Drilling rimless 1/2 inch tank

[dfee]

Anybody have any good info on drilling tanks and how close to the edge is too close?
I drilled my rimless 1/2 inch thick glass Deep Blue maybe to close to the top edge. I know of the 1-1.5 of hole diameter rule, but at the last second i decided to move the internal overflow box to raise my water level. So i have two, 2 3/8ths holes about 1.75 from the top edge. Hope i didnt ruin this tank. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[dfee]

I found this on another reef site but can't find anywhere he would have gotten this info.

here are the minimum requirements in regards to distance for drilling glass
x = 1.5 t
y = 4 t
t = glass thickness

measurements are taken from the outer most edge of the hole closest to the edge of the glass.

single hole along side: x from edge
single hole near corner: x from first edge, y from second edge
holes next to each other: x from edge, 4t apart
holes next to each other next to edge: x from first edge, 4t apart, y from second edge

 

[dfee]

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[jrpark22000]

Good luck. I have a 105 with 3 holes that high, but the company tempered the glass afterwards due to the hole locations.

 

[dfee]

Good luck. I have a 105 with 3 holes that high, but the company tempered the glass afterwards due to the hole locations.

Ugh... That doesnt make me feel good


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[jrpark22000]

Ugh... That doesnt make me feel good


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By no means do I know anything about the structural load properties of glass. There may be one or two on the forum who could look up the tables. My tank is overbuilt (miralces) so I can't guess at how much of a safety factor they needed when they decided to temper it. I'd test fill it with water for a bit to test it out, maybe even create larger than expected waves to ensure it'll handle any foreseeable abuse. I abused mine similarly after putting it on wheels to make sure it'd hold.

 

[r33fswagg3r]

Most tanks I have drilled are atleast 2" from any edge. I have drilled 2.5" bulkheads 2" from the edge before with no problems whatsoever. When Reef Savvy built my cube he did the returns 1/2" because he did not feel comfortable with how close the 3/4" bulkhead holes would be to the edge of the glass, that was with the glass being 1/2" thick.

 

[dfee]

Most tanks I have drilled are atleast 2" from any edge. I have drilled 2.5" bulkheads 2" from the edge before with no problems whatsoever. When Reef Savvy built my cube he did the returns 1/2" because he did not feel comfortable with how close the 3/4" bulkhead holes would be to the edge of the glass, that was with the glass being 1/2" thick.

What size holes are they for 2.5 inch bulkheads?


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[r33fswagg3r]

What size holes are they for 2.5 inch bulkheads?


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2 5/8"

 

[dfee]

Anybody else have a similar situation and your tank didn't blow? Or I guess if it did blow that'd help me out too. Obviously I will do a water fill test, but I'm worried something may happen down the road



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[Pfisherman]

I am looking as closely as I can, and it looks like there is very little deflection in the drilling so I believe you to be safe. What are the measurements and rated capacity of this tank?

 

[dfee]

I am looking as closely as I can, and it looks like there is very little deflection in the drilling so I believe you to be safe. What are the measurements and rated capacity of this tank?

The holes are on the 48" pane of glass, 1.75 inches from the top edge. It's a 75 gal. 1/2 thick glass


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[Pfisherman]

By no means do I know anything about the structural load properties of glass. There may be one or two on the forum who could look up the tables. My tank is overbuilt (miralces) so I can't guess at how much of a safety factor they needed when they decided to temper it. I'd test fill it with water for a bit to test it out, maybe even create larger than expected waves to ensure it'll handle any foreseeable abuse. I abused mine similarly after putting it on wheels to make sure it'd hold.

In most circumstances I wouldn't consider wavemaking to be the worst enemy, in a long tank waves are usually longitudinal not transverse, so unless this is a cube I would be most concerned about the deflection of drilling, and the overall deflection of the glass in a fully loaded aquarium. Fill this tank with straight tap water to the maximum water level and get a straight edge. If at the upper most center of your tank you have more than an 1/8th" bow per four feet you will be looking for an accelerated failure.

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The holes are on the 48" pane of glass, 1.75 inches from the top edge. It's a 75 gal. 1/2 thick glass


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Can we get a close-up of the holes?

 

[dfee]

In most circumstances I wouldn't consider wavemaking to be the worst enemy, in a long tank waves are usually longitudinal not transverse, so unless this is a cube I would be most concerned about the deflection of drilling, and the overall deflection of the glass in a fully loaded aquarium. Fill this tank with straight tap water to the maximum water level and get a straight edge. If at the upper most center of your tank you have more than an 1/8th" bow per four feet you will be looking for an accelerated failure.

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Can we get a close-up of the holes?

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[Pfisherman]

Those are pretty nice holes, if you polish them up with a piece of emery cloth you should be a-okay. There isn't to much pressure on the top of a 75, especially with half inch glass. Don't worry, your in the clear.

If your still worried you can always euro brace it.

 

[dfee]

Sounds good. Thanks for the help. I'll post here after I test with water.


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