drilling acrylic?

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muffdiv312

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 3, 2010
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bay area
just picked up a new 240 gallon acrylic tank. Now i gotta drill it, but how? I have no idea how to drill acrylic and would like some of your guys tips. i will literally cry if i mess this up.

btw. i am new to mfk and this is my first thread (i keep getting this message from mfk telling me to post something about myself so i'll keep it short sweet and simple. i have been into fish for a long time but now it's getting serious. i just got my 6 dovii from jeff rapps last week and im so excited to get them in their new home.
 
Use a wood bit. Keep it wet to keep down the heat (otherwise the sides will melt on the hot bit), drill from both sides and meet in the middle to keep it from chipping or cracking.
 
oh yeah i have a 55 gal sump so some how some way i gotta connect these two tanks. i was thinking two bulkheads located at the top back corners for the drains and not to sure where to put the inlet. i am more concerned about where and how big i need to drill for the bulkheads, any advice would be great.
 
Use a Bi-metal hole saw and stay at least one diameter away from every edge.
As Modest_Man said don't let it get hot and drill from both sides.
As for how to connect your sump, I'll leave that to someone with more sump experience.
 
Modest_Man;4116906; said:
Use a wood bit. Keep it wet to keep down the heat (otherwise the sides will melt on the hot bit), drill from both sides and meet in the middle to keep it from chipping or cracking.
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Tape out the section to be drilled with painters tape. Wood Bit, as stated above. When drilling keep your speed at about a medium-high, and move SLOW. You have to keep steady as you can and move as slow as you can. Patience is all it really takes. If you go slow enough you wont need water to cool the bit. Slow enough, would be so slow that you don't feel like the bit is even doing anything... but it needs to be spinning fast'ish. Using a press or a bracing your drill somewhat would really help with keeping it steady. Cracks happen when people push the bit too hard or spin it too slow. Melting happens when going too fast and you get heat into the bit.

You can practice on plexi-glass. Its cheap, and if you can cut it without breaking or cracking, then your ready for the real thing.
 
I just drilled my Acrylic sump a couple weeks back. I used a generic Hole Saw kit from Lowes, it worked fine for me. You need to size the overflows based on the amount of GPH your pumps flow.
 
polish;4117625; said:
I just drilled my Acrylic sump a couple weeks back. I used a generic Hole Saw kit from Lowes, it worked fine for me. You need to size the overflows based on the amount of GPH your pumps flow.
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I agree. Use a hole saw kit. That's what we used to drill four holes in the top of our tank. You need to use the right tool for the job. They are not expensive, and will get the job done.

We did not use "wood bits", drill from both sides, nor did we pour water on the drill bit. The fish were already in the tank when we decided to modify our filtration. My husband just drilled through the acrylic. It was a very fast procedure. The biggest problem was me holding a container to catch the acrylic filings before they landed in the tank water. (Of course, I was scared to death that the whole tank would disintegrate, but nothing happened)

One thing you should check out is if drilling your tank voids the warranty on the tank. That is the case with our new tank that we hope to get installed sometime (after the fish room is built).

On installing bulkheads--you need to check the hole size that you will need for whatever bulkhead you are going to use. I just made a stab in the dark about the hole size on our new tank, and I had to have the hole size changed. i.e., the bulkheads for the 1.5" pipe we're using require a 2 3/8" hole. When I ordered our tank, I asked for 2" holes and ended up begging them for bigger holes.
 
I agree with drilling from both sides & meet in the middle. Like said you have to drill @ a slow pace & for thick acrylic you can cut out a couple pieces of sponge the inside diameter of the hole saw, wet them & place them over the arbor inside the hole saw to keep the acrylic cool. Just take your time. No rush & it will come out fine every time.
 
i just drilled the back of my 240 i didnt go from both sides and meet in the middle as there is alot of room to mess that up easily. i made a pattern out of wood the same holes that are in my overflow box and i taped and c clamped them to the back of the tank. i used a 3" holesaw that is used for metal and plastics from the hardware store. you dont want something with huge teeth like the wood ones. just alot of them and smaller teeth. if you get the ones with the long teeth then you have alot more chances that they will grab and yank. ok then i started drilling i didnt press hard on it you just let the holesaw do its work. i made one hole and let the drill cool down for a few minutes till it was cool to the touch. then did the next then waited then the last. what you want to make sure you do is not use force or else you willl crack the tank. and also just put that sucker on high and let its own weight carry it through. good luck
 
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