catholicteacher Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Alright I have moved tanks at least a half dozen+ times in my time reefing. Here was the worst and is still on going. I was switching from my 35 hex to a 55g, so I spent all week sanding down the 55 and then primed and painted it. So, today was the move, heres how it went: I connected all equipment, then I checked all the connections with a wrench, it all seemed ok. So, I went ahead with the transfer of the lr, ls, corals and livestock. I go ahead and fill it up, I then turn everything on and the return elbow cracks and sends water all over the living room. At this time all hardware stores are closed as its 11:00, so I go to Fred Meyer a few miles away, I buy epoxy, plumber tape, kalk and some intense molding putty. I then turn it on and it works perfect, then the overflow starts to leak a ton. Note: The overflow is a corner so it is drilled under which means I now had to move everything over to buckets as we had already moved the old tank out, the fish, corals and everything are now sitting in buckets in my house with a heater and a powerhead, so hopefully they can last a day or 2 so I can figure out my next move. Can I get some help from someone on how to fix this overflow problem? I know this is vague but there is an intense leak coming from the overflow but the connection is tight, I assume I have another crack. Thanks for looking, any help would be appreciated. Thanks again, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 The bulk head may be too tight. try to back it off a little bit. Did you use new gaskets or old on the bulkhead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Is it leaking from the bulkhead? Sometimes the seal is not set right, or you may have over-tightened it. Sometimes you can put some silicone under the inside of the bulkhead to help seal the gasket. This should be done as a last effort. It may ruin the gasket if you ever want to use the bulkhead somewhere else. Try to isolate where the leak is coming from. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Yeah, check the gasket. 9/10 thats your problem. Also if the gasket is old you might as well replace it. Make sure its on the inside of the tank when you get the bulk head together. ( I've done that one myself DOH! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Be real carefull what you as a patch till fixed as to toxicity. well there goes check for leeks before adding stock. Good luck. Keep us posted:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikep503 Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 On my bulk heads I run a gasket on the inside and outside of the tank. Never had any leaks with this method but I still hate this design. Good luck! (gavel)Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 +1 on the silicone around the bulkhead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catholicteacher Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 Update: John Manrow was over here until right now (10) and he got here a little after 3:30, what an awesome guy! So, here is the scoop for now: The gasket on the overflow was all gnarled up and needed replaced, so we went over to Fantaseas and Patrick really helped out, he gave a couple 45 degree pvcs and a new gasket, we hooked it up to the sump directly instead of using the old hose connection, then everything hooked up fine until the second before John left he checked my ghetto fix on the return elbow and we noticed some condensation that was coming from it, I then shut the return and sump down, I will go by and pick up a 6' 3/4" hose from Patrick tomorrow and bypass the old shut off valve from the return and run it directly from the sump to the tank. So, right now the overflow works, well everything really works except for the small leak coming from my 'fix' of the return. I will send over an update good or bad after the fix tomorrow. Thanks for all the help guys and a HUGE thanks to John who is quite possibly one of the best guys I've met. Thanks again! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catholicteacher Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 Pics of the tank and advice requested as to how to get rid of these 'stains.' (the 1st 2 pics) I take it that these are calcium/ph related, I would like to stay away from breaking the tank down to get rid of this problem but I don't know what to do. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 If by 'stains' you are referring to the first 2 pics..... I think buffing out the tank would get rid of those. Not 100% sure hopefully someone else will chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 looks like the acrylic is scratched, and it needs to be buffed. This can be done without taking down the tank. There are several threads here giving advice on buffing acrylic tanks. Search for buffing acrylic. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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