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Drilling rock for plugs

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nightmarepl

NJRC Member
hey guys i have a dumb question, so i decided to spoil myself alittle bit and bought a bunch corals but didnt have enough holes in my rocks... so i was planning to take a long 12 inch drill bit for stone and drill the water while in the water so i dont have to move all the corals and such out the rocks arent really on the ground level of the tank but stacked on other rocks id hold down the rock and have my fiance drill lightly and slowly.
 
nano1908

nano1908

Drilling while in water? I don't know, sounds too risky. Anything can go wrong. What if the bit slips & you hit the tank? What if you get water in the drill, drop the drill?
Too risky for me. What about all the rock particles that are going to be in your tank?

I would rather just wrap the rock in a wet towel leaving the part you want to drill visible and unobstructed if you really need to drill it. If you mess up the towel, hey it's only a towel.

I've tried to cut corners in the past and usually made me work twice as hard, twice as long. Hope this helped and good luck! Remember to post pics! :friendly_wink:
 
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nightmarepl

NJRC Member
Hallowhead said:
*gently* rip... take a razor blade and slowly cut away at the base. Use bone cutters or tile chippers to get as much plug away and than slice carefully. DON'T RIP
Click to expand...
well i meant rip the actual plug off the rock.. reason i say this is my fiance decided it was a wonderful idea to buy 2 tenticle anemones and put them into the tank " claiming theyll hang out in one spot " now both of them decided to go into holes next to the hammer coral and stinging the crap out of him cant get them out so im trying to rearrange alittle once i get the anemone out i can work around the hammer
 
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nightmarepl

NJRC Member
also for some stupid reason i got 2 types of candy canes and my hermits are chewing at both of them if they on the bottom level of the tank
 
hcker99

hcker99

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Do not drill the rock while in the tank. Couple things to keep in mind...... drill bits have an oil coating (even if you no longer feel it it is still there). That coating will cause all sorts of problems. Next thing to keep in mind while drilling live rock is the pockets of sulfur and other gasses that reside in the rock itself. Drilling it in the tank will release them and can kill fish along with make you pretty sick.


Your best bet it just take the coral off the frag plug and glue it in the tank with epoxy/glue mix or get a frag rack
 
Jeremy Brito

Jeremy Brito

In my experience I cut the plug as much as I can with a dremel in fact it's better to remove the plug when all possible. I save small chunks of rock an drill and cut them to fit the coral and attack easily to the rock. Next I use a 2 part epoxy to mount the smaller rock onto the rock work with the coral.. it's a few extra steps but it's easier to mount in those oddly shaped areas it also looks much better. On a plus side you get to keep the plug for later use.
If you absolutely would rather drill the rock remove it from the tank get a masonry bit something like a diamond tip and a impact or hammer drill and I want to say 1/2 diameter and drill a 2 inch deep hole for the plug. I'd still reccomend removing most of the plug with a dremel and a cutting wheel
 
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