Need helping with a leak

[Crabs McJones]

Agreed with the metal clamps, eventually they'll rust out, the plastic zip clamps are much better to use in my opinion

 

[TheEngineer]

Count me as lucky too. Never a clamp in my 20 years in the hobby and never a leak. Must be some strange twist of science...

I’m sure it has had nothing to do with properly installing the proper sized tubing on the proper hose barb.

 

[DSC reef]

Agreed with the metal clamps, eventually they'll rust out, the plastic zip clamps are much better to use in my opinion

Those work like a charm!

 

[CC13]

Lol, I'm just sharing my experience and maybe you need to see there's more than one way to run a reef tank. I guess I'm "lucky".

..... OP had a question about a leaky fitting. The fix was simple - add a clamp. Nobody said adding or not adding a clamp was right or wrong. But if you have a leak, then the solution is simple. If you choose to not use a clamp; that's perfectly fair. Its your tank, you had no leaks, no clamps worked for you.

Clamps are used and designed to clamp and seal. That's what they are intended for. Metal, Titanium or Plastic they are all designed with the same purpose. So if you have a leak - use a clamp. If you don't, then do what works and don't use one.

But stating you should heat the plastic up is completely the opposite of what your trying to prevent which is an already leaky fitting. And giving 'fact' that if you use metal clamps your system will somehow be infected with rust or other contaminates when that clamp is in no way touching system water is also completely misleading.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I think the point of not using a metal clamp is that it will rust from the heightened humidity in the cabinet causing it to potentially become very difficult to remove later on should the OP ever need to disassemble it, working on cars I know i'd rather work on a 2018 with no rust over a 2007 covered in rust for ease of removing bolts. That plus removing a rusty clamp could potentially drop rust flakes into the tank if OP should ever need to remove it in the future for some reason And rusty parts tend to be an eye soar, even if it's under the tank in the cabinet

 

[DSC reef]

..... OP had a question about a leaky fitting. The fix was simple - add a clamp. Nobody said adding or not adding a clamp was right or wrong. But if you have a leak, then the solution is simple. If you choose to not use a clamp; that's perfectly fair. Its your tank, you had no leaks, no clamps worked for you.

Clamps are used and designed to clamp and seal. That's what they are intended for. Metal, Titanium or Plastic they are all designed with the same purpose. So if you have a leak - use a clamp. If you don't, then do what works and don't use one.

But stating you should heat the plastic up is completely the opposite of what your trying to prevent which is an already leaky fitting. And giving 'fact' that if you use metal clamps your system will somehow be infected with rust or other contaminates when that clamp is in no way touching system water is also completely misleading.

Sorry man, been in the hobby long enough, rusting metal can cause issues long term, you never know what rusting metal is falling into your sump. If that's how you want to run your system then fine, dont give a false statement that rust will not hurt a system, that's very misleading.

 

[Crabs McJones]

just getting my aquarium going and over the last 3 days I’ve been struggling with a leak. I thought it was coming from my FMK, but stumbled upon the true leak after taking apart the plumbing around the FMK several times. Here is a video of the leak on the return hose of a Reefer 170. Do I silicone it??


Thanks in advance!!

Something that might help temporarily if you have them, put a couple extra zip ties around it to help seal it up better until you can get the appropriate clamp

 

[CC13]

Sorry man, been in the hobby long enough, rusting metal can cause issues long term, you never know what rusting metal is falling into your sump. If that's how you want to run your system then fine, dont give a false statement that rust will not hurt a system, that's very misleading.

Your completely missing the point here. I made it very clear that you need a clamp of SOME sort. Steel, titanium or plastic but a clamp nonetheless. I never said rust was acceptable or advisable. I said you need a clamp. It costs .05 cents at Home Depot for a steel one or $5 for a titanium one. I use titanium ones, but plastic work just fine..... but USE A CLAMP lol. Heating the plastic will not fix OP's problem. A clamp will.

Some of you guys make a huge fuss about a possibly rusting external steel clamp which you can visibly see and change out yet doesn't come in contact wit system water at all..... yet run Ecotech Wetsides or mag floats in your system that have sometimes been known to leak and rust out completely inside your tank lol.

I think there needs to be some evaluation of the risk and reward of decisions made on your system.

 

[DSC reef]

Your completely missing the point here. I made it very clear that you need a clamp of SOME sort. Steel, titanium or plastic but a clamp nonetheless. I never said rust was acceptable or advisable. I said you need a clamp. It costs .05 cents at Home Depot for a steel one or $5 for a titanium one. I use titanium ones, but plastic work just fine..... but USE A CLAMP lol

Some of you guys make a huge fuss about a possibly rusting external steel clamp which you can visibly see and change out yet doesn't come in contact wit system water at all..... yet run Ecotech Wetsides or mag floats in your system that have sometimes been known to rust out completely inside your tank lol.

I think there needs to be some evaluation of the risk and reward of decisions made on your system.

Rusting magnets are totally different in composition than steel. I'm done here.

 

[Danj]

Again, that is unsupported by facts. Hose barbs are designed to hold a hose in place and sealed up to a specified pressure. This is why they are specified with blow off and pull of pressure. Clamps are simply a preventative, they are not a part of the seal.

The OP likely has a bad seal with the hose. Heating it prior to sliding onto the barb allows the cooling hose to form around any possible deformities on the barb.

This is correct. The purpose of the clamps is not to cause a seal when there otherwise wouldn’t be one, rather, they are there to ensure the hose doesn’t unintentionally become dislodged from the barb over time due to some force such as vibration, pulling, etc.

Just to clarify the heating - that would be appropriate when the ID of the hose makes pushing it onto the barb too difficult. So you heat the hose gently to expand and soften it, then push it over the barb. As it cools it shrinks and returns to its original hardness, forming a secure seal. Problem with the OP’s fitting, I suspect, is that the hose is slightly too large to begin with, in which case heating I don’t think heating it will help.

 

[CC13]

Rusting magnets are totally different in composition than steel. I'm done here.

...But its also not advisable for it to be in your system.

Again, a clamp needs to be used. Whatever your material of choice is, that's personal preference. But a clamp needs to be used to fix a leaky barb fitting.

 

[Crabs McJones]

To avoid further derailing, lets try to keep it on the topic of OP's leak and offer advice on how to handle it. I've said my part, add zip ties until a clamp can be acquired. Everyone else please feel free to follow my lead

 

[CC13]

Google.

"hose clamp uses"

lol

 

[doughboy]

I think if the hose fits the barb, there will be no leak, even without clamp.
my current setup is hard plumbed, but I did not use clamp in my previous setup and, like some others, did not experience any leak.
My backyard irrigation system is all just hose connected to barbs, at high water pressure, and no leak.
The fit has to be tight though, like once you connect the hose to the barb, it would be difficult, if not, impossible, to pull it apart.
still, it is good to use clamps. they are not there to stop leaks only, but to prevent the hose from coming off (due to vibration and movement) in case fit is not very tight. just like most (but not all) hoses in cars are clamped.

as for metal clamp, wouldn't it be submerged in saltwater if you turn off the return pump?
if rust is bad, does that mean GFO is bad? as GFO is essentially rust.

 

[TheEngineer]

GFO is indeed “rust”. We sort of use that word as a generic catch all for metal corrosion, I suppose. In the case of the rust we are concerned with it isn’t pure ferric oxide. It has other metals in it that are of concern, like tin.

 

[Jay1982]

Thanks everyone for the advice and debate!

So, it sounds like a clamp would be the way to go to get a seal - but I am seeing some people in thread say that clamps don't provide seals and only help secure the tube in place. I guess if it is tightened enough a seal would be possible.

I didn't heat the hose before applying. I don't think I want to go that way.

The hose is the one that comes with the Reefer 170 - the barb was the right size but I am wondering if - due to my set up - having an "3rd party" barb and a RSR tube, there might be a small size discrepancy due to mass production variations?

I'm in Canada and for some reason it is notoriously hard to get some supplies from hardware stores. I would spring for titanium clamps but searching Home Depot, Home Hardware, and Lowes yields 0 results. @CC13, would you happen to know who sells those? If anyone else knows of a place in up state NY that sells them I could make the 2 hour car ride down.

At this juncture I am going to head to Home Depot, pick up a metal clamp and a new hose. I'm going to applying the metal clamp, if that stops the leak - great, I'll try to find a titanium one and replace it when it arrives. If the leak persists. I'll cut the tube and use a new tube. Hopefully that stops things. I'll keep you guys up to date. Thanks again!

 

[Barrett]

I posted a link to where I get mine earlier in the thread

http://www.titan-marine-hardware.com/titanium-hose-clamps.htm

 

[AlexStinson]

Thanks everyone for the advice and debate!

So, it sounds like a clamp would be the way to go to get a seal - but I am seeing some people in thread say that clamps don't provide seals and only help secure the tube in place. I guess if it is tightened enough a seal would be possible.

I didn't heat the hose before applying. I don't think I want to go that way.

The hose is the one that comes with the Reefer 170 - the barb was the right size but I am wondering if - due to my set up - having an "3rd party" barb and a RSR tube, there might be a small size discrepancy due to mass production variations?

I'm in Canada and for some reason it is notoriously hard to get some supplies from hardware stores. I would spring for titanium clamps but searching Home Depot, Home Hardware, and Lowes yields 0 results. @CC13, would you happen to know who sells those? If anyone else knows of a place in up state NY that sells them I could make the 2 hour car ride down.

At this juncture I am going to head to Home Depot, pick up a metal clamp and a new hose. I'm going to applying the metal clamp, if that stops the leak - great, I'll try to find a titanium one and replace it when it arrives. If the leak persists. I'll cut the tube and use a new tube. Hopefully that stops things. I'll keep you guys up to date. Thanks again!

You may have to order them online. Is it possible the barb is metric and the hose imperial or vise-versa, resulting in a slightly different size? I know I used to have that problem a lot back in the day when a lot of equipment came from germany.

 

[Jay1982]

You may have to order them online. Is it possible the barb is metric and the hose imperial or vise-versa, resulting in a slightly different size? I know I used to have that problem a lot back in the day when a lot of equipment came from germany.

It could be possible. Hose and top barb are from Red Sea. The bottom barb is from a fish store supply shop in Canada. I can't call them (they don't have an accessible phone number - believe it or not) so the next time I am in town I will pass by.

 

[MnFish1]

It could be possible. Hose and top barb are from Red Sea. The bottom barb is from a fish store supply shop in Canada. I can't call them (they don't have an accessible phone number - believe it or not) so the next time I am in town I will pass by.

1. I think you have a bad 'bottom barb'?
2. I used to use metal clamps - in fact most of them are 'steel (which is iron and carbon)' and the 'rust' is iron - BUT - I wholeheartedly agree with many people who suggest avoiding them - first when rusted they are hard to remove - secondly - if you don't use them - you won't question them as a potential problem when you get your ICP results back.
3. Many filters I have bought - suggest warming (in hot water) - the tubing before sliding it onto the barb - which tends to be impossible if you don't. Many of these manufacturers also provide the plastic clamps mentioned above.
4. I use Zip ties - tightened with one of the plastic cheap zip tie tools you can get at any hardware store.

Seems like most people have a valid point from my experience. Good to share the knowledge though

Im not sure there is much tin in steel btw - BUT - a bronze hose fitting certainly contains a fair bit of tin. I now use only plastic (learned that one the hard way)