set it back up.

[BilgePump]

 

Haha, good to know! I want to upgrade to a rimless tank anyways and use mineral mud to plant my 'groves in -so I'll just wait and do it right.

[Veng]

I've drilled 4 10 gallon tanks in my life, and IMHO I'm above average when it comes to "craftsmanship" and such. I've broken 3 of the 4 10 gallons I've tried to carefully drill while they were dry. The 4th 10 gallon, I cracked after it was drilled and installed and I "tweaked" it by putting some stress on the plumbing. I'm not saying you can't drill a 10 gallon, I'm just saying drilling a 10 gallon while wet is INCREDIBLY risky. Given the incredibly cheap price of a 10 gallon, I'd say buy a second 10 gallon, drill it, if you don't break it, then move everything into the drilled 10 gallon. If you do break it (like most people do when trying), then you're not up a shit creek without a paddle.

[DC5]

I drilled a running ACRYLIC tank before, but there is no way in hell I would attempt a 10 gallon, especially not when loaded.

 

It isn't worth it...I wouldn't.

[BilgePump]

I've decided to go with the nano overflow from eshopps. This seems like a good solution for someone who wants to add a sump but doesn't want to re-scape their tank.

[dmasterx1x]

Good choice. The eshopps nano overflow works great.