my upgrade journal/journey

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I DID IT!!! whohoo! just glued the last pipe together. now for a test run to see if i did it right! lol. its ok just to run plain old city water thru it for that right? ill pump it out when im done. just would feel better testing it out before i move it into the living room!

Beautiful, Jill! Congrats on the next step! I used hose water to leak test my tank with no issues. Like @UncommonSense said, make sure it's level, like perfectly level! That's really really important if you don't want seams failing.

Another tip, be very careful about the head of the hose on the glass. Mine actually scratched it a little as I had it resting on the glass and I accidentally moved it. Luckily the scratch happened where the sand is so I don't notice it at all!

 

[UncommonSense]

To add on to the wise words; be sure to mechanically support your plumbing with pipe straps before final install! — you don’t want to be relying on bulkhead fittings to hold the plumbing up while the system is in your home!


Something like these, perhaps; but cheaper!

Amazon product ASIN B083FCM91W

 

[smitten with ocean life]

yes, i carefully checked all of those and made sure they all had the rings in!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

thank you walker!!
yes, i plan to get some plumbers strap stuff. for some reason it wont show the pic you put on @UncommonSense . is that what you had in mind?
the tank seems really level

 

[UncommonSense]

thank you walker!!
yes, i plan to get some plumbers strap stuff. for some reason it wont show the pic you put on @UncommonSense . is that what you had in mind?
the tank seems really level

The tape roll of perforated sheet metal strapping material can technically work, but isn’t a very elegant solution for such a nice plumbing job! (And is just generally a pain to work with/doesn’t do much besides hang the pipe)

Here’s a screenshot of the style of pipe supports I’m imagining; this is just a placeholder I pulled up for example purposes, not a specific brand recommendation…

something that mounts to a surface (like the stand), and securely clamps around the plumbing! — the adjustable stem seems nice given that plumbing is rarely a fixed distance from a surface!

These won’t be strictly necessary for test running the tank… but, some form of (removable/serviceable) plumbing support should be installed before the tank is running with salt water, in your home!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

oh wow!! thank you! ill look into these. thats a great idea!!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

well, theres a reason for test runs...wipe, wipe, lol

 

[UncommonSense]

well, theres a reason for test runs...wipe, wipe, lol

Where’s the culprit? Bulkhead fitting?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

no. i had missed gluing a section. and not tightened a another connection tight enough. so waiting on the glue to dry!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

how long do you guys like to wait for the glue to dry? the bottle makes it sound like 15 min but that doesnt seem like long

 

[smitten with ocean life]

what disaster. i had a small leak here on the overflow im fixing. but apparently they dont coat the back of these tanks with something that can get wet!! helloo???!!

 

[UncommonSense]

what disaster. i had a small leak here on the overflow im fixing. but apparently they dont coat the back of these tanks with something that can get wet!! helloo???!!

Aaw!!! That’s a glaring oversight! Well, there is still time to properly vinly wrap the back pane, if you so-choose?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

yeah. making me wonder what else is an oversight!! still cant figure out how to get these plastic nuts in the overflow tight enough to stop the leak. what will happen first? crack the tank or break the plastic nut? and yes, there are rubber rings on both sides

 

[tbrown]

what disaster. i had a small leak here on the overflow im fixing. but apparently they dont coat the back of these tanks with something that can get wet!! helloo???!!

Sand it down and paint it with craft paint. Just make sure you match the sheen.

 

[Üter]

can you drain the tank some and dry the area and apply epoxy?

 

[UncommonSense]

yeah. making me wonder what else is an oversight!! still cant figure out how to get these plastic nuts in the overflow tight enough to stop the leak. what will happen first? crack the tank or break the plastic nut? and yes, there are rubber rings on both sides

The plastic nut, the plastic threads, or the plastic overflow box will break first!

— something to note: many overflow box gaskets have raised grooves on at least one face of the gasket, these should be facing the glass! (Check for this?)

— the sealing side of any gasketed bulkhead fitting is the “flange” side (interior box, in this case)… the threaded side of the bulkhead will inherently leak around a gasket due to the threads themselves! — your attention should be focused on the interior overflow box, and it’s seal with the interior gaskets/glass! (Also, never double up gaskets, they will leak!)

Also, plumber’s silicone lubricant (aka silicone o-ring lubricant) can be used between gasket and glass!

You can try the likes of an oil filter wrench to tighten the nuts, but they shouldn’t really need to get THAT tight…

— Start by checking for a clean surface on interior overflow box, both faces of interior gaskets (and ridge orientation), and interior face of glass!

 

[Üter]

yeah. making me wonder what else is an oversight!! still cant figure out how to get these plastic nuts in the overflow tight enough to stop the leak. what will happen first? crack the tank or break the plastic nut? and yes, there are rubber rings on both sides

I think you might want to take it apart and re-check to make sure the O ring is still round and seated. they also make a silicone grease that is food safe they you can lubricate it too. but if it's coming from the nut area, I would think warped gasket not sealed properly as a best guess. or even the wrong size/thickness.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

yeah ill worry about the paint later. so maddeneing. its the leak im fighting. ill keep trying. and yes, i can drain the water out. right now i have it below the overflow

 

[Imrahilwjz]

^^^What they said^^^
Beaten to the punch by people to the east of me

 

[Imrahilwjz]

^^^What they said^^^
Beaten to the punch by people to the east of me

Oops, beaten by people to the east and west.