Thoughts on how to remove Weir Nut / Pipes?

[oceanfrank]

Bought a used aquarium (First Salt Water). Completely disassembled everything cleaned it and now down to the bulkhead cleaning. This is a SC Aquarium, so it has a glass lip, making it very difficult to work inside the Weir. Tested the weir for leaks and it leaked as I feared. Watched a few YouTubes to figure out how to remove the bulkhead nuts (yellow arrow) and went to move forward, until I realized there was a Grey piece (red arrow) at the end that looked like it was glued on (Not screwed) preventing me from getting the bottom nut off. As you can see getting the top nut off is not going to be easy x3 given the small space due to the glass lip. Thoughts on how to get this out? Does that grey piece come off somehow and I am missing something? Or did I just discover one reason he was getting rid of it (inability to fix the weir leak easily)? (I will remove the "included" toothbrush once I can get this weir out). Finally, if this is a worst-case scenario, am I better off simply cutting the weir out of the aquarium removing the pipes, cleaning everything, adding the pipes back in then resealing the weir? (Yes I anticipate this is not going to be as easy as it sounds)

 

[ca1ore]

Grey part is one end of a union. Your best bet is to cut off the union, remove the bulkhead nut and just lift out the stand pipes. I’d replace the bulkheads.

 

[oceanfrank]

Grey part is one end of a union. Your best bet is to cut off the union, remove the bulkhead nut and just lift out the stand pipes. I’d replace the bulkheads.

Appreciate the confirmation. That is going to be a nightmare to accomplish (space too small for power tools), but I feared that to be the case. Do you think cutting the overflow box is a bad idea as cutting it might not be an option given the lack of space? Also it is standard to glue the union on, or do most people use a threaded connection? Just thinking about an easy way to disassemble if it leaks again.

 

[ca1ore]

I don’t follow. Looks like there’s plenty of room under the tank. No power tools required. Just use a PVC wire saw. Stand pipes went into the overflow; stands to reason they’ll come out too.

 

[Ironwill723]

Yes, just cut through the black threads on the old bulkhead on underside of tank, unscrew the bulkhead nut and pull the whole thing out. Replace with new bulkheads/standpipes.

 

[oceanfrank]

I don’t follow. Looks like there’s plenty of room under the tank. No power tools required. Just use a PVC wire saw. Stand pipes went into the overflow; stands to reason they’ll come out too.

The photo does not show the 2x8 blocking the access, but the pvc wire cutter is brilliant. Never heard of it, but watched it used on youtube, and headed out to get it now. Perfect answer. Thank you for the help!!

 

[ca1ore]

You are welcome. PVC wire saw has been part of my pluming ‘emergency’ kit for years. Buy two cause they have tendency to snap at the most inconvenient moment.

 

[marinesnow]

I have an SCA 150. Here's what I would do:

1. Fill the weird and try tightening the bulkhead to see if that stops the leak(s).
1a. If that stops the leak: buy the same union (looks like a schedule 80 from BRS or home depot--maybe ask the old owner), and connect it to the existing outlets/inlets.
OR
1b. If it's still leaking: cut the threaded part of the bulkhead, as others have suggested
2. Pull the drain and return standpipes out, it's not too bad once you remove the nozzles--assuming the original owner didn't glue them to the bulkheads.
3. Replace the bulkhead.

 

[oceanfrank]

You are welcome. PVC wire saw has been part of my plumbing ‘emergency’ kit for years. Buy two cause they tend to snap at the most inconvenient moment

Worked out so well, took a picture to show you the fantastic results of your suggestion. Took a few cuts(due to the angle), but now the pipes are out, I can clean the box, and start installing everything from scratch. Thank you again.

 

[oceanfrank]

I have an SCA 150. Here's what I would do:

1. Fill the weird and try tightening the bulkhead to see if that stops the leak(s).
1a. If that stops the leak: buy the same union (looks like a schedule 80 from BRS or home depot--maybe ask the old owner), and connect it to the existing outlets/inlets.
OR
1b. If it's still leaking: cut the threaded part of the bulkhead, as others have suggested
2. Pull the drain and return standpipes out, it's not too bad once you remove the nozzles--assuming the original owner didn't glue them to the bulkheads.
3. Replace the bulkhead.

1) Tried that, but there was so much "stuff" at the bottom of the box I sensed the sand/etc. was under the top washer already , so I decided to just rip it out, clean it out, and start over.
2) See Picture above
3) That was my nuclear option for sure.

That glass lip at the top does or our SCA does not work well with the return piping at all :-(.

 

[marinesnow]

1) Tried that, but there was so much "stuff" at the bottom of the box I sensed the sand/etc. was under the top washer already , so I decided to just rip it out, clean it out, and start over.
2) See Picture above
3) That was my nuclear option for sure.

That glass lip at the top does or our SCA does not work well with the return piping at all :-(.

Glad you got it figured out! That glass lip can be such a pain. All in all I love my SCA! Happy reefing!

 

[oceanfrank]

Glad you got it figured out! That glass lip can be such a pain. All in all I love my SCA! Happy reefing!

Curious, since I am starting from scratch, I was going to modify the bulkhead plumbing in the SCA a bit to cut down on the potential noise and allow for better routing to the sump below (Moving the return to the far left (viewed from the back of aquarium) since my return pumps (x2) will be there, move the emergency drain ~strait down to the refuge, and move the primary drain to the far right going to the roller filter. I understand the curved elbow and siphon hole cuts down on the noise a lot. Did you by chance do anything like this on the SCA and if so how did it work out?

 

[Snoopy 67]

You can put the pipes anyway you think best, does not affect operation.
Use a GATE VALVE on the primary drain as it is much more sensitive for adjustments.
Clean the inside of that box as close to new as you can to avoid leaks.
Rubber gasket goes under bulkhead on inside of the box.
Tighten hand tight + 1/4 turn to start. Make sure rubber gasket does not turn with the bulkhead.
Easiest if you start @ one end, middle & last so you have more room.

 

[oceanfrank]

You can put the pipes anyway you think best, does not affect operation.
Use a GATE VALVE on the primary drain as it is much more sensitive for adjustments.
Clean the inside of that box as close to new as you can to avoid leaks.
Rubber gasket goes under bulkhead on inside of the box.
Tighten hand tight + 1/4 turn to start. Make sure rubber gasket does not turn with the bulkhead.
Easiest if you start @ one end, middle & last so you have more room.

Perfect, thank you for taking time to elaborate.