Is this a good deal?

[kevin]

I would put the flat side against the bh fitting inside the tank, with the ribbed side against the glass(make sure the area is clean). Use some silicone grease on the washer, and don't over tighten it, usually hand tight and then another 1/4 turn with a bh wrench will do the job.

Well I flipped the ribbed sides to the glass & no dice! I will have to get some silicone grease to see if that does the trick.
Does it matter that it's just leaking inside the pipe & not on the outside? Because it's still going into the sump.

 

[Brando457]

Yeah you don't want it really leaking because then you'll get nasty salt creep!

 

[Hawkeye]

Sorry for the late reply - but i have never used the tunze recirc pump but i have a lot of their other products (wavebox, powerheads, ato, skimmer) and they all perform solidly. I had their ATO for about 5~6 years and it only recently crapped out (refused to pump anything). Roger fixed it all up for a fraction of the cost of a new one. The one common theme with their pumps is good output at a very low efficient wattage. That plus a solid warranty/willingness to help is what keeps me going back.

That stated - if you have no problems adding a little heat/vibration/wattage in the sump - then you can always go with a mag or similar pump. An alternate pump would be cheaper that's for sure.

 

[downbeach]

Well I flipped the ribbed sides to the glass & no dice! I will have to get some silicone grease to see if that does the trick.
Does it matter that it's just leaking inside the pipe & not on the outside? Because it's still going into the sump.

So, the leak is not around the BH fitting itself? Where it goes through the glass hole?

 

[kevin]

So, the leak is not around the BH fitting itself? Where it goes through the glass hole?

Sorry for my terrible explanation!
It's at the bulkhead going through the glass hole, but it doesn't leak on the outside of the tank which would lead it to drip on the floor. It just drips inside the actual piping which would lead it into the sump.

Hopefully that made sense!

 

[Fish Brain]

Still don't follow where it is leaking from but as long as it's not leaking outside the tank around the gasket you will be ok.

At this point, I would toss that overly complex bulkhead and get a standard $5 black bulkhead and call it a day!

 

[kevin]

Still don't follow where it is leaking from but as long as it's not leaking outside the tank around the gasket you will be ok.

At this point, I would toss that overly complex bulkhead and get a standard $5 black bulkhead and call it a day!

yeah, it's not leaking outside of the tank.
I was just on the phone with my fiance, and she said her brain hurt. I tried explaining what we're doing this afternoon..

 

[downbeach]

yeah, it's not leaking outside of the tank.
I was just on the phone with my fiance, and she said her brain hurt. I tried explaining what we're doing this afternoon..

If your bh fitting isn't damaged in some way, i.e. cracked, and the "leak" is just in the slip fitting between the bh fitting and the stand pipe, then the rubber washer isn't going to do anything for that. The rubber gasket is just to keep water from leaking around the bh fitting and the glass hole. If the water is simply seeping between the stand pipe and the bh fitting, it's not going to be a problem.
If the bh fitting has a small "crack" I would replace it. If this is a used system, my suggestion would be to buy new bh fittings and gaskets.

 

[Fish Brain]

If it is just water getting past the standpipe where it sits in the bulkhead connection(inside the tank), that is nothing to worry about. If you want, some silicone plumbers lube will take care of that.

 

[TanksNStuff]

I don't entirely agree with the last few posts. I agree that if it's leaking into the bulkhead, the bulkhead could be cracked. Either that or the standpipe is probably just not seating all the way into the bulkhead. Remove and inspect it and if you see any cracks replace it. If not, try some silicone or grease to see if that stops the leak. I don't agree that this is OK though...

Either way, you have water seeping in at an elevation well below where you want it to (at the intake on the 90 elbow). If your return pump ever fails (or when you turn it off), water will keep running into your sump until it reaches the highest input elevation... which would be the bulkhead. I'm quite sure you don't want to drain 95% of your display tank! This would not only flood your sump but your fish and corals won't be too happy either. :nervous

Fix this leak or replace the bulkhead.

You might also want to try removing all the teflon tape on the threads and replacing that with new teflon tape.

 

[downbeach]

Both of my overflows stand pipes are just dry fit into the bulk head fitting, and I don't know just how water tight they are, I wouldn't doubt that I have a little seepage there too. If the worst were to happen and my return pumps stopped working for some reason, and I did have this seepage, the only water that would leak out would only be the water that is in my overflow chamber, which my sump would easily contain.

 

[kevin]

Quick Question. What type of grease am I using? Can someone point me to a link to one?
Thanks for answering all my stupid questions!

 

[downbeach]

Quick Question. What type of grease am I using? Can someone point me to a link to one?
Thanks for answering all my stupid questions!

Silicone grease, sometimes called lubricant. Most hardware stores carry it, i.e. Lowes, HD, Ace, etc.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Both of my overflows stand pipes are just dry fit into the bulk head fitting, and I don't know just how water tight they are, I wouldn't doubt that I have a little seepage there too. If the worst were to happen and my return pumps stopped working for some reason, and I did have this seepage, the only water that would leak out would only be the water that is in my overflow chamber, which my sump would easily contain.

Ahh, that may be true for you Jim. Some overflow chambers (like mine) also have inlets near the bottom of the tank which is why I said it could drain most of your tank.

 

[Fish Brain]

Quick Question. What type of grease am I using? Can someone point me to a link to one?
Thanks for answering all my stupid questions!

I got the "lube" option when I ordered my glass holes kit and it came with this stuff called magic lube. Not sure if and where you can get it locally. I'll have to look around HD next time I'm there.

http://www.waterwaydirect.com/maluluandse.html

 

[downbeach]

Ahh, that may be true for you Jim. Some overflow chambers (like mine) also have inlets near the bottom of the tank which is why I said it could drain most of your tank.

I was referring to my own tank. My chambers also have slots at the bottom, middle and top, but there's a double wall there, so the water doesn't enter the chamber until it reaches the top. I guess if you can fill the chamber with water, as you would do if you were checking for leaks, you wouldn't have to worry too much about draining your tank, if not, it would probably be best to glue your standpipe into the BH fitting so it doesn't leak.

 

[JerzyFF61]

skimmed the topic a bit. grabbed its and peices. totally tired. gaskets normally go on the "wet" side of plumbing. also are thes new gaskets? are they a snug fit??? also i have run into a problem with the thickness and hardness of the gasket....

 

[kevin]

I was referring to my own tank. My chambers also have slots at the bottom, middle and top, but there's a double wall there, so the water doesn't enter the chamber until it reaches the top. I guess if you can fill the chamber with water, as you would do if you were checking for leaks, you wouldn't have to worry too much about draining your tank, if not, it would probably be best to glue your standpipe into the BH fitting so it doesn't leak.

My overflows are at the top of the tank. I bought the 18g sump that goes with the CAD lights 50g.

skimmed the topic a bit. grabbed its and peices. totally tired. gaskets normally go on the "wet" side of plumbing. also are thes new gaskets? are they a snug fit??? also i have run into a problem with the thickness and hardness of the gasket....

gasket's are new, they are also snug. I tried the silicone grease & it didn't work.

I haven't really had a chance to get more into it. I've been running with my head cut off past 2 weeks between family and work!!

 

[kevin]

Just thought I would update with some crappy pictures taken by my phone.

The GFCI/Apex is tripping the Radion, no idea why.

 

[AqOb]

Im having a hard time wrapping my head around that durso. Is there a gasket on the "nut/ female" side? Nothing short of luck/salt creep will stop that from leaking. When you tighten the nut you are stretching the gasket.
Gaskets do not go on the wetside... they go on the flange side regardless of wet or not.
Lube might help, but honestly we are talking about $15 of plumbing parts to build a new one the right way.
My 2cents....
Ethan

Sorry no ideas on the light other than call ecotech... they have pretty good cs.