Water leak...help!!???!!

[redhairsunshine]

I have water leaking where the pipe come out of the tank in the built in overflow. The rubber ring was broken and I replaced that and put everything back together...but water is still leaking past the rubber ring. The pipe goes through the bottom of the tank into the overflow box on the overflow side is where the rubber ring is with a pipe screwed into that to hold it down and tight. When any water is in the overflow, it leaks past the rubber ring and out the bottom. Am I just not strong enough to tighten it enough, or do I need to put something else there? Any suggestions?

[rcypert]

is the rubber gasket on the correct side of the glass? It should be on the water side.

[redhairsunshine]

Yes, it is on the water side. I noticed that the rubber ring is smooth on one side and has lines on the other (it was one made for a tub drain)..does it make a diff what way the rubber ring goes?

[TANKSALOT]

Make sure that you are not over tightening it. Hand tight + 1/4 turn is the recommended tightness. If you over tighten, you could bunch up or pinch the seal.

You could always add a thin layer of silicone to the seal.

Steve

[redhairsunshine]

maybe I was pinching the ring..I was trying to make it tight...never thought that it should just be hand tight. I will check it when I get home tonight..

[redhairsunshine]

Well, hand tighten did not work. I have some glue drying on it now. There are just 2 spots that are leaking and sure enough, they are in the back hard to reach part! I am going crazy!

[redhairsunshine]

Just wanted to update everyone. I could not get the water to stop leaking around that rubber ring...no matter how soft/hard I tighten. I used aquarium glue under the tank and around the pipe, but could not reach the part that was dripping from under the tank..so I ended up using the glue inside the overflow....let it cure for 3 days and no more leak!

Now on to my next issue...how to connect the refugium to the sumpPosting a new help topic for this!

[Cheekymonkey]

Hey redhair, perhaps someone else will chime in. But I have a suggestion. The story about gluing inside the overflow makes me nervous that the glue might break down over time and cause a bad leak one day while you are out.

You may want to remove that bulkhead and get one that is made ofr the aquarium hobby, clean the glass really well on both sides and reset a new bulkhead. It should be leak free..

I have seen gaskets with the lines on them, but the ones I have seen normally have a trench cut into the inside of the bulkhead to fit the lines, it keeps them from displacing the gasket when tightened some what.

[redhairsunshine]

Huummm. I thought about that too..the glue thing...but then I thought that it is aquarium glue...should it really break down?

Where would I aquire the ones made for an aquarium?

[Cheekymonkey]

Most of our online sponsors you can order bulkheads through...

I know Sea In the City and Exotic Aquarium both have bulkheads in stock, but give your local sponsor a call and see if they do.


What type of glue was it?

[redhairsunshine]

Not sure the glue name, I can check it when I get home...but looking at the picks of the bulkheads online, this is the fitting that is in there. I could not find one at Lowes/Home Depot that looked like it (because I thought maybe it was defective and was going to replace it) and that might be why.

Looks just like thiswith the exception that the ring is black and the part that screws on is black and does not appear to have the "raised humps" that the white one does:

http://www.dtpetsupplies.com/catalog...e.php/pID/3402

[Cheekymonkey]

Oh, thats a fine bulkhead, have you taken it apart to see if anything was caught inside of it... So much as a grain of sand can ruin the seal enough for a slow drip.

[redhairsunshine]

Yep, I took everything apart and cleaned it out. It did have a few bits of sand and I thought that was the culprit, but alas, it was not. But that was how I found out the rubber ring was broken and I replaced that.

[Cheekymonkey]

DId you have the ridge on the gasket facing up?

[redhairsunshine]

I tried it both ways. I put it back the way the broken one was, the ridge was up so that the flat surface was against the glass.

[redhairsunshine]

Ok, the glue said Marine and Aquarium glue...

[becact]

FYI- once a gasket is compromised it should not be reused. So once you overtightened that bulkhead, it is possible you ripped or changed the profile of the gasket enough that it will not perform as well over time, if at all. Usually these flaws are not visible with the eye, either. This is also true on engines and such (always change the gaskets when you remove an engine part affixed with a gasket ).

If I were you, I would drain the overflow, remove the bulkhead, get a brand new one with gasket, and tighten it correctly this time. Be sure to clean the glass around the hole before installing the new one with a razor blade and alcohol first.

Better to be safe than sorry!