How worried should I be? I am having trouble with my new 180's bulk heads. I am using AGA's megaflow return bulk heads, and ehsopps 1" bulk heads that were on the sump for the tanks drains. I filled up the drain boxes and within an hour, they began showing signs of water seeping through. I then put silicon on the top, bottom, and around the rubber seal and retightend them. I'm testing them out again now. Is that poor practice to use silicon to prevent leaks from such an important part of the system? Any advise would be a help. This is my first tank build so it;s a little bit of a learning curve.
Bulk head trubble
- Thread starter capdippe
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Capdippe:
I had done my share of "learn by doing" with bulkheads and broken or destroyed a few. Basically I am looking for something I can fully take apart
* rigid PVC makes it hard to to take apart, unions are too big to clear the nut
* The external 1.25 threads on the bulkhead are non-standard and just do not fit
* the internal thread (or a double tread bulkhead) are fragile and it is possible to split (yeah, learned that the hard way)
The Megaflow is a reasonable compromise in that it is one piece and uses a barbed fitting so it can be disassembled. While I can glue 1" PVC into a slip builkhead and then hose clamp I was looking for something like the megaflow without the ost of buying the kit...
What I ended up doing is going to Home Despot and getting the Grey "electrical conduit" PVC as the thread is straight ve tapered like the white stuff. Over by the White PVC you will find gray hose adapters with the a 1.25 female thread and 1" Barb. With a single bulkhead gasket there is JUST enough thread to hold the Slip to 1.25 male thread conduit thingy to the female hose barb adapter. The cost is like $5 ea and you can use a full 1.25" PVC tube for the durso. I am just worried about the # of threads should it get bumped. I tightened with a 1.25 tube helper on top and a pike wrench bellow. YMMV.
Concerning application of silicone, it works in that it can plug a leak but is tens to bond poorly to the gasket and rubber parts only to make a mess if you ever need to take it apart.
Yesterday I found a supplier of "Heavy Duty PVC Bulkheads" (google it) and hope to evaluate on my next build.
I had done my share of "learn by doing" with bulkheads and broken or destroyed a few. Basically I am looking for something I can fully take apart
* rigid PVC makes it hard to to take apart, unions are too big to clear the nut
* The external 1.25 threads on the bulkhead are non-standard and just do not fit
* the internal thread (or a double tread bulkhead) are fragile and it is possible to split (yeah, learned that the hard way)
The Megaflow is a reasonable compromise in that it is one piece and uses a barbed fitting so it can be disassembled. While I can glue 1" PVC into a slip builkhead and then hose clamp I was looking for something like the megaflow without the ost of buying the kit...
What I ended up doing is going to Home Despot and getting the Grey "electrical conduit" PVC as the thread is straight ve tapered like the white stuff. Over by the White PVC you will find gray hose adapters with the a 1.25 female thread and 1" Barb. With a single bulkhead gasket there is JUST enough thread to hold the Slip to 1.25 male thread conduit thingy to the female hose barb adapter. The cost is like $5 ea and you can use a full 1.25" PVC tube for the durso. I am just worried about the # of threads should it get bumped. I tightened with a 1.25 tube helper on top and a pike wrench bellow. YMMV.
Concerning application of silicone, it works in that it can plug a leak but is tens to bond poorly to the gasket and rubber parts only to make a mess if you ever need to take it apart.
Yesterday I found a supplier of "Heavy Duty PVC Bulkheads" (google it) and hope to evaluate on my next build.
DonW
R.I.P.
You didnt mention it so I will. The gasket / rubber goes on the wet / inside. Use a lubricant when installing bulkheads. The flange will loose traction to the seal so if it twist it wont twist the seal with it. Also hold the inside to prevent twisting while you torque the nut. Most bulkhead issues are with seal bunching.
Don
mcoomer
Who's your daddy?!?
I have to disagree slightly with what Don said in his post. The rubber gasket should be on the flange side of the bulkhead. Depending on how you setup your bulkhead that could be in or out of the water. Typically, you would take into account what type fitting you need on the wet side (slip or thread) and order a bulkhead with the correct fitting on the flange side but if you forget then swap the flange and gasket to the dry side. Frankly, for the low cost of a bulkhead I'd simply reorder the correct one. Having the gasket on the flange side of the bulkhead helps reduce the possibility of the gasket getting bunched up when you tighten the nut. Another thing that's really important is to avoid over tightening your bulkhead fittings. You can crack a bulkhead, sump, or tank by over tightening and even if none of these occur you increase the chance of bunching up the gasket.
I would remove the fitting and clean off the silicone, move the gasket to the flange side if it's not already there, and reinstall the bulkhead. Don't turn it until it won't turn anymore. Tighten it till the nut bottoms out then snug it down a bit more and test it for leaks.
Mike
I would remove the fitting and clean off the silicone, move the gasket to the flange side if it's not already there, and reinstall the bulkhead. Don't turn it until it won't turn anymore. Tighten it till the nut bottoms out then snug it down a bit more and test it for leaks.
Mike
Krish
RF STAFF
Here's the arrangement below. Not sure which way you are using it, but the best way to remember it is that the gasket doesn't go on the same side as the nut where it is sandwiched between the nut and the tank, but rather on the other side. Also, I agree with not over tightening. It is not necessary and I wouldn't mess with silicone as it probably won't help much. For the price of the bulkhead, probably better to swap and be safe than to take a chance with a messed up gasket (ie if it is screwed up) .
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You can disagree, but Don is 100% correct lol. With a Megaflow overflow, the Flange side is always meant to go on the Wet side.
The biggest problem people have, with bulkheads, is over-tightening, which will spin and bunch up the gasket.
07FocusST
Well-known member
All 8 of my bulkheads (Heavy Duty Industrial) on my 180G are siliconed inside and outside for safe keeping. No harm done, it was actually recommended to me by Mike (MojoReef).
Krish
RF STAFF
Mojo was playing a trick on you Derrik :lol: J/K. Bulkheads are designed not to need silicone however if you do use it, I wouldn't recommended it being used on the rubber seal but rather around the perimeter of the bulkhead once already in place. I did this once when I joined two sump compartments together and it worked, but technically, you don't need silicone and I only used it that one time. My 38 gal that had 6 bulkheads in it just used gaskets and the tank is now with it's 3rd owner since me and no leaks yet.
Slate
Well-known member
Mojo was playing a trick on you Derrik :lol: J/K. Bulkheads are designed not to need silicone however if you do use it, I wouldn't recommended it being used on the rubber seal but rather around the perimeter of the bulkhead once already in place. I did this once when I joined two sump compartments together and it worked, but technically, you don't need silicone and I only used it that one time. My 38 gal that had 6 bulkheads in it just used gaskets and the tank is now with it's 3rd owner since me and no leaks yet.
Krish makes a great point here with the silicone. You never want to put it between the rubber seal and anything else. You are basically opening up small pathways for water molecules to travel through if you don't apply the silicone to form a perfect seal (which is a difficult thing to achieve when working with so many layers). So if you really feel safer using silicone with your bulkheads make a good seal with the bulkhead and then apply silicone around the perimeter as Krish suggested. And for what it is worth I just set up my 125 gallon with dual overflows and decided against using any silicone. I was careful not to over tighten and I am leak free.
Thank for the advise, and sorry for the late reply. I did place the gasket on the wet side, and when i checked for leaks the bulk heads seem to be holding up just fine; now that the silicone is there. So I decided to go ahead with the set up. It's been a long day, and everything seems to be working ok; no leaks. I'll post some pics tomorrow, I'm beat and need to get some rest. Thanks for the info!
DonW
R.I.P.
Silicone shouldnt be necessary. BUT a thin film of silicone acts as a seal lubricant until it cures. Yes the seal should always be on the wet side as should the flange. Any oring or flat seal that is tensioned with a twisting action should be lubricated wether its a washer on your garden hose or a bulkhead.
Don
Don
Once you've set the tank up, with saltwater, watch the area around the bulkhead, on the outside glass, for saltcreep. That'll be your best indication of any possible leak. Also, watch your salinity. If you have a small leak, while replacing evaporation, with freshwater, you'll also be replacing some leaked water, with freshwater. Over time, this will result in a noticeable drop in salinity, instead of a consistent salinity, when only replacing evaporation, with freshwater.
Here's some pics of the build. The seals are holding and everything checks out except the megaflow kits. I can't seem to get rid of the random water surge that happens, making the tank sound like a toilet flushing. Anyone have an idea on how to solve this?
Attachments
Slate
Well-known member
What type of standpipes are you using in your overflows? Could be that the stand pipes need slightly larger air holes to breath if they are the Durso style. Basically the water levels gets to a certain point in forms a full siphon sucking the water quickly till the water level gets low enough to break the siphon, then it starts the process all over again.
07FocusST
Well-known member
You're over-running the max GPH your overflows can handle. Best solution is to slow down the flow thru the overflows or increase the overflow pipe diameter. I have the same problem with my overflows. They are dual 1" overflows. I need to increase to 1.5" overflows so I can stop over running the standpipe.
Slate
Well-known member
Oh wow, I think everyone is right that is probably too much flow for those stand pipes. In my tank i wanted low flow going through my sump to help skim so I only run one ehiem 1260. I also made my own stand pipes so my issue was the opposite of yours. I had too little flow going through them so i just drilled a larger hole on the top cap of my stand pipe. I made mine using this instructions from this site dursostandpipes.com
I shut down one of the pumps this morning, and the slurping noise was still there just not as loud. I wouldn't think that one 1262 would over power the drain pipes, but maybe it is. I'm using these:
Aqueon » MegaFlow Accessory Kit for Overflow Aquariums | Products
Aqueon » MegaFlow Accessory Kit for Overflow Aquariums | Products
