Sump pipe work help.

[loweryphil]

I have 3 pipes coming down from my main display. The over flow and emergency drain pipe are spinning along with the bulk head when I try and tighten them further. All that appears to happen is the bulk head and pipe just spin. Is this a problem? I'm worried I'll just wake up to an empty tank although there is no visible leek from either.

Thanks.

 

[sunken3]

i assume this is a new setup? you need to find a way to hold the bulkhead still when you turn the nut. you should be able to get them "hand" tight... really tight, but hand tight. you can use a wrench, but again... only for grip. The nuts are really easy to break.

the biggest issue with it being too loose, is not now (since you say it isn't leaking), but they tend to loosen over time and then it may become too loose and leak.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have 3 pipes coming down from my main display. The over flow and emergency drain pipe are spinning along with the bulk head when I try and tighten them further. All that appears to happen is the bulk head and pipe just spin. Is this a problem? I'm worried I'll just wake up to an empty tank although there is no visible leek from either.

Thanks.

Wrap them with nylon thread tape. Will stay put

 

[Saltyreef]

Why are you trying to tighten the bulkhead?
Did it become loose?
Did you not torque it down enough during install?
Is it leaking?

Is the overflow standpipes as the pipe you are refering to thats spinning when you tighten the nut?

Photos would help too.

 

[loweryphil]

Why are you trying to tighten the bulkhead?
Did it become loose?
Did you not torque it down enough during install?
Is it leaking?

Is the overflow standpipes as the pipe you are refering to thats spinning when you tighten the nut?

Photos would help too.

I was moving my emergency drain pipe up to quiet the noise running into the weir box. And when tightening it back up I noticed the pipe spinning with the bulk head after a certain point.

They don't leak I just wondered if them being easily moved if a little force is applied to twist the pipe is an issue?

 

[loweryphil]

I was moving my emergency drain pipe up to quiet the noise running into the weir box. And when tightening it back up I noticed the pipe spinning with the bulk head after a certain point.

They don't leak I just wondered if them being easily moved if a little force is applied to twist the pipe is an issue?

So basically if I try tighten the locking nut, the whole pipe and bulk head turns too

 

[Saltyreef]

Still kinda confused.
Removing a standpipe and adjusting the tube length should not warrant even thinking about touching the bulkheads.
Do you have threaded standpipes?

 

[sunken3]

yep - been there.. just be very careful.. I made the mistake messing with my bulkheads and ended up causing a leak because sand (or something) got between the seal. at that point I had to drain a bit of the tank, wet vac the overflow.. clean it all out and reset the bulkheads.. it was a HUGE pain on my 250 ...

 

[loweryphil]

Still kinda confused.
Removing a standpipe and adjusting the tube length should not warrant even thinking about touching the bulkheads.
Do you have threaded standpipes?

They run though the bulk head all the way, I sorted the water level out. I hardly ever touch these pipes anyway so being a little loose would be fine? I basically have to hold the pipe to tighten the locking nut otherwise I just get pipe + bulk head spinning. No water escapes tho.

 

[Morphinel]

Are you referring to the pipes spinning from the back of the weir or the pipes spinning from the bottom under the tank? The pipes at the top in the weir should spin as they sit within the bulkhead. The ones on the bottom should not as they should have been glued.

 

[loweryphil]

Pipes underneath the tank. The installation guide said no glue just hand tighten.

 

[Saltyreef]

Pipes underneath the tank. The installation guide said no glue just hand tighten.

Are these threaded bulkheads on both sides or something?
What installation guide are you refering to?
Photos or the guide you speak of will help most of us understand whats going on here lol

 

[sunken3]

ya... what kind of tank/overflow do you have? I have never seen a pipe that runs all the way through the bulkhead... they connect to the bulkhead.

 

[Saltyreef]

ya... what kind of tank/overflow do you have? I have never seen a pipe that runs all the way through the bulkhead... they connect to the bulkhead.

I was thinking something like a uniseal but theres nothing to tighten.....

To the OP,

Were either very confused on how this tank is plumbed and what youre doing, or you are confused as to what youre looking at lol

 

[sunken3]

this would be a good video for the bulkhead

 

[sunken3]

and sort of look like this..

 

[srcleary]

I am confused as well. And I would be worried if the bulkheads in the overflow are spinning. Can you provide some pictures or video?

 

[loweryphil]

I can twist the screw at the top when I try tighten the pipe

 

[Morphinel]

So the female part is the part that’s spinning?

 

[srcleary]

I may be still a little confused but, if I understand you correctly...

I would turn the pumps off and let the water drain into the sump. Then I would remove the water in the overflow box. It looks like the intake pipes are using a compression fitting. I would remove all three PVC intake pipes by unscrewing the fittings.

At this point you should have a dry overflow box and only the bulkheads and the compression fittings coming out of the overflow box.

You might want to remove the bulkheads and make sure the gaskets (and overflow box) are perfectly clean. Then you can tighten them, hand tight + 1/4 turn. You have to be careful not to over tighten but they should not be spinning when you try to tighten the other fittings.

You can watch the video at the link below on how to properly tighten the bulkheads.

How To Select and Properly Install Aquarium Bulkheads

Bulkheads allow you to transfer water from one side of an aquarium to the other and allow for traditional PVC plumbing to be connected. In most aquariums, bulkheads are used for drain and return pipes on your display tank but can be used for many other things too. Some tanks come pre-drilled for...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

All of this is really pretty straight forward and will give you piece of mind you will not have a leak in the future.

Hope this helps.

Steve