Plumbing help

[UMan101]

Hi everyone,

My first tank ever finally arrived but didn't seem to include instructions on the plumbing. Was hoping someone here could help me. It's a 50g cube from scaquariums.

Attached are pics of the equipment that it came with (theres also a sump and skimmer).

How/where do I connect these pieces?

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[Marshall O]

The two PVC pieces are for inside the overflow box. First you need to install the two bulkhead fittings. You remove the nut from each fitting, but leave the gaskets on the male ends with the threads. Put the male ends in your overflow box facing down into their appropriate holes. The nut is installed underneath the tank. Do not over tighten these or you will break them. Then you can install the drain and return PVC piping. Note, I used PVC glue and primer to glue my return piping to the bulkhead. It is a pressure line and so it will blow off if it is not glued. You will need to glue on the return piping to the bulkhead before you install the bulkhead.

The return pipe is smaller than the drain, so that should be easy to distinguish. The two black loc-line hoses screw on to the return piping (the PVC that looks like a T). The rest is kind of up to you depending on how you orientate the sump and return pump. I have the exact same aquarium, but I hard piped my drain plumbing with PVC instead of using the flexible tubing. But the tubing works great for the return pump. See what you can come up with and ask us for help when you get stuck.

If you really need help still, depending on where you are located, I may be able to come help you.

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[UMan101]

Thanks Marshall! Really appreciate the help. I gave it a go and slowly realized I don't even own the proper wrench to remove the nut. I'm going to create a post to have someone come help set it up (will pay). I'm in Quincy isthat near you? Feel free to PM me. Thanks again!

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[B.rian]

i just saw that you had 2 posts on this topic. Marshall's input is spot on. you should not need any wrench to remove the nut; everything is hand-tightened. do you have pvc glue?

 

[UMan101]

Alright you guys motivated me to give it a go. First question is if my bulkhead is in correctly?

Here is the order:
Nut gasket glass mushroom

So the nut is under the cabinet, there is a gasket above the nut, then the tank glass and lastly mushroom top coming out of the glass into the tank



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[JohnK]

Alright you guys motivated me to give it a go. First question is if my bulkhead is in correctly?

Here is the order:
Nut gasket glass mushroom

So the nut is under the cabinet, there is a gasket above the nut, then the tank glass and lastly mushroom top coming out of the glass into the tank

Good thing you asked

When installing bulkheads, the gasket always goes on the flange side regardless of the orientation of the bulkhead (never on the nut side). So you want Bulkhead (flange side) - gasket - glass - nut.

The reason is that water can seep through the threading on the nut side, but the flange side will form a reliable seal.


Other bulkhead questions;
tightness - hand tight and then 1/8-1/4 turn more at the most.
Sealant - none, you don't need it and it can cause problems down the road if you ever need to remove and reinstall the bulkhead. Just make sure the bulkhead, gasket, and especially the glass are all clean.

orientation - Bulkheads can be installed either way, (flange inside the tank, or outside) BUT if you put have the nut inside eventually crud and life will accumulate on the threads to the point where the bulkhead cannot be removed without cutting it out. So - it's usually best to have the flange on the wet side, but if you are in a pinch for space you can go the other way.

IF a bulkhead ever starts leaking - usually the bulkhead itself got cracked, usually from over tightening. Don't over tighten them

HTH

 

[Dashiki]

Gasket goes inside the tank

 

[Jim Tansey]

Good explanation John you touched on all the problem areas....

Jim

 

[Jim Tansey]

Gasket goes inside the tank

NOT NECESSARALLY!!!!! See Johns post.

Jim

 

[UMan101]

Wow that could have been bad. Just undid them and corrected it.

Very awesome and informative post! You legit answered every question I could have on bulkheads. Thanks man!

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[UMan101]

Alright so next up was the pipes. I pushed the two pipes through the holes and attached the side pieces at the top. Does this look correct?

What's my next step after this?



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[Dashiki]

NOT NECESSARALLY!!!!! See Johns post.

Jim

I was referring to the pics not bulkheads in general.

 

[Dashiki]

Did you glue the off together at the top of the returns?

Do you already have a sump?

Next step is to setup the return and drain.

 

[Dashiki]

Once plumbing is done quickly fill with fish, coral, rock sand and water. Not necessarily in that order

Just kidding. Once it's done you are ready for water and rock/sand then get it cycling.

 

[UMan101]

Hmm I haven't glued anything. It wasn't included with it. Which parts need to be glued? The return pipe to the squiggly pipes?

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[JohnK]

The "return" is the plumbing coming from the pump up into the tank. In your case you have white PVC with a T at the top and sections of black "loc line" coming out each side and then out of the overflow box.

The reason (I assume) that gluing the return pipe is that it will be under some pressure so if the parts separated you could get a fountain of water spraying across your living room. Most of the plumbing for fish tanks is best left not glued so you can take it apart for modifications, cleaning, or whatever. With the return you need to be sure that it will stay together under that pressure. Gluing is very effective, and or in a lot of cases a well placed threaded fitting or two can address the concern of pressure in the line, but also still allow room for disassembly.

Edit, adding;
In the pic above it looks like there are slip fittings on the PVC pipe, and threaded connections where the PVC meets the loc line. With that set up, I'd glue everything on the return except the loc line connections. That way you can still remove the whole assembly by unthreading the loc line sections, and then the bulkhead - allowing the whole return assembly to be lifted up and out.

Also if the return bulkhead is slip, you can get a slip x female threaded adapter and glue that into the bulkhead, then from there you can connect the white PVC pipe (that is inside the overflow box) to the bukhead with a slip x male thread adapter. That way you can disassemble that much more and if you ever want to change the design of the return plumbing you are less likely to have to replace the bulkhead.

 

[JohnK]

Also, (I just looked back at the earlier pics) when you install the nuts on the bulkheads, the flat round side (basically the flange-like side of the nut) you want that flat round part against the glass, not the other way around as it seems to be in the close up of the bulkheads

 

[UMan101]

Hey John,

Good catch on the nut being the wrong way. Just fixed it. Thanks!

As for gluing the pvc, sorry if this is a total noob question haha but what exactly am I gluing together? Am I taking apart the T and gluing those pieces together? Or do you mean glue the T to the bulkhead? Lastly, is the T actually already glued? It came assembled

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[JohnK]

OK,

First, when we talk PVC "glueing" is using PVC cement just like you would with any home plumbing project. Measure everything carefully (accounting for the depth the pipe will slide into the sockets, once the primer and cement are applied the pipe slides all the way in fairly easily) then apply PVC primer around the socket and the end of the pipe, repeat with PVC cement after a few seconds, then insert the pipe and twist while pushing it in (and it will be stuck solid in short order). You can the a two pack with the cement and primer at HD/Lowes for a few bucks. The primer is bright colored, you can order clear primer if you don't like purple/blue stains all over your plumbing.

For the return pipe in the picture above;
I see something uneven, clear/opaque and a bit shiny on the joint between the T and the shorter spaced thread adaptor. Is it hard or soft? It looks like silicone which would be silly but people do lots of silly things with their plumbing sometimes

I would want cement the T to both branches and the long pipe, and both slip x female thread adaptors to the pipe. I would NOT cement the loc line sections where they thread into the adapters.

AND - for the bottom of the long pipe on the return; I would want that installed so I could remove it without having to cut anything. There are different ways to accomplish that...... What kind of bulkheads do you have? (on the inside are they slip x slip, slip x thread, or thread x thread. The pics look like slip x slip)

 

[UMan101]

Alright sounds good. I'm on my way to home depot to buy some right now. Will let you know how it goes from there

One other question: when I put the return and drain pipes in the bulkheads, won't the water leak? Do I need to glue the pipes to the bulkheads?

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