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alexkharden
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OK, I'm dying...
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walter84
Community Member
Reading your thread, getting read to hopefully do my sump baffles this weekend. Does it matter what type of silicon i use? Can i just go to Home Depot and get some clear GE I silicone or does it need to be a "Special" kind?
Thanks for letting me be a noob
Thanks for letting me be a noob
Bulkheads should always be installed dry, never any silicone or lubricants on the gasketed surfaces.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/installing-bulkhead-tips.34973/
Looking at your photos it is hard to tell where the gaskets are but they should be on the flange side of the bulkhead, never on the nut side regardless if the flnage side is the wet or dry side.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/installing-bulkhead-tips.34973/
Looking at your photos it is hard to tell where the gaskets are but they should be on the flange side of the bulkhead, never on the nut side regardless if the flnage side is the wet or dry side.
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alexkharden
Active Member
GE Silicone I. I've never heard anyone saying the color matters, I know most people use clear, but some use black.
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alexkharden
Active Member
They are on the flange side, you can kind of see them in the first pic I posted, the one inside the overflow. It's the black strip in between the flange and the glass.
JMLewis
Active Member
It needs to be aquarium grade silicone. Most other silicone have an antifungal age that can be toxic for the tank.
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alexkharden
Active Member
There was a ridiculous amount of info in that thread that I needed. Luckily, I did most of it anyway, just pulling from prior knowledge. The thing I didn't do, that most likely caused my leaking, was I used no thread sealant at all. I was trying to go the least amount of chemicals possible. Which apparently was a mistake. In the future I'll know. I already knew that siliconing the bulkhead was frowned upon, but I was so sick of messing with it that I took a shortcut. "Luckily", if it does leak in the future, it'll be leaking directly into my sump anyway, so at least it won't create a crisis. Like I said though, taking them out at this point isn't an option because I'm not going to ruin the rest of the plumbing to do it. I had to order most everything I used because I couldn't find it locally, and I'm not paying for it all again, or redoing all of that plumbing. As tight as it is down there, it was already a huge pita.
I really appreciate you taking the time to teach me this though, please don't think I'm ungrateful. There's just nothing I'm going to do about it at this point. I do still have to assemble my ato/saltwater mixing station, which requires at least one bulkhead, so I will definitely use what I learned here on that project.
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alexkharden
Active Member
GE Silicone I is safe, once it's cured. No added antifungal properties, just silicone's natural resistance to mold.
walter84
Community Member
So don't go to Home Depot? Ok, will get something at LFS when I take the boy to get a banded coral shrimp for our 6 gallon tank.
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alexkharden
Active Member
I got mine from home depot.
Salt Creep
Active Member
I use the GE silicone from Home Depot. Just make sure it is 100% silicone and no added anti-mold/mildew stuff. "aquarium silicon" is the same thing just usually more expensive. If you are unsure better to be safe and use the specifically aquarium safe... it's not worth saving literally a few bucks if you aren't sure.
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alexkharden
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millertyler22
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Did u ever figure out why ur bulk heads are leaking? Just a thought but possibly a bad set of build heads? Or split gasket? Cross thread? I'm assume u checked all of this but always seems when I have a issue its something simple that I over look lol good luck
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alexkharden
Active Member
Yes, I think so anyway. I'm pretty sure they were leaking because I didn't use any thread sealer on them when I tried to put them on. I think that would have kept me from feeling like I needed to silicone them. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess.
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alexkharden
Active Member
Make that a 100%. And which one is leaking? Why, it's the most pita of them all, the return line. Yup, the one that's pretty much impossible to get to and consists of a stack of fittings with no pipe accessible to cut. It is leaking into my sump though, which I knew would be the case, but the fact that it is leaking makes me feel very frustrated.
Diesel
ME=1, CANCER=0.
I would try to fix it and it wouldn't be a easy fix.
You can always go over the top with your return.
I have mine over the top and I could easily go through my CTC but it doesn't bother me a bit.
In fact most ppl who see my tank like it, and with most I mean a lot.
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alexkharden
Active Member
Ya, I think I'm going to. I'm not sure how to go about it yet, but since it's leaking into the sump at least I don't have to rush it and can give it some thought.
Diesel
ME=1, CANCER=0.
I'm sure you will make the right decision and let us know how you will going to solve this as it will be a learning process to most members who read this.
I've had BH leaking too but always took care of it no matter how difficult the task is or was.
I just sleep a lot better if they don't leak, no matter if they leak in the sump.
With future salt creep they can leak in a different direction and it always happens when your not home.
