Plumbing help needed

[Fishnerd7]

New to the hobby and feel like I was ripped off already. A guy sold me a 100 gallon tank with pre drilled 1.25 inch holes drilled in corner returns. Two in each corner. Can't find bulkheads to reduce it from 1.25 to 1 in or 1.25 to 3/4 for the return side. I did find electrical conduit PVC fittings but now dealing with reducing again after using these conduit fittings as a bulkhead. Any suggestions from here on out before I start my installation. I'm running out of ideas and trying to keep it clean looking.
I'mean told I need 1 inch at overflow and 3/4 inch for return side. I plan on adding the good ball valves and gate valves but stuck on the bulkhead issue and reducing issue right now. Any help much appreciated.

 

[prsnlty]

If you are talking about inside the tank and not below; I would not worry about oversized drains as they'll only drain to the rate of your return flow. In this case bigger won't hurt a thing :)

As far as 1.25 returns... I would place the proper size pvc pipe in the bulkhead and reduce at the top. (If it were me)

If below the tank the only one needing reducers is the return and it only needs to be reduced to fit your return pump fittings.

 

[prsnlty]

Quick question. Are they 1.25 inch holes without the bulkhead or Center diameter of the bulkhead where the pipe fits in?

 

[prsnlty]

For example; my 1.25" bulkheads actually hold a three-quarter inch pvc pipe...

 

[Fishnerd7]

Yeah these are 1 1/4 inch holes with no bulkheads. I can't find any bulkheads to fit in these holes to reduce down to 1 inch or 3/4 either.

 

[prsnlty]

The holes in the glass determine the largest thread size that you can put into them but not the pipe size that will fit in the bulkhead. Give me a minute I think I know a place that I can direct you to but I want to make sure they have them.

 

[prsnlty]

http://www.glass-holes.com/Bulkheads_c21.htm

If in doubt call them, they're great people. They will hook you up with the correct ones :D

 

[Fishnerd7]

I'm in a pickle here then. I did see a video where a guy used electrical conduit pvc bushings to create his bulkheads. This works for me but the bushings are still 1 1/4 inch. Was just at home depot trying to figure out how to reduce it. I think my only real concern is matching the returns for 3/4 inch then.

 

[Fishnerd7]

Just saw your last thread. I'll call tomorrow. I have a feeling looking at the sizes I may not be able to get 1 inch bulkheads here. Would that effect my flow if I have 3/4 overflow and 3/4 return? Can they be the same size? Especially on a 100 gallon tank?

 

[prsnlty]

Go to the site and click on Contact Us tab and fill out the form. They are generally pretty quick to reply or call you (If you request a call in the comments box). Simply explain that the holes in the glass are 1.25" and the sizes you need for the pipes. Tell them you are unsure which to order.

 

[prsnlty]

Just saw your last thread. I'll call tomorrow. I have a feeling looking at the sizes I may not be able to get 1 inch bulkheads here. Would that effect my flow if I have 3/4 overflow and 3/4 return? Can they be the same size? Especially on a 100 gallon tank?

No, I actually have 3/4 for all... I'm running a 180g and it's fine :)

 

[prsnlty]

I wouldn't trust electric conduit myself but you never know. Bulkheads come with the proper gaskets and are made precise for pvc pipes to fit quite snug. I would have to wonder about the conduit being that precise.

 

[Fishnerd7]

Awesome thanks for your time. I'll give them a call.

 

[prsnlty]

Awesome thanks for your time. I'll give them a call.

You're welcome and good luck :D

 

[Jerry Barnes]

My SCA tank came with metric bulkheads. Its possible you have hole sizes to fit metric bulkheads which you then convert to standard. Just a thought. Had me scratching my bald head when I got this SCA tank and nothing fit right.

 

[prsnlty]

Awesome thanks for your time. I'll give them a call.

Did you call and were they able to help you?

 

[JoshH]

A 1 1/4" hole in the glass itself will fit a 1/2" bulkhead. Therefor the pipe size into and out of the bulkhead itself has to be 1/2". You can find adapters to change the size on either side of the bulkhead obviously. pvcfittingsonline.com or flexpvc.com are great places to find these adapters you can also purchase the schedule 40 pipe from them if you want or if you want fancier colored pvc formufit.com is the place to go.

 

[JoshH]

A chart for reference from monster fish keepers, make sure to measure the bare hole in the glass itself exactly and match it to the chart below and that will tell you the bulkhead size that will fit in the hole drilled.

 

[Fishnerd7]

I did call a few places as well. Everyone asked the same question. How big is the hole? Even looking at the charts I get more frustrated because the measurements are so tight. My original plan was to make my own bulkheads from electrical conduit fittings because they will screw down flush with each other. I got that idea from Joey's videos on DIY King. I'm nervous to commit to that though because its a reef ready and the holes are at the bottom. That's a lot of pressure on a potential fix. I'm getting there.... I bought the fittings...1 1/4 inch. They fit. The next size up seemed huge which was 1 1/2. Figured i was good. after all this reading when I go back and measure the threads on the 1 1/4 inch fittings they measure about 1 5/8 inch...????? What the what???? A bit discouraged cause I'm embarrassing myself here. I'm a seasoned DIY house builder. not like hey I fixed the leak in a pipe kinda stuff but built rooms and ripped out floors and built many wood projects. I know my way around a tape measure as well.
I fly off my base Thursday afternoon and I'm going to stop by a LFS in San Diego to buy a 3/4 fitting to see if those threads fit with hope I can return or get in store credit if not.
For the both of you though...if these are plumbed for 1/2 inch...isn't that small for a 100 gallon tank? this tank seems huge to me. When I look at it I figured it was 1 1/4 inch pipes for sure. I have a freshwater 55 gallon with a canister filter and those tubes are a good size for that tank. Do these holes matter or is all the other pipes that make it better? Do you use large pipes with reducers etc. Seems like in all the videos people are running some big pipes....or is the camera adding some size? Encouraging words welcome. I'm at the drawing board again.

 

[Fishnerd7]

My SCA tank came with metric bulkheads. Its possible you have hole sizes to fit metric bulkheads which you then convert to standard. Just a thought. Had me scratching my bald head when I got this SCA tank and nothing fit right.

Just scrolled up and saw your reply Jerry. I'm wondering if this is a possibility? I bought this tank from LFS. Where they got it seemed puzzling. I only paid 450 for it. Never been used glass tank with corner over flows. 60 inches long. Beautiful tank. I just put a trigger 30 sump underneath it but i guess I have to add another 4 inch sock so I'm not changing single sock every other day. Anyways I'm stuck on the bulkheads. Once I get over this hump I'm off to the races. I'm hoping to get one or two fittings just to see of they fit. If this works I'm going to spread the word or make a video on sizing this. It seems so simple but when you are miles from LFS you don't wanna waste money on ordering what you don't need.