My New 72"x20"x20" Tank Build

Delphinus · #1 11-13-2007, 06:57 PM

I guess the only thing is that if it was leaking into the overflow with only 10g of water then it's probably worth addressing now. Ordinarily I wouldn't sweat a tiny leak into the overflow if the tank was full and the overflow empty, it just means the water would equalize into the overflow. But if you had a short standpipe or just a strainer on the bulkhead (eg. if it was a Herbie overflow) then potentially the water level in the tank is at risk in a power fail situation, so in that case I'd fix it. But I think if you're noticing water slip in with only 10g then it's probably going to be a pretty fast leak when the tank is completely full, so I think either way, better to say a few swear words now (Well OK that's only if you're me

), then err on the side of caution. It's easier to deal with this now (and not ever know if it's "really" needed) than to find out down the road when there's livestock in there that it IS a problem and you have to deal with it then.

Just my $0.02

Murphy's Law and all that

mark · #2 11-13-2007, 07:08 PM

If you're are going to re-silicone, might want to check if you can just smear some new over the old or would you need to cut out.

When I re-did a QTank, I just cut out the fillet but didn't worry about where the plates actually met and worked okay.

banditpowdercoat · #3 11-13-2007, 07:22 PM

Ya, if your sump can handle the whole tank draining down to the level of your drains, then no problem. I would, for piece of mind want my sump to be able to hold all the tank water down to drain level. That way, if there is a problem in future, you know for sure that the sump will not overflow.

GreenSpottedPuffer · #4 11-13-2007, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banditpowdercoat

Ya, if your sump can handle the whole tank draining down to the level of your drains, then no problem. I would, for piece of mind want my sump to be able to hold all the tank water down to drain level. That way, if there is a problem in future, you know for sure that the sump will not overflow.

Yeah I would too but this is a Herbie overflow and therefore the bulkhead is on the bottom and no stand pipe except for the emergency one. This is actually why I wanted a bit of a standpipe but people here were telling me not to have one at all. On RC I have seen most people use a short standpipe for the main drain of the herbie.

Thing is, its a small leak at the bottom of the overflow but if the power went out, it could drain the entire tank, slowly. I hope I can just add more silicone ontop of whats there but Im not sure. How can I tell if I need to cut it all out or just put a good layer ontop?

The overflow itself is very stable and well attached. I tried before to pull it off to see how well it was attached and it wouldnt budge. I used so much silicone on the outside of the overflow that Im really surprised it has a leak! I think it may be just in the corner where the overflow glass meets the tanks silicone.

Delphinus · #5 11-13-2007, 07:40 PM

I don't know how to make the call on pre-cutting the old or just gooping over top.

When I make an overflow, it's never a thing of beauty and it usually takes me 2 or 3 tries before it's completely watertight (I usually just goop over top).

I suppose you could try gooping over top and see how it goes. Hope for a lucky break

Or if you're feeling ambitious, just cut it and reseal it. But it's probably worth resealing on both sides of the overflow (if you can).

banditpowdercoat · #6 11-13-2007, 07:41 PM

Ahh, ya. I was thinking about the herbie style, but with my first time siliconing plexi to glass, and the worry about a leak, thats why I went Durso. That and I am to lazy to drill my tank for larger bulkheads LOL

mark · #7 11-13-2007, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer

Yeah I would too but this is a Herbie overflow and therefore the bulkhead is on the bottom and no stand pipe except for the emergency one. This is actually why I wanted a bit of a standpipe but people here were telling me not to have one at all. On RC I have seen most people use a short standpipe for the main drain of the herbie.

No stub at all? You just have a open bulkhed in the bottom of your overflow?

Can't see why you wouldn't have a stub but just lower than your emergency standpipe for issues just such as this. Think tuning would be similiar, you have a pipe run below you bulkhead so just basically just adding an extension above.

GreenSpottedPuffer · #8 11-13-2007, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark

No stub at all? You just have a open bulkhed in the bottom of your overflow?

Can't see why you wouldn't have a stub but just lower than your emergency standpipe for issues just such as this. Think tuning would be similiar, you have a pipe run below you bulkhead so just basically just adding an extension above.

Well I had a stub with a strainer and a few people told me not to do that. I think I will go back to a stub but forget the strainer. There really is not reason I can think of not to have a small pipe on the bulkhead...Like you said, its really no different than an open bulkhead. I think then I can just goop a bunch of silicone ontop and hope it works. If not, at least the whole tank will not drain if power goes out, just to below the short length of pipe.

Actually Herbie himself has a standpipe for both the regular drain and emergency drain...Not that his is necessarily the best but it seems to have been working for many years now.

Well I have most water drained now. Its going to be hard to get all the water out completely...Maybe I should bust out the wet dry vac!

GreenSpottedPuffer · #9 11-13-2007, 10:37 PM

I found the leak, it was a small gap in the corner. I added a bunch of silicone on the inside of the overflow and outside. It looks ugly but I think it should work.

How long does silicone take to cure? I want to water test as soon as I can.