Hawaiian Opae Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 Ok so I have heard both sides of the argument. Don't drill 10 gal tanks they will crack during use with a bulk head and also been doing it for years with no problem. Can someone please give me a personal experience story good or bad with drilled 10 gal tanks. Looking at running a shrimp room with sets of 18 10 gal tanks hooked to 55 gal sump. two complete set ups of this. even thought of removing one end of a 10 gal and replacing it with thicker glass so I don't have to worry about bulkhead pressure cracking the glass. Ideas help greatly appreciated. Im using ten gallon tanks because of room restrictions. So larger tanks are not an option. hence tanks hooked to a sump to increase water volume. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpier Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 Where on the tanks did you drill the holes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Opae Posted September 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 Not drilled yet. But looking at drilling on the end. Tanks will be set up long front to back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpier Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 Personally I wouldn't do this due to having thicker tanks eventually fracturing and leaking at the drilled site. But if your going to drill then near the top is the better location. I've been told that no matter how good you are or how great your drill bit is there will be microscopic fractures in the glass that can result in breakage. Holes at or near the bottom endures the most amount of stress and are prone to leaks. What brand of tanks are you looking to get? Why bulkheads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Opae Posted September 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 Just looking to set up overflows to link all tanks to a common sump. Dont know if I trust syphon overflows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGlassBox Posted October 8, 2016 Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 First of all, I've no experience in drilling 10 gallons. But I've drilled a few 40 gallon tanks with no issues. And salt water folks drill them all the time. Mostly on the bottom... But larger tanks have thicker glass. Second of all, when you go into a pet shop, all the tanks are drilled so the same water runs through them all and through the same filter. If memory serves, aren't they 10 gallon tanks right? Or maybe they're 15G... 15s do have a little thicker glass than 10's.... Send off an email to the folks at http://www.glass-holes.com/main.sc Or call them at (949) 422-7416. I'll bet they'll know whether the glass is too thin or not. It's what they do for a living and they sell all the stuff to do it. If you do try, make sure you use a template. Just drill a hole in a piece of something about 1/4" thick (I use a piece of mdf). And duct tape it to the aquarium. If you don't, you chance the bit skipping all over the glass, and, well, it won't look pretty. Try to keep the drill as vertically level as possible, and apply *no* pressure. Just let the bit do the work. Use lots of flowing water over the bit to cool it and flush material out of the way. And since you'll be working with water, use a battery powered drill. I picked up a cheap one at Harbor Freight Tools for $20. But yeah, call or e-mail the guys at glass-holes. I'm sure they'll know the answer. Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGlassBox Posted October 8, 2016 Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 Just a question, because I think this is a great idea... But how would you make sure that no baby shrimp escaped through the plumbing and got into another tank? They're so tiny.... Netting? Filter Foam? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Opae Posted October 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 Foam. It would be behind my hnf filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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