Drilling and CRACK
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Help
Forum Name: EMERGENCY FORUM
Forum Description: If you have an Emergency post here and you should receive a quick reply.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=48752
Printed Date: August 03 2025 at 12:59am
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Topic: Drilling and CRACK
Posted By: Jerrick
Subject: Drilling and CRACK
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 2:18pm
| I just drilled the back of my 36 gallon bowfront that I am going to use for a Frag tank.......well there is a crack that is about an inch long starting at the hole..........I put in the bulk head and as I tightened it I heard a bit of a cracking noise and the crack grew a little........Do You think I could silicone over the crack and it be okay???? It is at the top of the back of the tank so not a ton of pressure on it???? or do I need to get a new piece of glass cut for the back???????? |
Replies:
Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 2:25pm
| New glass IMO. There will still be pressure on the glass and the last thing you wanted is a flooded room and dead coral everywhere. |
Posted By: jwoo
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 2:34pm
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I concur with Ryan. If it were me I wouldn't even mess around with it. Not worth the potential issues down the road. ------------- None at the moment Soon: 72 Gallon Bowfront |
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 2:36pm
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Dang it!!! I do agree with Ryan. I would replace it. ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: Ryan Thompson
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 2:45pm
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Crap! Dion and Justin agree with me.... I better go start some drama somewhere.
 |
Posted By: Jerrick
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 3:32pm
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Crap I thought that is what everyone would say... I filled with water and everything looks okay???? will let it sit a few days and see how it goes. |
Posted By: bik3rinblack
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 3:42pm
so lets try something out here, i want you to bump into the tank, like you would be working over it or a kid would smack and lets see what happens, i would drain it and get the glass, i would not even temp fate, you are asking for an issue to come up! let me know what happens, with what i just said! lol ------------- Matt Snow [email protected] 1-801-413-7844 125 fresh aggressive 90 salt fish only 20 aggressive fresh 30 red ear slider |
Jerrick wrote:Posted By: Corey Price
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 3:58pm
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Accident/flood waiting to happen if you've filled it. Sorry to hear that, but it happens.
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Posted By: ejcatmul
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 5:53pm
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Connect a rigid PVC to the bulkhead and move it a little and see what happens? ------------- "Noob" |
Posted By: Jerrick
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 7:31pm
| Connected pipe and moved it and i could see the crack flexing a little.....the angle of light shifts when I move it back and forth but not spreading......REALLY don't want to tear apart the tank I would most likely make a mess of it and the seems would explode or something knowing my luck.....grrrrrrrr.......what to do......i might leave water in it for a week and see what happens........ |
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 8:10pm
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OK so I get to be the one to say it.........WTH!!! The crack flexes????? Are you married???? Is there any one there that is going to kick your butt when this thing fails at 2am and your fish, water and maybe more is sitting on the floor.
Do you realize how much water 36g is????????? How much damage to the floor, stand, room below is going to suffer????
The glass is broke. It isn't going to matter how much I want it to work for you....It isn't. It might hold water for an hour, a day, heck maybe even a week. BUT IT WILL FAIL!!! Seriously do your self a favor and get a new tank or replace the glass. Its shot. ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 8:58pm
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I can't agree with Dion more. Stop saying, "We'll see what happens." It may not fail for a few months, by that time you are done waiting to see what happens. Get new glass. You can probably get that back piece for a whole lot less than you'd think. ------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Posted By: bik3rinblack
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 9:04pm
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I agree with dion and downhill biker, fix it or pay the price straight up ------------- Matt Snow [email protected] 1-801-413-7844 125 fresh aggressive 90 salt fish only 20 aggressive fresh 30 red ear slider |
Posted By: kody72
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 10:37pm
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Can you maybe drill the hole bigger for a big bulkhead ------------- http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=60612&title=kody72-fishroom" rel="nofollow - KODY72 FISHROOM BUILD 281g DT 187g Rimless Frag ATI PM lighting SRO DSCR-300ext 8013908179 |
Posted By: Corey Price
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 11:30pm
| I wouldn't put any more stress on it. If it does fail, then you're REALLY going to have an emergency. These things happen, like everyone said, at 2 am when you least expect it. |
Posted By: Corey Price
Date Posted: May 06 2011 at 11:31pm
Um, I wouldn't recommend that. Drilling again will definitely make it worse. |
Posted By: Jerrick
Date Posted: May 07 2011 at 11:38am
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Would it be worth tearing apart and re-silicone a new back piece.....or just buy a new tank?.....How hard is it to take the top and bottom plastic rims off, cut out the old glass and put in new? Anyone done this before have any advice? |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: May 07 2011 at 2:18pm
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You have to know glass. Once it has a crack, IT WILL CRACK MORE. IT WILL FAIL. Just a frag tank? Why drill it? Anything will work for a frag tank. Again I ask, Why drill it  The wise advice here is free. Not following the advice is costly. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
|
Posted By: Jerrick
Date Posted: May 07 2011 at 2:32pm
| I was going to have it connected to my main display tank and didn't want to have a siphon to the sump.....better suggestion? |
Posted By: BobC63
Date Posted: May 07 2011 at 2:39pm
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There is a guy in Ogden w/ a 25 gal tank for $30 - probably easier to just replace the tank:
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=15442088&cat=371&lpid=1&search - http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=15442088&cat=371&lpid=1&search =
And, not sure if this is the case, but always remember that you should treat tightening a bulkhead like tightening an oil filter on your car.
Hand tighten, then 1/4 turn with a wrench. Only try more pressure if you fill it and it leaks.
Don't keep tightenening until you can't turn the wrench anymore. That is too tight - and will stress the bulkhead gasket, and possibly crack the glass.
------------- - My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) - * Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 * |
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: May 07 2011 at 2:42pm
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If it were me. I would buy another one and pay a lfs to drill it. If you decide to drill it again yourself take it very slow. Any pressure applied as it goes through will increase the chance of breaking it. 36g tank is built out of very thin glass. The thinner it is the easier to crack. ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: faviasteve
Date Posted: May 07 2011 at 8:04pm
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It's too dangerous to use "as is" IMO. Silicone a piece of patch glass over the hole. 1/4" would be better because it's much stronger that the thin glass. After the silicone has dried, redrill slowly like Dion says. The old hole will be a good guide. Lots of water, slow drill speed and make sure the bit is perpendicular to the glass. If it starts to go crooked, that's when it will bind and crack the glass. Also, put a layer of packing tape on the back side of the glass to prevent chipping when the bit goes through. ------------- Steve Burton Logan, Utah |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: May 08 2011 at 6:30am
Side by side is the easiest and absolutely safest way. A simple siphon can connect the two water bodies so that water pumped into one flows over to the other. Starting a siphon and periodically removing a growing air bubble is also an easy modification.
------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
|
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: May 09 2011 at 9:36am
I would never do this if it were me. Just find a new piece for the whole back pane, or buy a new tank. You can find them cheap. I wouldn't even bother with a patch. ------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Posted By: sanddune600
Date Posted: May 09 2011 at 11:34pm
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I know a guy here in Logan that drills hundreds of tanks for making dart frog habitats I can get you his number if you want someone local to drill it with tons of experience ------------- Andy Jorgensen My number is four three 5 7 six four 8 0 three four |
Posted By: 08TRDOFFROAD
Date Posted: May 14 2011 at 8:25pm
What would you do as a substite of drilling the tank?
An overflow box? DIY pvc?
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Posted By: GaryF
Date Posted: May 15 2011 at 1:59pm
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In aluminum the only way to get a crack to stop spreading is to drill a small hole at the end of the crack. This eliminates the single point at the end where all the pressure is, and increases the area where the pressure is going to be. But then you have to drill the tank again. Better off buying a new tank IMO. ------------- Gary Finnegan |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: May 19 2011 at 9:15am
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In my opinion, this drilling business has gotten out of hand. Before we started drilling tanks we just used aquariums as simple boxes of water. Sure, connecting tanks together is nice. It can be very nice. I started the practice here in Utah with the first RDP Regugium back in 1996, but drilling is much safer on larger tanks with thicker glass. Drilling a hole in a small aquarium is risky, as this thread shows. The glass is so thin that it easily cracks. One of my coral farming tanks is just a 40 gal box with a powerhead to move the water around. This tank is growing SPS coral like crazy. It's using up Alk and Ca so fast I really should use a Ca Reactor. The single powerhead is a $25 Maxijet 1200 modified into a http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=21646 - Poormans Wavemaker . It's simple and it works fantastic. Another alternative to drilling is to place the two tanks on the same level. Pump water from one to the other and use a U tube to siphon water back. That's what I currently have on my Clownfish Nursery. And of course there is the simple DIY overflow box. Maybe I should update and post my old write up of that.  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: 08TRDOFFROAD
Date Posted: May 19 2011 at 1:28pm
Do you have links to the methods you just described, especially the DIY overflow box??????
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Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: May 19 2011 at 7:19pm
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Okay, I've posted the Simple DIY article here: http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=49040 - http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=49040 I don't know what else to say about the other two alternatives. If you want to see them in action feel free to call and come visit. I work from home so you can call and drop by almost anytime. Hey Daniel, could I ask a small favor? When you post, rather than clicking on the Quote button, just write it in the Quick Reply box below the last post or click on the Reply button. Thanks, Mark ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: 08TRDOFFROAD
Date Posted: May 20 2011 at 5:53pm
| No problem! Thanks for the reply and the link! |