bulkhead leaking, suggestions please!

[howman]

trying to watch tonights game, but i have a problem.

i took a pump off my 1.5 inch bulkhead today......not noticing it loosened it up.
it was in my sump, which is now empty.
now, i can't tighten the bulkhead......when i turn the large nut on the exterior of the tank, the whole bulkhead moves with it.......i can't even get the bulkhead off.....

help i need suggestions

tried some silicone, just kept on leaking

 

[howman]

i cracked my 90g sump

 

[Moe_K]

ouch, that sucks, howman.
time for a replacement, yes?

 

[dz6t]

Sorry to hear that,it really sucks.

How big is yout main tank?

 

[skyedolphan]

my fugebulkhead did the same but it was just a slow drip so I just kept drying and adding more silicone hopefully it will work for you but sounds like a bigger leak

 

[howman]

dawn.
i need a new sump...and the difficulty is i have to have it drilled in precise places...

 

[Scuba_Dave]

That sux, no chance to simply repair the sump? Maybe some weldon?
or is it bad...

ah, I was thinking you had acrylic cump.....

Some people have put another piece of glass in depending upon the break & location. But you need to make sure it is sealed real good....

 

[howman]

can you repair cracked glass?

 

[Piscevore]

I had a dry tank with a crack and a drilled hole that I just completely covered with a sheet of acrylic (and lots of silicon). It worked great (plastic goes on the -inside- of the tank)

 

[howman]

ok,
somebody on reefcentral says something similar...suggests i use a similar thickness plate glass over the bulkhead hole and crack......
sounds good and not difficult.
does anybody perform house visits to drill the tank for a new bulkhead?

 

[Piscevore]

"suggests i use a similar thickness plate glass"

The only reason being it needs to be equally strong...aka don't use 1/8 glass on a tank with 3/4 inch glass, because presumably it needs that extra .625" to support the weight of h20... As for the plate, have you ever tried cutting glass? It bloody sucks. Best purchase a nice hollow ground 100+ tooth blade and cut up some acrylic just how you need it. As far as drilling, a bunch of us have done it, but I would still sweat like a pig drilling anything but my own I do have a 1.5" hole saw, where you at?

 

[dedfish]

I'd use cheap home depot acrylic instead of glass.

 

[howman]

i can go to a glass shop and buy glass
i live in newton.....

i can get away with a 3/4 bulkhead as a replacement.........so the hole is not that large......and piscevore, if you are offering, thanks.....and not much to sweat as the tank is already cracked.

 

[dz6t]

Can you use a 100 gallon rubbermaid tub for sump?

 

[NateHanson]

I definitely would go with glass for this patch instead of acrylic. you need a good seal here, and silicone doesn't seem to bond as well to acrylic as it does to glass. I've done this to cover a bulkhead in my sump that I'm not using. I haven't had any trouble cutting all the glass baffles for my sump with a scoring tool, and a nice crisp bench edge. Plus, as you note howman, glass shops do an even nicer job for cheap.

Nate

 

[marco67]

How man,
what a crappy way to enjoy the game!
Interesting thoughts on the repair, sounds like your on the right track. Just one thing I might suggest, stay with the 1 1/2" bulkhead. I don't think I'd trust the 3/4" mounted in the repair piece alone. If I'm understanding your sictuation correctly, I would think putting that 1 1/2" back in would help pull the whole thing together.

 

[howman]

marco
i will try and cover the crack and the 1.5" bulkhead...and drill the hole a foot away.....so i don't have to be concerned about further cracks.....
i still can't get that damn bulkhead off!

 

[JBendel]

My two cents ... go to a glass shop ... have them cut a small panel and cut your bulkhead hole ... and then make a sandwich with the panel, cracked glass and the bulkhead ...seal it up with silicon... basically what marco is saying.

 

[howman]

thanks for the advice
i removed the bulkhead with a hacksaw.....

now, i can get a piece of glass and silicone....and have a new hole drilled
OR
somebody has offered me a 90g tank,,,,just have to pick it up....but that tank would have to be drilled in 3 places......

-i have some options........use old tank---silicone and drill 1 hole
OR
-pick up new tank, take out old tank (where would i dispose it), and have 3 holes drilled.......

how long does it take somebody to drill a hole? i will need to 3/4 and a 1 inch....bulkhead.

either way i need somebody to drill the holes (have not heard from mr. merrill who has helped me and everybody else in the past).

 

[marco67]

I'd be concerned with another hole. The reason I said used the old hole was two fold...one to try to stabilize the old hole and two to not introduce another hold to an already stressed panel.
Honestly if it were me I'd look at it like this; in order to repair the old sump you would need to first come up with a plan your comfortable with, then chase down the repair parts, drain and dry the sump the repair, refill and try to sleep at nights. I think after considering all options I'd skip the first few steps drain the old, refill a new, have a beer and sleep like a baby.