Plumbing questions

[Rhoads238]

Hey everyone!

I just ordered my new aquarium and I just had a thought that hadn’t crossed my mind until now. The tank will be 7’ long and will have an external overflow. I just realized that I may not be able to access the overflow box if it were to ever leak. I don’t think I will be able to reach that far behind the tank to reseat the seals if it needed to be done. Is this pretty typical or should I consider changing to an internal overflow for this reason?


Are bulkheads something that are likely to start leaking down the road? Also do you guys have any tips on installing bulkheads so that they don’t leak in the first place. I want to avoid ever having to drain the tank as much as possible.

I also have some questions about plumbing my tank. The tank will have 1" bulk heads for the returns. I just ordered two neptune cor-20 on sale on bulk reef. I see that those have a 3/4" output. This is probably a stupid question but I will need to get some bushings to convert the 3/4" to 1" pipe? Also in the tank, I will have two 1" bulkheads I was planning on using loc line for.

would this connection work? 1" pvc into 1" thread-thread bulkhead into 1" to 3/4" thread thread bushing into a male NPT 3/4" loc line connector

I hope this isn't too confusing I don't know how else to explain it. Also are there any cons to doing the plumbing this way. My pump output and loc line will be 3/4" and all plumbing would be 1"


Thanks for your thoughts on this

 

[lapin]

Since they dont have much pressure on them once they are seated and not leaking they prob will never leak unless you somehow move the bulkhead.
I always use silicone grease on the gasket.
Clean the surfaces. Tank, bulkhead and gasket.
Be sure the hole is of the correct size and the gasket has no imperfections.
Since I have done a lot of bulkheads I can tell how much to tighten them. I go as tight as I can with my hands then just a wee bit more with a wrench. Too much and you will mess up the gasket or crack the nut.

 

[Rhoads238]

Since they dont have much pressure on them once they are seated and not leaking they prob will never leak unless you somehow move the bulkhead.
I always use silicone grease on the gasket.
Clean the surfaces. Tank, bulkhead and gasket.
Be sure the hole is of the correct size and the gasket has no imperfections.
Since I have done a lot of bulkheads I can tell how much to tighten them. I go as tight as I can with my hands then just a wee bit more with a wrench. Too much and you will mess up the gasket or crack the nut.

Thanks thats good to know. I hope I can manage to put all this together and have it not leak. My last tank never leaked and I'm hoping to do the same with this one. This time I'm going to try my hand at hard plumbing so I'm really hoping all goes well.

 

[laverda]

Bulkheads leaking should not be a problem, but it is always a possibility. I never lubricate bulkhead gaskets, doing so allows them to squeeze out from around the bulkhead. One cause for a bulkhead to leak is the plumbing putting a load of some sort on it. Especially if it was a side load causing the bulkhead not to be flat against the sealing surface.
plumbing with 1" and reducers should not be an issue.

 

[Rhoads238]

Bulkheads leaking should not be a problem, but it is always a possibility. I never lubricate bulkhead gaskets, doing so allows them to squeeze out from around the bulkhead. One cause for a bulkhead to leak is the plumbing putting a load of some sort on it. Especially if it was a side load causing the bulkhead not to be flat against the sealing surface.
plumbing with 1" and reducers should not be an issue.

Thanks for the info! I will definitely keep that in mind when I receive the tank. I received the bulkheads and schedule 80 was too bulky, so i decided to change to schedule 40 and a slip to thread bushing instead of a thread thread bushing. It should be a lot lower profile in the tank. Plus the schedule 40 are black instead of grey, so they should blend into the back of the tank better.