Plumbing assistance.

[Grimreaperz]

Hey everyone. Working on my second Reef Tank. And just got the internal plumbing done, I haven't glued anything down and there is no silicone being used on the bulkheads as recommended. But it appears there is a small drop coming from between the PVC Stand Pipe and Bulkhead
Causing water to drip out of the bulkhead on the inside.

Is it safe to continue, would gluing the standpipe into the Bulkhead resolve this issue?

Video below for visual reference


TIA

 

[Pntbll687]

I'm not a big fan of gluing overflow plumbing in place, just on case you need to remove it for some unforeseen reason.

I would use either silicone on the joint to seal it. I prefer silicone because I know it's reef safe. And if doesn't take too much pressure to break the seal if you were needing to remove it.

 

[Grimreaperz]

So silicone the tube going into the bulkhead? Yeah guess that's a smart idea for sure! I am reluctant to glue as well. But it seems like this bulkhead needs a bit of extra something

I'm not a big fan of gluing overflow plumbing in place, just on case you need to remove it for some unforeseen reason.

I would use either silicone on the joint to seal it. I prefer silicone because I know it's reef safe. And if doesn't take too much pressure to break the seal if you were needing to remove it.

 

[Pntbll687]

So silicone the tube going into the bulkhead? Yeah guess that's a smart idea for sure! I am reluctant to glue as well. But it seems like this bulkhead needs a bit of extra something

You got it!

I silicone pretty much all joints that need a seal but are not under pressure, such as drain lines.

And taking them apart requires a good grip and twist, enough to where you can do it, but not so little that they'll come away by accident.

 

[dugthefish]

I wouldn't even worry about it, it still ends up in the right place

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

cement a union in between so you can remove the pipe if needed.

 

[cracker]

Why bother it stays in the tank right I assume ?
Also I think some food grade silicone grease would allow the pipe to sit deeper into the fitting & it would help seal, also easier to remove down the road.

 

[Cjud7982]

Yeah I agree with above. I never glue fittings inside the tank in case they need to come out. I've never had one drip like yours either that I know of, my emergancys all stay dry with nothing. Does your standpipe fit real loose in the bulkead? And what type of over flow are you running, bean animal, durso, Herbie? If herbie than I would expect more water than that coming out. I assume that is an emergency line that should be clear and above the water like you have it. If the drip really bothers you, you can silicone it in the bulk head as mentioned.

 

[theMeat]

Would cement first straight piece coming out the bottom of bulkhead.
If running bean animal or herbie than on main siphon line with valve, cement from bulkhead diwn to valve.

When installing bulkhead rubber washer goes inside. Hand tighten, then another 1/8-1/4 turn with wrench.

 

[Grimreaperz]

Okay thank you all so much for the tips.

Here is some more information. I am using a Herbie Overflow method.

Main Drain is 3/4" with valve
Emergency is 1" unrestricted

I only put about 1g of water in the back there to see if the bulkheads were leaking as when I first set this up this one was leaking both inside and out at all and so far this is all I have noticed and I let it go all night and still just a slow drip from the inside. I thoroughly cleaned everything that needs to connect with Iso. And did the hand tight + 1/4" turn with channel locks and gasket is on Wet Side (inside) tank

I did notice on the leaking bulkhead there is a scratch or nick out of where the pipe goes into which could definitely letting water in.

I think I may just silicone it for my own peace of mind.

 

[Cjud7982]

You should be all good. I don't know if I'd bother siliconing it. I don't think there is anything to worry about as long as your overflow doesn't leak from the main display. Once you get the return pump flowing and water moving through all of the pipes, get your main drain valve set just barely slower than the flow coming into the tank so that the line that is currently dripping will have an ever so slight trickle. This will keep your main drain line full syphon and quiet while the extra water that the main drain isn't taking slides down the walls of the secondary/emergency line. This would be the one istsnce I would want the emergency line just barely into the water line of the sump to keep water from splashing and making a mess and noise. I hope that makes sense.
I Wish you the best of luck and if you need anything else, feel free to ask! We all here to help.
Happy reefing

 

[Reef-junky]

cement a union in between so you can remove the pipe if needed.

+1

 

[Skydvr]

I’d probably use a little silicone myself to avoid the salt buildup that will occur over time.

You won’t see the slow loss of salt, but knocing big chunks into the system or dealing with the salt diverting moisture into the stand or a wall is a lot worse than breaking a silicone seal on a fitting.