Slow leak from bulkhead, at a loss

WhiskeyCoffee · Jul 6, 2017

Just picked up a used 75g and am doing some preliminary tests in my garage before I go setting it all the way up. It's drilled on the bottom and uses a typical bulkhead fitting except it is "barbed" to allow flex hose to be attached.

When I first set up the tank there was a slow drip, maybe 1 - 2 drops a minute. I tightened it down best I could and got it to where it's not dripping but is just kind of wet to the touch if that makes sense. I've heard over tightening can cause leaks so I'm not sure if I should try to tighten it any more. Any recommendations on what to do?

tdunmore2 · Jul 6, 2017

I can't tell from the picture, is the gasket on the inside or outside of the wet side? It should be on the wet side. Otherwise the water will leak around the threads.
Did you try changing the gasket? Its possible it's deformed.

WhiskeyCoffee · Jul 6, 2017

tdunmore2 said:
I can't tell from the picture, is the gasket on the inside or outside of the wet side? It should be on the wet side. Otherwise the water will leak around the threads.
Did you try changing the gasket? Its possible it's deformed.

Hard to tell from the reflection but I'm 99% sure it's on the wet side. On my next day off I suppose I'm going to have to remove the bulkhead and clean everything then reinstall just to ensure a good seal. That will also give me the opportunity to inspect the gasket for condition.

Kershaw · Jul 6, 2017

I had a 180 gal with a leak for a year. There is 6x2 stain on hard wood now.

What I do is get new bulk heads. Place bulk head in. Take silicone and squeeze from under neath in glass to threads. Then put nut on while maintaining pressure down. I do this to all my tanks. It sucks to get off when you move tank as you have to cut old silicone. But it's worth piece of mind

clsanchez77 · Jul 6, 2017

I also *think* the gasket is in the correct side. My observation is there is a lot of sand and debris in there. If any of that got into the gasket, it will not seal. I would completely remove both bulkheads and flush out that overflow with clean water until you get all the sediment out. Then reseal the bulkheads. Get new gaskets if you can, might as well since you are at it. Once you get a good seal and it does not leak, you don't have to worry about anything getting in there.

clsanchez77 · Jul 6, 2017

Kershaw said:
I had a 180 gal with a leak for a year. There is 6x2 stain on hard wood now.

What I do is get new bulk heads. Place bulk head in. Take silicone and squeeze from under neath in glass to threads. Then put nut on while maintaining pressure down. I do this to all my tanks. It sucks to get off when you move tank as you have to cut old silicone. But it's worth piece of mind

This should not be necessary with a good gasket, but will work as a custom gasket on glass tanks (would have to have to remove that though). Not sure if this will work on acrylic tanks...

Caseyoidae · Jul 6, 2017

I would go to hardware store and bring the bulk head. Buy two gaskets per bulk head one on each side of glass. Install clean and dry

tdunmore2 · Jul 6, 2017

clsanchez77 said:
This should not be necessary with a good gasket, but will work as a custom gasket on glass tanks (would have to have to remove that though). Not sure if this will work on acrylic tanks...

I've had good luck caulking acrylic in outdoor applications if you sand the area you run your bead first. Also, clean with alcohol before caulking.

Kershaw · Jul 6, 2017

clsanchez77 said:
This should not be necessary with a good gasket, but will work as a custom gasket on glass tanks (would have to have to remove that though). Not sure if this will work on acrylic tanks...

Yes this is not necessary. Of the 4 bulk heads one leaked. My sistiuation was different as I bought a established tank, and had to take it down and set up in the same day. The over flow had a leak where the water leak into compartment so I could never get it dry enough to seal.

Just to be clear I use the gasget on the inside of over flow. silicone as a back up. And yes I have no idea if this would work on acrylic. This isn't for everyone and it dose suck to cleanall silicone off when you need to. I always use black to make it easier to see

clsanchez77 · Jul 6, 2017

Kershaw said:
Yes this is not necessary. Of the 4 bulk heads one leaked. My sistiuation was different as I bought a established tank, and had to take it down and set up in the same day. The over flow had a leak where the water leak into compartment so I could never get it dry enough to seal.

Just to be clear I use the gasget on the inside of over flow. silicone as a back up. And yes I have no idea if this would work on acrylic. This isn't for everyone and it dose suck to cleanall silicone off when you need to. I always use black to make it easier to see

Thanks for that clarification! I was afraid someone would have read your post and assumed you siliconed the gasket to the tank. That would be a disaster!

WhiskeyCoffee · Jul 7, 2017

Well, I came home after being at work for 36 hours and the entire bulkhead is dry. Maybe the wetness I was feeling was leftover from the previous dripping / leak. I will keep an eye on it and see what happens. Going to let it continue to run w/ freshwater in my garage while I am working on the sump!

Engloid · Jul 8, 2017

Your gasket is definitely on the wrong side. That's the problem. I put an arrow on the gasket in your pic. You need only one gasket and it ALWAYS should go on the flanged side of the bulkhead fitting, not on the nut side. A gasket on the nut side not only won't always seal, but also makes it more difficult to tighten because the nut is trying to spin against a rubber surface instead of a slick glass surface.

Blue Spot Octopus · Jul 8, 2017

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BluewaterLa · Jul 11, 2017

The only time silicone is a good idea on a bulkhead or rather the glass hole is when the hole has some chipping that may interfere with a good seal of the rubber gasket.
You can smear a small amount of silicone or run a thin bead around the hole and when the bulkhead is tight then the silicone will push into the chips and provide a better seal from a uniform surface for the gasket.

I also agree that the picture above looks like there is a gasket between the nut and glass, this would cause a leak as mentioned above.

WhiskeyCoffee · Jul 13, 2017

Engloid said:
Your gasket is definitely on the wrong side. That's the problem. I put an arrow on the gasket in your pic. You need only one gasket and it ALWAYS should go on the flanged side of the bulkhead fitting, not on the nut side. A gasket on the nut side not only won't always seal, but also makes it more difficult to tighten because the nut is trying to spin against a rubber surface instead of a slick glass surface.

I understand it's difficult to tell because of the glare, maybe this other pic helps. The gasket definitely is inside the tank.