Please Help! What size hole to drill

[Dakota9]

I tried the half round fuge idea from a thread yesterday, man I gave up reefing altogether for about an hour this afternoon.......


ANYWAY!!!! I'm having a 10 gallon drilled for a stand beside fuge in the morning, the guy drilling it is a glass layperson, not a reefer so he doesnt know the size hole to drill, my question is........

What's the best size to have the two holes in my fuge?

I want holes that I can easily find hardware for, the cheaper the better ofcoarse. What is a size that is readily available, and how big should the hole be to accomodate that hardware?

My only specification is that I want a slow flow through the fuge with no added turbulance bubbles, not sure that would have anything to do with the size of the holes, thought I'd throw it in.


Please I'd be indebted to anyone who could answer this, thanks!

[tsciarini]

what size bulkheads do you want to use?

(lol, yes, I realize that doesnt answer your question )

[leveldrummer]

best bet would be to buy a 1" bulkhead, and take it with your tank so the guy can match it up to a drill bit, different bulk heads have different outer diameters. fwiw, you really only need 1 hold, put a small (very small) powerhead in your sump, feeding the fuge up and over the edge of the 10 gallon, and have the hole drilled at the top, feeding back into the sump via gravity. just make sure the 10 gallon is elevated a little so the hole is higher than the edge of your sump.

[Dakota9]

Thanks for the speedy responese guys!

I dont have a sump (yet), this will stand beside the display tank. It will be 4 inches higher than the tank when installed.

I dont think I'll have time to go out and purchase bulkheads before this is done.....

I dont care what size they are, I just picture a nightmare of having two one inch holes in my tank, and nothing I find will plug them LOL.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Dakota9]

Also, didn't think about it until now, but what standard size bits is a glass cutter going to likely have on hand?

Oh well, I might be doomed...

anyone ever use these guys?

Bulkhead and Strainer/Overflow Fittings - Marine Depot - Marine and Reef Aquarium Super Store

Thanks

[tsciarini]

those are standard bulkheads... I was actually going to look up that link so that you have a reference point of what size hole you need for what size bulkhead.
I'd say go ahead and order yourself a couple bulkheads and have your guy drill the appropriate size hole for whichever bulkheads you order... that way you can be sure you've got what you need.

If you're doing a fuge, you can probably get away with a 1/2" bulkhead.... but IMO you can always reduce a 1" down, not a 1/2" up!

[Dakota9]

so just to make sure, for a 1/2 inch bulkhead, BOTH holes need to be drilled 1 and 1/8 inches?

[glxtrix]

if youre doing 2x1/2" holes, yes. It seems odd that the hole would be that big for a 1/2" bulkhead, but dont forget the extra plastic that needs to go thu the hole.

[Dakota9]

Thanks guys!!!!!!!!