Bulkhead Flanges

[irishreefer7]

Hi Greg,
Like most everyone else, I enjoy reading your excellent articles. I would like your advice. I ordered a 180g (72x24x24) RR Starphire tank from Mitch at IA/Bow Valley Aquariums. This is an inwall tank with a large fish room behind it. I designed all this for my newly constructed house. I gave Mitch my specs for two corner overflows (8" x 10") with one 2" drain in each and three 1.5" returns in each. One of the 1.5" drilled return holes in each overflow was drilled too close to the overflow box. Hence, the bulkhead flange will not screw all the way down to the bottom because it hits the wall. I believe I only need a centimeter or two additional space, but am frustrated and not overly savvy when it comes to plumbing. Might I find a skinnier flange?? What can I do short of returning the tank. I don't want to take apart the overflow box and make it bigger, again, because I'm not necessarily prepared or skilled to do that. Thanks for any suggestions.

Ultimately, I also need advice on the tubing (flexible pvc?) I should use to plumb to my 75 gallon Rubbermaid trough sump.

[gregt]

Wow, that's every new tank buyer's nightmare. I would certainly go back to the manufacturer and ask them what they suggest. A professional tank builder should never put you in that situation, IMO. Even if the fault was yours in the design, they should have contacted you before putting a wall too close to a hole for a bulkhead to fit properly.

The danger of a skinnier flange would be that it would be less reliable. The smaller the flange, the more chance it could leak. If it were me and the tolerance involved were small enough I would proably grind the bulkhead flange down just enough so that it will fit. Don't cut the gasket though. Not sure if that will work without seeing the actual setup and knowing exactly how much you'd need to grind....

I'm not sure exactly what your question is regarding the plumbing...

[irishreefer7]

Thanks for your quick reply Greg. I appreciate it. I will definitely try to sand/grind the flange down a bit. I won't touch the gasket as you recommended. As for my plumbing question, I did not really have one, did I? Just a little overwhelmed with my setup needs. Slowly but surely, I'll get it. Thanks again.