use a hole saw at low speed........drill about 50% from each side to prevent any surface chipping . you can also tape both sides before drilling
How do you drill hole into the tank?
- Thread starter 408smokin
- Start date
Wheat;2617165; said:For acrylic all you need is a standard hole saw for wood. Couldn't be any easier.I have even drilled additional holes in fully stocked running tanks. Just dropped the water level. Once you mark the center of the hole, start drilling from 1 side half way through, then finish from the other side.
I did the exact same thing, just lowered the water level in the tank and drilled the side. One additional comment: I had my wife spray the area with a water bottle as I was drilling. We were drilling into 3/4 acrylic and I believe this helped keep everything cool. Every once in a while I would stop and pick clean the whole saw teeth while my wife sprayed the cut area to cool it down. It surprised me how simple it was. I just went slow and used a lot of water to keep everything cool.
I've been procrastinating drilling a hole in the sump you sold me because I'm nervous about messing it up. I would recommend buying a few scrap pieces of acrylic from tap plastics and practicing on those (they sell scrap pieces for really cheap: $1.50lb). I've done that and using the hole saw bit and going halfway on one side, then halfway on the other side works well. Like others have mentioned, use water to keep it as cool as possible.
Get a holesaw bit that has an actual drill bit in the center that will act as a guide (see link below for photo). When you are done drilling halfway through, be sure to pull it out quickly. The acrylic may heat up and potentially melt. If you don't pull the bit out quickly, the softened/melted acrylic can cool down around the bit and get stuck...if this happens, good luck getting it out.
http://www.dark-circuit.com/HOLD/Mod%20Guide/HOLESAW.JPG
I'm curious, is this the 240 with the black acrylic stand that was for sale on Craigslist in Oakland? Gotta post some pix. Good luck!
Get a holesaw bit that has an actual drill bit in the center that will act as a guide (see link below for photo). When you are done drilling halfway through, be sure to pull it out quickly. The acrylic may heat up and potentially melt. If you don't pull the bit out quickly, the softened/melted acrylic can cool down around the bit and get stuck...if this happens, good luck getting it out.
http://www.dark-circuit.com/HOLD/Mod%20Guide/HOLESAW.JPG
I'm curious, is this the 240 with the black acrylic stand that was for sale on Craigslist in Oakland? Gotta post some pix. Good luck!
408smokin;2635617; said:
Yup, that's the same tank I looked at. Everything from the ground up is acrylic (stand, tank and canopy). Where are you going to put the sump? The design of the stand makes it almost impossible to put it under the tank.
BTW, those holes look nice. Good job.
