OK, the tank cost nine dollars. New. So, why not drill a big hole in the side with a lopsided bit I got on eBay for $6.00? I figured the worst that could happen is I'd shatter the aquarium into a thousand razor sharp shards and go back to collecting stamps after I heal from the plastic surgery.
If you're reading this, you understand that I'm trying to set up a sump for my marine aquarium so I can look at the fish instead of junk like protein skimmers and heater cords. Drilling a hole in the back of the tank near the top is one way plumb a drain down to the sump underneath. Doing it yourself is one way to waste many hours of your life that you'll never get back because you're too proud, lazy, and/or cheap to let the glass shop do it.
I'm also too lazy to type any more information about how this project actually went, so look at the pretty pictures and we'll both hope this idea really works when the water starts to flow.
The grey pieces are electrical conduit. You won't find them in Plumbing. You'll find them in Electrical. The white one... Plumbing.
I'm hoping that, in the end, the water level stays below the rim of the tank
For the record, the thread diameter is one inch. The inside diameter through which the water flows is 3/4". At 28mm, the bit is slightly bigger than the threaded section of the fitting. The not shown o-ring keeps Mr. Salt Water from taking advantage of that difference
I didn't get to use my father-in-law's badass drill press, so I went hand-held. The out-of-true drill bit made it that much more exciting. If you actually get to this point, you'll discover like I did that you need to retract the center pilot bit and just let the outside "cup" grind through. I used water for cooling, but Coors Original is better.
My 20-year old plumber's putty had no intention of making a watertight seal on a section of styrofoam cup. Lots of duct tape did. I taped both sides of the glass.
I wanted this to be simple and unobtrusive. Well, it is simple.
The "grate" is a snap-in sink strainer. Yes, I know metal is a bad idea. Maybe I should let my crabs make this a super slide down to the sump.
I tried it out the next day. It works OK... well, in a lab setting it does.
3/9/08