glass drilling question

[chriscoli]

I think what he's saying is that if you drill a tank to do your waterchanges, it's still not the same as doing a waterchange by siphoning and cleaning the bottom of the tank.

I try to split the difference. I find that I do more often waterchanges if I can use the plumbing drilled into the tank, but depending on the tank I still have to go in with a siphon occasionally. I have some tanks that have very little mulm, and I rarely vacuum. I have one tank that's got Mustard Spot plecos....I just leave a siphon by that tank so I remember to remove the pile of mulm that accumulates more often. But even then, I don't remove that much water so I still do a bigger waterchange using the drilled PVC in the back of the tank.

 

[lkelly]

but fish poop still at the bottom of tank, yeah i know you change the water often but poop still there or not ?

Much like they do with their children, the experienced aquarist teaches their fish to poop in the drilled toilet hole in the bottom of the tank. A steady system of treats as rewards and maybe a chart on the side of the tank will help.

 

[JLW]

Yes, it's not just removing 25% of water, but which 25%. If you're pulling all the gunk from the gravel, you're removing the dirtiest 25%, which is better than removing 25% via the top. Just using your overflow is no different than using a pitcher to change water -- though easier.

Of course, there's mulm, and there's mulm. Removing the debris left by plecos probably isn't that important -- it's mostly just wood, and very low in nitrogen. Removing the detritus generated by fish eating proteins, on the other hand, is more important.

Of course, if we're feeding our fish fairly well, most of the waste is going to come out as liquid, and they generate very little nutrient bearing solid waste. (That is, their poop is pretty inert).

 

[Hawkman2000]

Pat

Here is a quick video i did and MAB house


https://youtu.be/o1_GJZcjKw0

The force is stronge eith this one.

 

[Pat Kelly]

UPDATE / OR LACK OF AN UPDATE!

Mentioned I might start after the holidays. Well, daughter and family def moving in now.
closing on old house Monday and new house is like 2 months away. So fishroom remodel is dead for now. No room to put stuff while working on room. :beamup:
Grrr.

 

[jonclark96]

No bueno, Pat.

 

[cabinetmkr39]

Just another tidbit Pat. I had a 29 gal I attempted to drill on the short side that was tempered . Needless to say that piece of glass shattered. Out of 15 tanks that I've drilled its the only one that did that.

 

[chriscoli]

sorry, Pat.

 

[FishEggs]

Fish are friends not family. You're a good father.

 

[Termato]

I didn't see anyone else mention this yet, and I'm sure most of you already know this, but I have to at least say it. The most important fact about drilling into glass, in my opinion, is to have water running on where the drill is contacting the glass. Or be drilling submerged. This is to reduce the friction the drill will create when cutting the glass.

If you don't run water, you run a very high risk of cracking the glass. What happens is the heat causes one part of the glass to almost melt while an adjacent molecule may still be at room temperature. The glass' COE rating (coefficient of expansion) or in other words, a measurement of how well the glass deals with heat gradients, will determine how easily it will crack. Even with a very low COE rating, like pyrex, I'd still highly recommend having water running on it.

It seems like you have everything else in order! Good luck when you get a chance to actually do it!

 

[leisure_man]

The most important thing about drilling glass is the 'Right Tool'.
This 'puppy' drills everything down to a 5 gallon tank without issue.
You just need a wax ring to keep the lube in place. As for the tripod drill, you can get it from Jehmco.