Isla Escondido - invincible569's Rimless 300g - Page 23

invincible569 · #**551** 10/13/2007, 06:19 AM

Yes, it was a Closed Loop bulkhead (for chiller). Im not sure which brand bulkhead it was. It makes me rethink about having a Closed Loop now for any future tanks like Chad said. Kevin from All About Fish in Houston, TX walked me through band aiding the problem now. My tank would of been drained out by now. It was a bad constant leak that wouldnt stop. He told me to get the Rainbow bulkheads and if possible sched 80. I have the Rainbow one and plan to start in a couple of minutes. If things go as planned, I should be done before this afternoon. I may remove a lot of sand because I am scared some sand will be caught in between which would be a pain to redo all over again. Sand is easily replaceable.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement! Im going to need it! I thought my tank wasnt going to make it 2 nights ago!

I'll post pics later.

mcrist · #**552** 10/13/2007, 07:26 AM

I like Hayward brand bulkheads and ball valves. They cost a little more but they are worth it.

invincible569 · #**553** 10/13/2007, 08:07 AM

Thanks mcrist for the recommendation.

Well.. i have all the water out now and I didnt want to take down my aquascape, but i had to in order to save the Bellus Angel. He would not move out from the back. Im going to have to start from scratch getting the aquascape back to normal. Im not too worried becuase these are all big rocks except for the overhang I had on the left side. That one was the tough one. The deltec epoxy I used is very strong. I couldnt move the piping where the bulkhead sits. It looks as if the piping would break before the epoxy. Its time to chisel away at it. What a pain for just one closed loop bulkhead leak.

20 20 · #**554** 10/13/2007, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by invincible569
What a pain for just one closed loop bulkhead leak.

Think of it more as "not all that much work to save the complete tank, when you think about it".

fisheebill · #**555** 10/13/2007, 08:53 AM

You are moving fast this morning!

javajaws · #**556** 10/13/2007, 10:03 AM

Wow, sorry to hear about the leak. I'm really surprised you went with sched 40 bulkheads though. When I set my tank up I initially had it drilled for sched 40 but kept breaking the bulkheads (threaded fittings). I eventually "enlarged" my holes for sched 80 bulkheads and I now sleep much easier at night.

Since your holes are "recessed" it wouldn't be so easy to do though without a router and a circle jig.

reef / aholic · #**557** 10/13/2007, 10:49 AM

I finally made it over to see Kevin at All About Fish this week, nice guy. That really sucks about the bulkhead leaking. This is one of the reasons I like Sch. 80 bulkheads because I would always break or crack Sch. 40 bulkheads.

tbone28 · #**558** 10/13/2007, 11:15 AM

Good Luck with the fix...go for Hayward Bulkheads + silicone if you can.

invincible569 · #**559** 10/13/2007, 11:20 AM

Thanks guys!! I would of went with a sched 80 this time, but I had no time. I was already slowly getting a drip through the threads. I had to act fast. I know now for my next tank to use 80's.

Good thing is that all the water is now going back in the tank. It looks strange not having anything in the tank right now. I've been taking pics to show you guys what I had to go through.

tbone28 · #**560** 10/13/2007, 11:22 AM

I'm happy it was a quick fix for you!

On your next tank, just go with a sump return and (2) Tunze 6301's for flow

...What'd you decide on about the 6201's?

invincible569 · #**561** 10/13/2007, 12:45 PM

Here is the temporary fix with Deltec Epoxy. Im so glad I had this on hand! I applied it on both sides, internal and external as instructed by Kevin (All About Fish).

And then I drained the water down at 6am this morning...

invincible569 · #**562** 10/13/2007, 12:48 PM

The corals and fish all in a 30g container.

Felix1021 · #**563** 10/13/2007, 12:52 PM

good luck man..i know the feeling (my tank cracked right at the beginning of my journey and the feeling sucks)

Felix

invincible569 · #**564** 10/13/2007, 12:52 PM

This was the hard part! Getting all of the epoxy off and chiseling it out.

invincible569 · #**565** 10/13/2007, 12:54 PM

My helpers! Please disregard the bed hair! It was early in the morning!

invincible569 · #**566** 10/13/2007, 12:57 PM

Removing all the rocks, water and sand...

invincible569 · #**567** 10/13/2007, 01:02 PM

And this is where I am at now.. putting all the water back in. I just finished adding my rocks. I need to redo my aquascape now. No more leaks.

fisheebill · #**568** 10/13/2007, 01:06 PM

Great work crew.
Thank goodness for the little cuties!
I have a little 3 year old girl with another one on the way.
They can smooth out the rough days.

clownnrnd · #**569** 10/13/2007, 01:10 PM

OMG, I gotta get out of this thread. I'm not going to sleep tonight.

Sorry E, let me know when you have everything back up and laughing again

Just kidding of course....but I may not being sleeping well

.

Did the epoxy stop the leaking? Was it that bad?

Good luck, and thank God for the helpers, nice work ladies

.

Take Care,

Chad

jnarowe · #**570** 10/13/2007, 03:38 PM

wow. what an ordeal. looks like you kept your cool though. I would never use anythig other than Hayward schedule 80. And the strange thing is that tightening a bulkhead can actually make it leak more. The gasket can get too compressed and pop out from under the flange, especially on sched. 40 fittings.

Good work and man it's great you weren't away on vacation! I have a water sensor on the floor under my tank so I will get an email...

steve the plumb · #**571** 10/13/2007, 03:56 PM

I used schedule 40 with silicone.I did get one leak from the bulkhead moving but I loosened it and re tightened it after.I had moved the fitting and it leaked.Everything is fine now.You are supposed to hand tighten the bulkhead.I had placed silicone inside and underneath just in case.I was thinking what if this happened to me.I would freak never mind the water issue.My wife would have killed me on the spot.What causes the bulkheads to leak after so many months?

Fliger · #**572** 10/13/2007, 04:22 PM

Wow Edward I didn't see this. Sorry you had to go through all that. I'm certain those pix make it look way easier than it ended up being. I agree with the above - gotta have Sked 80 all the way!

Good luck and I hope you don't have any losses (other than time!).

Beautiful kids, BTW!

Jar*Head · #**573** 10/13/2007, 04:30 PM

OMG, i better kiss the CL thought goodbye. I was going to order my new tank with a bunch of holes for CL.

Good luck Ed....

invincible569 · #**574** 10/13/2007, 07:24 PM

tbone, I really want a 6201. It looks to be great for flow. Thanks for helping me with showing me how strong your 6201's are.

felix, it was definitely a terrible feeling!! Im glad its all over with now.

Bill, you can say that again!! My family makes my day a better one when these types of incidents happen.

Chad, it was that bad. If it was a couple drops, i would of waited it out. It was as bad as my RO/DI dripping and that fills up quick on a 30g container. The epoxy temporarily stopped it, but Kevin told me that it will only hold for a couple of days. I wouldnt get too nervous as long as you arent moving the piping around. Thats what I did and the sand probably got caught in.

jnarowe, what are you using for a water sensor? Im glad I wasnt either.

steve, the source of the problem was me!!

I had a long pvc pipe coming out of the bulkhead inside the tank and I wanted to cut it down. Well, I couldnt get it out and I kept trying as hard to pull it (it wasnt glued). Well all that moving made it start leaking. I couldnt stop the leak and it only got worse after trying to tight. My wife told me everythnig looked fine, but being picky as I am, I was stubborn and tried to perfect it.

What did I learn from this?? dotn mess with bulkheads when not needed.

David, thanks my friend. I hope I dont have any losses either.

Jarhead, closed loop is ok.. just make sure you get the 80's like everyone is saying

jnarowe · #**575** 10/13/2007, 07:37 PM

I use a WaterBug, but I don't recommend it. The contact points rust. That may be the case for all of them, but I would bet you could source a better one.

And the threads on those black bulkheads don't stand up to any kind of abuse. They are loose in the first place and can get damaged easily.

If you like the look, you can get schedule 80 black bulkheads BTW.

If I had three girls I'd hang myself.