# covering a hole in a drilled tank



## TexasRock (Feb 28, 2006)

I want to convert a drilled 30 gallon tank into a sump. Can I buy a small square of 1/4" glass and silicon it over the hole? It is on the bottom of the tank.

Thanks in advance!

Keith


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## acbaldwin (Nov 3, 2005)

*I'll read it next time, I promise*

Yes.
Oh wait... You said "bottom". Like the "bottom" where all the substrate sits on? Hmmm.... I'd be cautious about doing it. Okay, well I'd tell other people to be cautious, but I'm reckless and would do it regardless:flame: . You want to avoid any differences in pressure on the glass (no pressure points), so try to spread out the load as well as possible by using a large glass patch that is much bigger than the diameter of the hole.


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## TexasRock (Feb 28, 2006)

Yeah, the hole is a 1 1/4" that was going to be used for a durso pipe configuration, however, I want it to be a sump now.

I was going to cut (or have cut) a 6" by 6" piece of 1/4" glass to cover the hole... that would give more than an inch of glass around the hole. I would then slather the silicone on it and add a brick wrapped in duct tape (to prevent scratching) to weigh it down. After all, aquariums are built with glass and silicone so why couldn't I patch one?

Thanks!

Keith


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## arcflame (May 2, 2006)

I patched over a sump hole on a 15g I picked up for free at a LFS. I just used a piece of acrylic I had around (maybe 2" wider than the hole) and siliconed it on. That was 4 years ago and the tank hasn't leaked since, and It's been emptied and stored for periods in the interim. I actually think it's SAFER to patch a hole in the bottom simply because you've got the weight of all that water/substrate bearing down on the acrylic patch.


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## joseney21 (May 11, 2006)

i wouldn't use acrylic, glass and silicone ( at least thats what everyone else says with regards to using acrylic to make baffles in a glass sump in a saltwater setup). acrylic doesn't stick to glass with silicone as well as glass sticks to glass with silicone. but then again arcflame had no problem with it over four years so you might want to give it a try. i just patched a hole on the back of a 55g i was going to make into a reef but ended up using the tank for freshwater. i bought a 4"x4" piece of glass at my local glass shop, put some silicone on the back and pressed hard against the tank glass (if you use enough silicone the silicone spreads to cover the entire patch). run a bead of silicone along the edge of the patch and another bead of silicone on the other side of the patch along the edge of the hole. i think that should do it.


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

I recommend just placing a bluk head on the hole with a plug attached. Bulkheads are meant to work in situations like this.


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## czado (May 26, 2005)

Agree with JERP. I patched a crack around the bulkhead on the top of an 8gal with glass on glass and plenty of silicone though (used the pane to patch the crack and hole, then drilled a new hole in the patch for my Durso), and no issues after about a year.


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