drilling glass on the side of a topfin 46 gallon tank?

[ksquared]

i just picked up a topfin 46 gallon pentagon corner tank which i plan to use for a paludarium.

i know the bottom is tempered glass because it has the sticker, but i was wondering if anyone knew if the sides are also tempered glass? i would like to drill holes if i can for a sump. i tried calling the support number for topfin (which is petsmart) and they did not know. they just told me the warranty would be voided which i already assumed.

if i am unable to drill holes for a sump, are there any other ways to maintain the water level and have a nice filter system? i briefly looked at some eheim outboard filters.

[axolotl]

I am not 100% sure but i doubt that the sides are tempered, the tank would weigh 1 billion pounds, and there is not much need to temper the sides of the tank.

[LNS71]

I'm with axolotl. It's extremely rare that a tank would have tempered glass on all sides. However if you did want to be on the super-safe side, an external canister filter would work just fine. If you're doing a 3D background, it's not too hard to even incorporate the intake/output bars into it if you just foam or silicone over them.

[markc019]

you can drill it but you will have to do it real slow and remember to use a lubricant like anti freeze. only use the weight of the drill do not push on it at all.. Only the bottoms of tanks are the tempered glass.. Tempered glass is not heavier it is just heated differently to make it shatter resistant.. Good luck! :lol:

~mark

[ksquared]

thanks for the replys. im going to give it a try. im thinking im going to drill a hole for a 1/2 bulkhead (for the waterfall inlet) and an other for a 3/4 bulkhead (the overflow). i see some people have three holes (waterfall, return, and overflow). is the third return hole required?

[LNS71]

Only two are needed, but having three gives you the most control. Having a return point seperate from the waterfall's origin is usually to keep the return flow rate (to the main body) up, while still being able to tinker with the waterfall's gph.

[Smogre]

I drilled a 3rd hole for my fogging system.