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First time plumbing: Bulkhead failure


Kaplanm

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I've got a drilled DSA 60gal Bowfront. I've spent the past work getting my plumbing assembled and now that it's all together I finally go to test the seals on my bulkheads and all 3 fail, spectacularly. (Thank goodness for my empty sump!) It's not a leak, it's gush.

Do I need to Teflon tape the threads that the bulkhead nut tightens over?
I've got the bulkheads as tight as I can by hand, do I just need to try and get in there with a pair of channel locks and crank it down harder? I don't want to crack the glass on my tank.

Big thanks in advance, I'm really excited to get water in my tank this weekend!

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Teflon tape is not a bad idea but not necessary. Do you have the rubber seals in place, those are very important. You should not have to crank down on the bulkheads. Using channel locks to go just past hand tight should be enough. Back to the Teflon tape, if you have a gush, I do not think it is something Teflon tape will fix. Is your tank new?

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I think I've identified the issue, I'll have to break down some of the plumbing to fix it. It looks like my return pipes are just a hair too short and the black return box on the back is pressing them up just enough to prevent a clean seal.
I'll break it down and take a Dremel to the black box to free up the 1/8" I need.

We'll see how that works later this afternoon.

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That would prove problematic at this point. Both ends of the pipe are welded, and while the bottom is threaded in my infinite wisdom I've made it nightmarish to pull the bulkhead back out.

At this point, simply grinding down the plastic plate for the overflow box would be easier.

Unless someone has a really compelling reason why I shouldn't pull about an 1/8" off the overflow box.

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Shortening the overflow sounds like the option you should take especially if it is applying pressure. Even if you find a different solution over time the added pressure could be a point of failure that you do not want.

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The one was really easy. I had to nip about a 1/2" from the top strainer bit. The other one I'm concerned about.

What do people thing, can I cut this box down, or should I just pull the whole thing and start over? I really don't want to compromise the tank structurally.

Return problem inside

Return problem outside.

Edited by Kaplanm
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I think I'm going to wind up going halfway between the 2 options. I'm going to pull the existing return pipe out and tack on a small spacer on the bottom. Yeah I know it'll reduce flow some, but breaking this down is *seriously* a nightmare. (My fault. Next time I'm going all hard PVC, this flex tubing seems to be more of a pain wrangle than straight pipes)

I'll post pictures later tonight of the train-wreck of a piping system I've got installed on this.

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Just an observation and IMO. Instead of "fixing" it now I feel you are better off cutting it up scraping it and starting over. It seems like you are trying to make it work when you won't be happy with the results of it being pieced together. I understand it's a nightmare now think about how bad it will be when the tank has water in it.

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Just cut the pipe and add a coupling to gain the lenght simple .25$ piece fix!!

Was Gona say this as well. Cut the pipe and couple it back together. You might want to sell the tank one day. Plus it will give you time to get some krylon fusion and paint the pvc black :)

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Here's my hell-acious hack job of a plumbing setup. I've learned a lot from this excercise, but I've also hit the point where I'm exhausted with fabrication I'm only moderately comfortable in. As is for the moment I'm happy.

20150127 210638



Here's the front view, with a partial aquascape being done. I've got about 40lbs of base rock in there now, I plan on another 40lbs of live before next week is out. I'll move this to a separate WIP thread.

20150127 210701

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That was the hose I was supplied with the plumbing kit I bought with the tank. Is it possible to cut it down and still mate it to the coupling at the other end, or do I need to go and buy a whole new hose and start from scratch.

That is one of the few pieces that actually is easy to remove and replace.

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So after looking at it a little more, it looks like that is your return to the sump from the tank. With that kind of S curve in it, it will slow your return. the problem with those hoses is that they have the ends on them so if you cut them , you lose that. The S curve can be a good thing in slowing down the water if the overflow is too loud. I personally like to use PVC and add a ball valve or gate so I can control the flow back to the sump.

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