Small Bulkhead Leak with Salt Creep

[BurtMacklin]

I have a 65 gallon tank with a Modular marine overflow (two 1.5" bulkheads). One of the bulkheads is leaking very slowly. It was letting out about 1 drop/day when I leak tested it, but resolved when I tightened the bulkhead inside the overflow a bit more. After 10 days of running my fishless cycle I'm getting a bit of salt creep in the back. I can buy a bulkhead wrench to tighten it down a bit more, but don't want to over tighten the gasket or crack the ABS bulkhead. If left as is (and I just clean it away every week), is this going to cause me more problems down the road?

When I drilled the tank there might have been a small chip right at the end on the inside of the cut. Not sure it this is something that could have been hit with silicone or epoxy then sanded to get a better seal.

 

[lapin]

I would take it apart enough to coat the gaskets with some silicone grease ( not silicone sealer). This will help the gaskets seal better and not bind when being tightened. There is very little water pressure on those gaskets. I would not over tighten them.

 

[BurtMacklin]

I would take it apart enough to coat the gaskets with some silicone grease ( not silicone sealer). This will help the gaskets seal better and not bind when being tightened. There is very little water pressure on those gaskets. I would not over tighten them.

There are two gaskets per bulkhead for this overflow, one inside the tank and one between the outer glass and external overflow. Would you recommend putting it on both gaskets or just the exterior one?

 

[John08007]

I would put it on all of the gaskets. It is to lubricate them so they don't bind up when you tighten it down.