Plumbing. I am ready to scream.

[jmatt]

The design spec says the returns are drilled for 1", and indeed the hole is nearly 2".

BRS sells a 1" bulkhead.

You would think that a hole drilled for a 1" bulkhead (by a very experienced tank manufacturer) would easily accommodate a 1" bulkhead. But you'd be wrong.

So I put together my third plumbing order with BRS all based on 1" pipework to the returns, the reducers from the UV, the loc-line assemblies etc. Then I paid $65 to overnight it so I could get it all together this week.

And the 1" bulkhead is too large for the 1.75" hole.

Yes, I know somehow or other that this is all on me. But as one who has been trying to sort this all out now for weeks, I am ready to scream.

The plumbing conventions are ridiculously obtuse and misleading. Any normal human being would agree that something called a 1" bulkhead should easily fit in a hole nearly twice that &*^%ing size.

 

[mermaid_life]

I'm sorry. I know exactly how you feel. Having gone through that on my first custom tank as well, I opted for a red sea reefer on my second. JUST BECAUSE I knew I wanted to save myself 10 brs orders and 10 trips to home Depot.

I'm empathize and I hope you find a solution quickly.

 

[Sean Clark]

Unfortunately not all bulkheads are created equal. You should order based off of the drilled hole diameter and correlate that to the specific bulkhead. It is still going to be a 1 inch bulkhead but it could be abs, schedule 40 pvc, or schedule 80 pvc. All have different dimensions for a 1 inch bulkhead.

 

[theMeat]

One inch plumbing/pipe needs a one inch bulkhead. The bulkhead has thickness so a one inch bulkhead needs a hole nearly 1 3/4 inch. If your hole is in fact 2 inches than you could use 1 1/4 plumbing, or a schedule 80 bulkhead, which is thicker, therefore needs a bigger hole.
Here’s a link to brs schedule 40 bulkheads and if you scroll down you will find the size hole each size needs to be drilled

Bulkhead ABS Slip x Slip

Bulkheads are used to attach plumbing to aquariums and sumps to allow water to flow through them. These low profile reef safe bulkheads are made from black ABS plastic. Our supplier manufactures these slightly thicker than competitor aquarium bulkheads making them more reliable. Bulkheads come...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[acquaqueenbean89]

The design spec says the returns are drilled for 1", and indeed the hole is nearly 2".

BRS sells a 1" bulkhead.

You would think that a hole drilled for a 1" bulkhead (by a very experienced tank manufacturer) would easily accommodate a 1" bulkhead. But you'd be wrong.

So I put together my third plumbing order with BRS all based on 1" pipework to the returns, the reducers from the UV, the loc-line assemblies etc. Then I paid $65 to overnight it so I could get it all together this week.

And the 1" bulkhead is too large for the 1.75" hole.

Yes, I know somehow or other that this is all on me. But as one who has been trying to sort this all out now for weeks, I am ready to scream.

The plumbing conventions are ridiculously obtuse and misleading. Any normal human being would agree that something called a 1" bulkhead should easily fit in a hole nearly twice that &*^%ing size.

What a headache, could you tank your tank to home depot or ace and not leave until you have it all set up?

 

[jmatt]

One inch plumbing/pipe needs a one inch bulkhead. The bulkhead has thickness so a one inch bulkhead needs a hole nearly 1 3/4 inch. If your hole is in fact 2 inches than you could use 1 1/4 plumbing, or a schedule 80 bulkhead, which is thicker, therefore needs a bigger hole.
Here’s a link to brs schedule 40 bulkheads and if you scroll down you will find the size hole each size needs to be drilled

Bulkhead ABS Slip x Slip

Bulkheads are used to attach plumbing to aquariums and sumps to allow water to flow through them. These low profile reef safe bulkheads are made from black ABS plastic. Our supplier manufactures these slightly thicker than competitor aquarium bulkheads making them more reliable. Bulkheads come...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

That's the problem. The hole is 1.78". The Schedule 80 bulkhead is 1.88". Picked up an ABS bulkhead locally and it fits.

Frustrating.

 

[jmatt]

What a headache, could you tank your tank to home depot or ace and not leave until you have it all set up?

Too large and heavy for that. And of course, no home improvement place carries schedule 80. I looked. They have schedule 40, pex, copper, galvanized, black iron, polyethelene, etc etc. But not schedule 80.

So I went out of my way to a plumbing supply house. They have schedule 80... except it's NPT threads, not straight, and doesn't fit well with everything else I already have.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I'm sorry. I know exactly how you feel. Having gone through that on my first custom tank as well, I opted for a red sea reefer on my second. JUST BECAUSE I knew I wanted to save myself 10 brs orders and 10 trips to home Depot.

I'm empathize and I hope you find a solution quickly.

The flip with the red sea tank is that if anything happens your SOL locally due to the metric sized piping.

To the OP it sucks to hear your having a hard time. A cheap caliper is your friend to measure the diameter of the drilled hole and order accordingly. Usually BRS and most of the others have a outer and inner diameter for the bulkheads.

 

[flashsmith]

I'm not trying to be a jerk here but why would you use schedule 80 ? 1 in. is rated for 630psi breaking strength.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I'm not trying to be a jerk here but why would you use schedule 80 ? 1 in. is rated for 630psi breaking strength.

Diameter... If your drilled hole is a bit large, the sch 80 compensates better.

 

[BaliReefBox]

Welcome to world of pipe sizing classifications....
with BSP google the actual thread/hole diameters...A bsp 1/2" is like 3/4" hole

 

[JoshH]

I'm not trying to be a jerk here but why would you use schedule 80 ? 1 in. is rated for 630psi breaking strength.

Schedule 80 bulkheads are about the only Schedule 80 I would use on any build. Stronger plastic, wider flange, more durable over pvc and ABS plastic. I absolutely agree schedule 80 is wildly overkill for anything else but some like the look

 

[flashsmith]

Diameter... If your drilled hole is a bit large, the sch 80 compensates bettter

Diameter... If your drilled hole is a bit large, the sch 80 compensates better.

I get what you're saying but... I own an irrigation company and do installs almost daily. Looking at it from that perspective a tank is an open loop system with literally zero pipe pressure. Why wouldn't you plumb a tank with common parts you could find anywhere? Besides that 80 is super expensive and absolutely not needed and it's hard to find unless you know where to look. If I needed 80 for anything my suppliers would have to order it. That's how uncommon it is.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I get what you're saying but... I own an irrigation company and do installs almost daily. Looking at it from that perspective a tank is an open loop system with literally zero pipe pressure. Why wouldn't you plumb a tank with common parts you could find anywhere? Besides that 80 is super expensive and absolutely not needed and it's hard to find unless you know where to look. If I needed 80 for anything my suppliers would have to order it. That's how uncommon it is.

I'm not disagreeing with you. I agree 100%.

 

[jmatt]

I'm not trying to be a jerk here but why would you use schedule 80 ? 1 in. is rated for 630psi breaking strength.

It's a 40,000 gallon tank. jk

Esthetics. I can get 80 in gray; 40 - not so much.

 

[Sleepydoc]

ABS is far and away the most common material for bulkheads. It sounds like you specified a ”1” bulkhead” and they assumed ABS since it wasn’t explicitly stated otherwise. This is why you specify the hole diameter explicitly. That takes all the guesswork out of it.

I agree that schedule 80 bulkheads are overkill. They are definitely stronger but you shouldn’t have that much pressure on them anyway. If you’re torquing a bulkhead enough That you need the strength of a schedule 80 fitting you’re probably going to crack the glass before you break the bulkhead, even an ABS one.

The other disadvantage of schedule 80 is the pipe lumen is smaller, giving lower flow for a given nominal pipe size. Valves are one area where it makes sense to go schedule 80 since they are generally better quality than schedule 40 valves.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

It's a 40,000 gallon tank. jk

Esthetics. I can get 80 in gray; 40 - not so much.

If you are talking about sch 40 piping, you can get ANY color you want for straight pipe and most fittings also.

 

[jmatt]

If you are talking about sch 40 piping, you can get ANY color you want for straight pipe and most fittings also.

Where's that? I looked at the various aquarium vendors and anything in a color was schedule 80.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Where's that? I looked at the various aquarium vendors and anything in a color was schedule 80.

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[Koh23]

Probably is answered, but, this is correct. For 1" bulkhead, hole in glass needs to be bigger, almost 2".


Simply, 1" is inner diameter, but add bit more plastic, thread, to that diameter and voila - hole needs to be bigger.

That work for most aquarium branded bulkheads that i see.

On the other hand, there is chinese, or simply plumbing buklheads, which consider 1" as outer diameter, and require 1" hole in glass. Inner diameter is not trully 1", rahter something between 3/4 and 1".

So, for my aquamedic 1" bulkhead, i need to drill 60mm hole, that is almost 2". For my chinese generic bulkhead i need to drill 32mm hole, which is 1".

Both accept 1" pipe, only difference is that am bulkhead maintain that diameter trough whole bulkhead, while chinese is smaller diameter trough part that is in glass.