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melev

Silicone the overflow into the 60g cube and plumbed

Rating: 5 votes, 5.00 average.
6 Comments
by
melev
, 11-04-2013 at 03:46 AM (9687 Views)
In a previous blog ( link ) I explained how I was securing the internal overflow to the base of the AGE tank. Well, even though it might have worked perfectly, my paranoia gene was flaring up and I kept thinking about how a leak from the base of the aquarium would require a full breakdown to correct the problem. Rather than just hoping for the best, I bought a tube of Aquarium-Safe silicone at Home Depot and applied it to the base of the box and reinstalled it.

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With a thick bead of silicone, I pressed the box into the tank. I applied more silicone around the threads on the underside, and tightened the nuts as much as I could by hand.

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This should assure a nice dry area of plumbing. After letting it cure for a couple of days, I began the plumbing process. The drain line and the return line will feed through the wall behind the tank, plumbed into the 400g's sump and the manifold pump.

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The return has the orange handled ball valve to limit how much water flows into the 60g.

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That's as far as I got with this today, especially when I discovered this in the front seam. It appears to be an empty gap in the silicone, which should never have happened. It's about 6" from the bottom of the tank on the front side. It may not be a structural concern, but I'm hoping it will be possible to stuff more silicone to fill that gap with a tiny tamping tool.

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‎ Plumbing

Comments

  1. Reefski's Avatar
    i did not know one could silicone acrylic. it is acrylic isn't it?
  2. melev's Avatar
    No, this is a glass tank. On a PVC bottom. And I was siliconing the acrylic box and gaskets to the PVC bottom to help eliminate the risk of a leak.
  3. Reefski's Avatar
    the parts you were silconing together were acrylic or pvc?
  4. gettareef's Avatar
    melev, awesome cube. When I upgrade from my 75 to a 180 I also hope to get a 60 cube either plugged in to the 180 or not, but love the cube look and think its perfect in a 60 gallon. Where do you get that black PVC, like tubing and those 90 degree pieces, etc...? Or do you simply paint some PVC 40 or 80? If so, what type of paint? Thanks and love the detailed updates!
  5. melev's Avatar
    Technically, rubber to PVC, although I put a bead of silicone between the acrylic box and the PVC base. The rubber flat washer/gasket created a small gap and I felt the silicone could help support the box and fill that tiny void with rubber glue over time.
  6. melev's Avatar
    I bought my plumbing from Savko and FlexPVC.com - it costs way more, but looks so nice.