See also How to keep your Reef Tank Cool in Summer Heatwaves and Hot Weather The maker of your tank can tell you whether any panels are tempered. The weight of the drill is enough on its own. When you are close to punching through with a hole saw, you really want to ease up on the pressure. A friend can come in handy here to help aim water at the bit. I use a lab wash bottle and continuously squirt water on the bit as I’m cutting or drilling, or a trickle of water from a garden hose. This works but is not useful if cutting the edges of the glass. For drilling holes, some people build a dam of clay to hold a bit of water. 2) Any time your bit or hole saw is in contact with the glass, it should be in contact with water to keep it from overheating and lubricate the cut. Leather gloves and safety glasses should be worn to protect yourself from sharp edges and any potential flying shards. 1) First and foremost, be safe and wear your PPE. Whether you’re using a hole saw to drill a circular hole in the glass, or a Dremel tool to cut glass, there are a few rules of thumb to keep in mind. Once your diamond hole saw has made contact with the glass and created a nice circle for the bit to sit in, remove the carbide pilot bit. For larger holes above 1” in diameter, you’ll want a hard carbide pilot bit with your hole saw. There are many options out there but I like the Milwaukee Diamond Max brand hole saws, for no reason other than they’re easy to find at my local Home Depot. The 7144 bit is particularly useful for creating square or rectangular-shaped overflows in glass, notches on the edges or tops of glass panels, or small holes that are too small for a traditional diamond hole saw.įor creating circular holes in glass, diamond hole saws with a high-speed drill are standard. Don’t forget the collet for this bit if it doesn’t come included with your Dremel tool. You’ll also need a single diamond bit for all your glass cutting, item #7144, which is a tapered 3/32” bit. I’d stay away from battery-powered models and go with corded instead. You’ll need the high speed for glass cutting. The 275 model isn’t sold anymore, so make sure you get a Dremel that can do high rpm. They are invaluable tools for all sorts of reasons besides drilling glass. I’ve had the same Dremel model 275 for about 15 years now without doing any maintenance on it at all. I currently have an Innovative Marine 25-gallon glass tank with a 20-gallon glass auto top-off reservoir with a total of eight different holes and notches in both, which took me about an hour in total to do.įor creating cuts of any shape and size in glass I use a high-speed Dremel tool capable of rotating at 35,000 rpm. Over the last 15 years, I’ve used a drill or dremel to cut glass aquariums countless times (including on tanks filled with water! Please don’t try this at home,) without a problem. A fish-holding or coral culture system with multiple glass tanks will be significantly more economical and each can be made “reef ready” if you can DIY the overflows and other custom bits. While drilling and cutting acrylic are simpler processes, acrylic tanks are usually much more expensive. Glass drilling and aquarium cutting are invaluable skills for reef keepers who want to build their own custom tanks and systems.
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