Bulkhead leak

[jmichaelh7]

I moved and set my aquarium up at new house to find the bulkhead had leak from hitting it.

I’m having a lot of difficulty removing it with two wrenches , one to hold the pipe and the other to twist nut off. No luck

Any recommendations

 

[blaxsun]

What kind of tank is it?

 

[archercorals]

Pay your lfs to come fix this for you.

 

[littlefoxx]

I moved and set my aquarium up at new house to find the bulkhead had leak from hitting it.

I’m having a lot of difficulty removing it with two wrenches , one to hold the pipe and the other to twist nut off. No luck

Any recommendations

Duck tape… yeah ghetto I know but I was able to fix a leak in my bulkhead with it. I wasnt in a position that I can replace it due to not being able to get it off without causing a flood…

 

[fishguy242]

Careful not to crack tank !!, hold nut ,try to lock in pliers ,firm but steady try to turn pipe.

 

[jmichaelh7]

What kind of tank is it?

Acrylic

Pay your lfs to come fix this for you.

do you think they would

Duck tape… yeah ghetto I know but I was able to fix a leak in my bulkhead with it. I wasnt in a position that I can replace it due to not being able to get it off without causing a flood…

Duck tape lol no I’m going to lose sleep

 

[littlefoxx]

Acrylic


do you think they would


Duck tape lol no I’m going to lose sleep

Yeah thats why I said ghetto… lol

 

[Bruttall]

Bumping it during transport probably ruined the threads on the fitting, hence the difficulty un-screwing the nut. If you can get flat under the bulkhead with the tank, use a handheld hacksaw to cut the plastic bulkhead off behind the nut. Since this is an acrylic tank I would also place a piece of cardboard between saw and tank so you don't scratch the hell out of the bottom of the tank. use a bigger piece of cardboard than you think you need, allow for travel of the saw.

 

[mtraylor]

Are you having difficulty because it's hard to get too? Or is it glued?

 

[jmichaelh7]

Are you having difficulty because it's hard to get too? Or is it glued?

Difficult because it’s hard to get to.

Bumping it during transport probably ruined the threads on the fitting, hence the difficulty un-screwing the nut. If you can get flat under the bulkhead with the tank, use a handheld hacksaw to cut the plastic bulkhead off behind the nut. Since this is an acrylic tank I would also place a piece of cardboard between saw and tank so you don't scratch the hell out of the bottom of the tank. use a bigger piece of cardboard than you think you need, allow for travel of the saw.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[workhz]

Duct. Not duck.

Or a dremel to break the nut. Or tin snips if you can get to it. Or glue a hex piece to the pipe so you can get a wrench on the pipe to keep it from turning and then unscrew the nut. Or drill an hole through the pipe and stick a screw driver in it to keep it from turning. Assuming you’re just going to replace the pipes anyway.

Pic?

 

[mtraylor]

Oh ok. Well I would go to your LFS and get a bulkhead wrench. It looks like 2 C's back to back. Each side is for a different bulkhead size. I keep one in my bag of goodies. That way I can just put arm behind tank and tighten loosen if needed. Its a must tool to have IMO.

Also just a side note tip. You really dont have to tighten the bulkhead that much. Some people torque them down too much and create leaks and instead of loosening the nut and reapplying the gasket correctly and letting the gasket do what is supposed to do. They add insult to injury and put silicon on it or other gluing agents. If you put the gasket on the correctly, it doesn't tank much to get a good solid seal. I have learned the hardway too btw. LOL.

Good luck. Get the tool you will not be disappointed.

 

[Bruttall]

Also just a side note tip. You really dont have to tighten the bulkhead that much. Some people torque them down too much and create leaks and instead of loosening the nut and reapplying the gasket correctly and letting the gasket do what is supposed to do. They add insult to injury and put silicon on it or other gluing agents.

If I am installing a bulkhead that is underneath the tank, after I put it thru the hole, I do silicone inbetween the threads and the drilled part of the tank, I have learned the hard way this will prevent issues down the road, and is also a lot of why bottom drilled tanks are dwindling in the hobby. Much safer to drill the back wall near top for shadow box type overflow.

 

[workhz]

I had that area leak when I was first putting my tank together, the tolerances for some of those nuts is pretty bad and you can't tighten otherwise they just slip off the thread. I've been meaning to change mine as I bought a much better once that doesn't deform however it's stayed on there and I'm guessing a bit of salt creep here and there has it firmly in place.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Duct. Not duck.

Or a dremel to break the nut. Or tin snips if you can get to it. Or glue a hex piece to the pipe so you can get a wrench on the pipe to keep it from turning and then unscrew the nut. Or drill an hole through the pipe and stick a screw driver in it to keep it from turning. Assuming you’re just going to replace the pipes anyway.

Pic?

This sounds like something I want to do. Dremel and cut the nut off?

 

[jmichaelh7]

Oh ok. Well I would go to your LFS and get a bulkhead wrench. It looks like 2 C's back to back. Each side is for a different bulkhead size. I keep one in my bag of goodies. That way I can just put arm behind tank and tighten loosen if needed. Its a must tool to have IMO.

Also just a side note tip. You really dont have to tighten the bulkhead that much. Some people torque them down too much and create leaks and instead of loosening the nut and reapplying the gasket correctly and letting the gasket do what is supposed to do. They add insult to injury and put silicon on it or other gluing agents. If you put the gasket on the correctly, it doesn't tank much to get a good solid seal. I have learned the hardway too btw. LOL.

Good luck. Get the tool you will not be disappointed.

I ordered bulkhead nuts from hex a fish . Looks like 3d printed

I’m seriously considering applying silicone to it if I can’t get it off.

 

[workhz]

Once you dremel into it, even if you can’t cut all the way through I’m sure a screw driver in whatever slot you cut and twisting will snap it off.

Not sure I’d trust anything 3D printed either but there’s not exactly a lot of pressure there.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Once you dremel into it, even if you can’t cut all the way through I’m sure a screw driver in whatever slot you cut and twisting will snap it off.

Not sure I’d trust anything 3D printed either but there’s not exactly a lot of pressure there.

I like this idea I’m heading to Lowe’s now and will give update

 

[mtraylor]

This is what you need in tight spot. Its metal too.

 

[workhz]

just don’t get the tank. There’s probably a million ways to do this. It can’t be on that tight …. It’s not like corroded muffler or header bolts/nuts.