Oh I am SOOOO frustrated!!!
 

[rant]
So here I am puttering around my tank today trying to get the stupid bulkheads to quit leaking so I can finally get my sump running. I had them fairly loose since I'm paranoid about cracking the glass, so of course they leak, and need to be tightened up more. I am such a procrastinator. I am tightening up the last bulkhead and CRACK. There goes the sump. :laluot_08:

SO I siliconed the crack thinking that would prob do the trick since the crack is only about 3" long, and 3 hours later I am messing around in my planted fw tank and I hear CRACK. Another crack splits up the other side of that bulkhead. Oh for hell...

Now I have to go buy a new sump, reinstall the baffles, drill the holes for the bulkheads, buy a bunch of new plumbing pieces, and basically redo the entire thing since I can't get the plumbing apart to repair it. I'm ready to kick the sump.
[/end rant]

don't, you might crack it.....

I have some nice adjectives you can use if you would like to borrow some.

How thick is the glass?

Not sure if you used silicone or not but I always have and never had a leak and I just tighten them hand tight. Just make sure you inspect the bulkhead first because small bumpy casting flaws can cause problems if you don't take them off with a utility knife first.

for years i just snug them up and coat the heck out of them with sillicone, and just expect that it will be a pain if they ever have to get removed

I feel your pain. Been there, done that. Sucks bad. I too silicone them up now.

Thanks for condolences guys. :cry: ( :lol: )

I've never used silicone on a bulkhead...maybe I should.

It's a standard 15 gallon...it's uber thin. I haven't cracked the 5.5 yet though, and it's even thinner! :lol:

bulkheads
 

bulkheads are pressure fit. use adjustable wrench after hand tightening turn 1/4inch with wrench check for leaks.dan

Aw, sorry to hear about your troubles Mindy.....I always hand tighten then a 1/4 turn with a wrench...no silicone

Mindy, sounds like its a good thing we are seperated by distance. I ran through the exact same thing, first I cracked my DT, then I broke a bulkhead, then I cracked my sump.

Started buying spare parts because it was just easier. Hopefully the next go around is better.

Just keep smiling, remember your having fun! :lol:

For all of my bulkheads, I use silicone between the glass/acrylic wall and the outer piece of the bulkhead. This way you ensure 100% no leakage.

Well, I'm considering just making my own sump from scratch out of a thicker glass. I will call and get a quote tomorrow. I'm not impressed that I have to do a bunch of plumbing again. Back to square one. Not like any of the inhabitants of the tank seem to notice or care. I'm tired of looking at a tank that is 4" low on water though!

I hear ya! But truly, are you really ever done?!

Mine has been up for about 2 months with my new sump/fuge and already have plans to increase flow and redesign the entire system. I know you've been in it a lot longer, so I thought you'd be used to it by now. :razz:

what side was the washer on :)

really though, was there a washer on the flange side? some flanges are not flat and have a little plastic ring that sticks up and have been blamed for cracking tanks when no washer is on them

Sounds like an opportunity to make your new sump out of acrylic.

Too expensive for my blood untamed! But it would be nice. :)

I did check the nut i have crabs, and there were no rough edges, just a washer on the flange side.

walloutlet, my tank is definitely done when the plumbing is done!! I don't normally redo any plumbing unless it leaks. LOL I loathe plumbing.

I have always used some silicone on mine. Not on the gasket side though. I put some on the threaded side, which is the outside in my case usually. This gives me an extra seal on that side. I usually then put a bead around the outside of the gasket/bulkhead, after its been tightened. I have only ever hand tightened.

Agreed its a pain when one needs removing, but on a tank whens that?? Your sump is perhaps a different story though, but I would still do it the same if it was mine.

Never have had a leak that way in 25 yrs. So far. :lol:

That sucks, I would try using some silicone next time around.

Thin glass and bulkheads are tricky. To tight and snap. Silicone is your friend on smaller tanks. My 10g sump, I cracked the whole side too. I managed to silicone a glass patch cross the crack, and it has held up so far.

Sorry to hear about the crack but trying to understand how.

If the flange and the nut is fully supported by the glass (correct hole size for the bulkhead) and faces are smooth, would think when tightening, the plastic threads would strip before you could get enough compression to shatter the glass.

With really thin glass it's actually quite easy to crack it by over tightening the bulkhead.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do. right now I'm leaning towards just replacing the pane so I don't have to redo all the baffles. Or I might just build one from scratch so I can use better dimensions and get more gallons in there. I dunno, right now I'm trying to ignore it. :lol:

If there is any irregularities on the bulkehad flange, it can easilly overstress thin glass.

One more reason I love tempered glass. All my tanks and sumps are tempered.
Maybe consider going tempered on the next tank it is not that much more, 7x stronger and has flex to it.
They will drill the hole before they temper.
Tempered is like heat treated steel they heat it red hot to align the particles and then cool it rapidly with big fans. Think of it as the difference between mild steel and tool steel.

I think you earned that rant...

Firstly, I have never put a bulkhead in a tank, so this may be a dumb idea. No doubt someone will else with more experience will gently point out if it is. :biggrin:

When fitting stuff to boats (like skin fittings - which are basically the same as bulkheads) I often used to bed it on a layer of silicone on the underside of the flange, tighten very lightly until the silicone cured, then tighten a bit more when the silicone is cured (or at least partially). The reason being that the layer of silicone under it is bonded to the fitting and the boat/glass/whatever, and is quite soft so it takes up any irregularities with less pressure. If you tightened it up too much before the silicone cured it often leaked because most of the silicone was squeezed out from between the two.

Admittedly a boat hull is (hopefully) a bit more resilient than a glass aquarium panel, but maybe worth a try...

Robin.

That's kind of a cool idea Robin. At least for smaller tanks with thin glass and little water pressure.