# [Wet Thumb Forum]-What kind of tool?



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

What kind of tool would you use to drill a hole (1 1/2 inch hole, for instance) in the side of a glass jar?

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

What kind of tool would you use to drill a hole (1 1/2 inch hole, for instance) in the side of a glass jar?

Roger Miller

------------
_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## BobAlston (Jan 23, 2004)

Not sure on your specific question. However, thinking beyond that, what kind of attachment are you thinking of? Many tight attachments have a flat surface, ex. bulkhead fitting. Such would be difficult to achieve on a curved surface.

As a kid I used to use 5 gallon distilled water jars with the tops cut off. Once ground to remove the sharpness, they worked pretty well if you remembered NOT to try to pull the jar by the edge which broke rather quickly.

Bob

High Pressure CO2 sources, needle valves, information:
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/AquaticPlants.htm#High%20Pressure%20CO2


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Bob,

As far as I have thought that through, I would use regular bulkhead fittings, but fill in the curvature with epoxy putty.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## BobAlston (Jan 23, 2004)

YOu might see if you could instead put the hole in the bottom where the glass is thicker/stronger and less curved. Also, is there going to be water pressure? Wonder if you can use acrylic plastic containers? I am using a 2 quart one now inside a 5.5 gallon tank for hatching angelfish eggs. the sides are flat. Would be easy to cut and seal tightly.

What size of jar and what usage?

Good luck.

Bob

High Pressure CO2 sources, needle valves, information:
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/AquaticPlants.htm#High%20Pressure%20CO2


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## BobAlston (Jan 23, 2004)

If you were using like a 1 gallon pickle jar, you could just put the hole(s) in the metal top???

Bob

High Pressure CO2 sources, needle valves, information:
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/AquaticPlants.htm#High%20Pressure%20CO2


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## Neal (Mar 1, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Roger Miller:
> What kind of tool would you use to drill a hole (1 1/2 inch hole, for instance) in the side of a glass jar?


The only I can think of that would work would be a 1/2 hole saw, one of the ones with the diamond abrasive for a cutting edge. Probably would want to look into a lubricant too. Water might work. Oh and lots of patience, some heavy gloves, eye protection and an extra jar or two.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Bob,

I've been thinking about DIY cannister filters for small aquariums. Doing it in a large canning jar was one or the neater options. I would need two holes and one would probably be in the lid. Actually, it would be best if neither of them were in the lid.

Neal,

That's pretty much what I was thinking. Especially the eye protection and extra jars parts. I have a diamond bit for my Dremel that would probably be good for drilling a pilot hole, but I've never seen diamond hole saws before.

What do they use to drill tank bottoms?

Roger Miller

------------
_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## BobAlston (Jan 23, 2004)

DIY Canister filters:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&th=47a0a15887f2fb4c&rnum=12
search for "canister" refers to 1984 issue of FAMA

http://www.aquaticsbykr.com/DIYCanisterFilter.htm

http://www.madewellgardens.com/galleries/canister_filter/

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&th=8214c6532b876a96&rnum=6

http://pub64.ezboard.com/fboroniaaquariuminteractivepagesfrm14.showMessage?topicID=48.topic

Enjoy!

Bob

High Pressure CO2 sources, needle valves, information:
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/AquaticPlants.htm#High%20Pressure%20CO2


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Thanks Bob. There's some interesting ideas there. Right now I can get a fluval 102 for less than the cost of some of those projects. No surprise there, though. DIY project are rarely the cheapest way to go. There mostly useful when your looking for something specific that you can't buy or when you just want the fun of building something.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Jack11 (Mar 30, 2004)

Roger,
I posted a long while back my experience with drilling a couple of tanks. I ordered a 1.5" glass drill from Jehmco. They have a website but, all orders must be done over the phone. The guy who runs the place is very knowledgeable and incredibly helpful. As I reported after I first began my attempt to drill my tanks, I am a self-professed idiot, DIY and otherwise and he was able to talk me through the process fairly easily. Of course, YMMV but, I would give him a call. Believe his name was John? But, it has been a while. Here is a link, Jehmco Drills.

The opinions expressed in this post do not reflect those of this member of the forum, the author of this topic, the topic itself, the moderators, the all wet thumb community, the United States of America, or the Human Race itself. They are the opinions of the space monkey shown in my Avatar. He tells me what to write so, blame him. Have a great day.

[This message was edited by Jack11 on Thu February 26 2004 at 06:27 AM.]

[This message was edited by Jack11 on Thu February 26 2004 at 06:28 AM.]


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Here are some pics of a diy canister I made. Total cost was less than $30 us. You could do it for cheaper if you plan ahead and order a small pump with a larger order. Works pretty well but I know the pump only turns over about 30-40 gph. My intent is to use it to inject DIY CO2 but I have not got there yet. SOrry if these pics post large. Its the size they on my site. Wanted them bigger for clarity.

The guts...









Whole thing...









I could think of some improvements for future ones. Like going to Home Depot where ther is a larger selection of plumbing fittings.

Dennis Dietz

http://webpages.charter.net/dennisdietz/gallery/Fishgallery.html


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Dennis,

What kind of pump did you use?

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## BobAlston (Jan 23, 2004)

Interesting! A few more questions:

1) Exactly what did you use as the canister and where did you get it?

2) Can you explain the fittings needed? INcluding the one just under the lid on the syphon side?

3) Why an inverted "U" in the tubing off the water pump?

Bob

High Pressure CO2 sources, needle valves, information:
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/AquaticPlants.htm#High%20Pressure%20CO2


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Roger, I used a small submersible pump from Zoomed. Picked it up at Petco for like $14. It is rether low flow. Only ;ike 50 gph max flow. Like I said before, you could get a much higher flow for lees money I am sure.

Bob, I will try to answer your questions. 
1. I got the canister from work. Don't know what was in it or where it came from but I am guessing you could find something similar from a chemical supply company or something. Do not really know. The lid screws on and the whole container is fairly strong. I am sure I have seen somthing else similar else where but I can't remember where. Cat food or detergent container or something.









2I used nylon fittings to connect the parts at the lid. They seem to have flanges on each side so wiht some silicon and a pair of pliers you can make a water tight seal. I used what I could find at my local hardware store so it is very hodg-podged together. Just under the lid on the syphon side is a nylun fitting with a threaded (fpt) connector then a piece of threaded pipe to the bottom oof the canister. The pipe has holes drilled all around the bottom for water flow.
3. HTe inverted U in the tubing is to go over the back of my tank. That is the return flow from the filter to the tank (10 gallon tank). I wanted to use ones that where curved rather than a 90 degree bend but could not find them.

Hope that explains everything OK. I intended to take some pics before I assembled it but I forgot:| Sorry.

I will be going to home depot later today and want to see what they have for the DIY'er.

Dennis Dietz

http://webpages.charter.net/dennisdietz/gallery/Fishgallery.html


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## Neal (Mar 1, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Roger Miller:
> Bob,
> ...


Ah I see where you are going now. A large glass jar would make an impressive canister filter wouldn't it? I wonder if a lab supply place might not have some glass containers with bulkhead fittings? Might be worth some web searching!

Reading Jack11's post, it seems like Jehmco would be a great place to start if you intend on drilling. I'd be tempted to see what I could find in the way of containers with holes or fittings already in place first.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

The jar we use for making sun tea is drilled and fitted with a spigot. I just went looking for that jar and couldn't find it. My recollection is that the spigot is set up something like a bulkhead fitting, but I can't remember just how that worked.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

I remember those. My mom used to make sun tea when I was a kid. They alwo make small round coolers wiht screw on lids and spigots on the bottom. Might work also.

Dennis Dietz

http://webpages.charter.net/dennisdietz/gallery/Fishgallery.html


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## BobAlston (Jan 23, 2004)

Here is a link for a clear plastic 1 gallon jar with lid.

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/catalog/general-science/science-kit-items/p_be-jar1gal.html

Might be easier to work with than glass.

Bob

High Pressure CO2 sources, needle valves, information:
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/AquaticPlants.htm#High%20Pressure%20CO2


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Plastic would be easier to work with. But I don't know if that jar or other standard jars would be a good alternative.

One of the reasons I was thinking of canning jars was the standard dome lids used for canning. They are a circular plate ("dome") with a seal at the rim of the jar. The dome is held on by screw-down ring. Internal parts could be connected to the dome and the jar can be opened or resealed without having to turn the dome and its attached equipment.

The wide-mouth dome lids are about 3 3/8 inches in diameter. I thought that was a little too small to run everything through the dome. A reasonable alternative was to put the inflow through a hole drilled in the side of the jar. Hence the question of how to drill glass. Finding a fitting for the hole was something I really hadn't gotten to. I mentioned the sun tea jar as a possible source for such a fitting.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Roger, I talked to a friend of mine today who works with tile adn occasionally glass. he said that he uses carbide bits, in a drill press and go very very slow. If hte glass is goint to break it will break as the hole is starting, usually, not once you get going. I would also recoment a little water or mineral oul as a lubricant. Give it a shot. Wahts the worst that could happen, you ruin a free glass jar. You should be able to find a bit at a hardware store. It would be similar to a masonary bit but pointier. He also becieved that a masonry bit would work if it was new, but he was not sure. Hope this helps a bit.

Dennis Dietz

http://webpages.charter.net/dennisdietz/gallery/Fishgallery.html


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## Wally (Aug 31, 2003)

looking at this thread gave me the idea to look at the kitchen section at wal-mart and look at the plastic tuperware type containers like they make for use as pitchers for iced tea and the like.

*Don't feel like Satan, but I am to them...*


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