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Jhodge

1000Gal---Leaking bulkhead repair and replacement

Rating: 4 votes, 5.00 average.
So the last blog consisted of some pictures of a leaking bulkhead..........yeah a little scary. To make matters worse this bulkhead was on a closed loop system, so no overflow. Yes panic ensued.
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The leak was caused by yours truly. While removing the remainder of the plumbing on the species systems I lost my balance and fell right back into the ball valve that sits underneath the tank.

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I sat for a minute and then felt a drip on the back of my head, initially I didn't think anything of it. So I crawled out got a drink of water and went back at it. The sight was terrifying more than one DOOM scenario immediately ran through my brain. In panic mode I began trying to jiggle the fixture around hoping it would reseal. Some positions created a raging river of water, others slowed it to a small drip. Every time I would get it to just a drip I would get excited and continue tweaking trying to find that sweet spot, of course that made matters worse. After about an hour of toying around I came to the dreaded conclusion that I am going to have to replace this bulkhead, and I had no idea how.

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Draining the system is out of the question, the amount of livestock, the fact that it would take me about a week or so to create enough RO water to refill the system. On site there is a 150 gal tub for water changes and I have 2 65 gal tanks that I use for water changes and tank fills on systems without on site water. So I can reasonably store about 225 gallons. 10 5 gal buckets, ok there is another 50, I have the 4 20 gal species tanks there is another 80, 55 gal trash can, check. So with what I could easily access accounted for storing about 400 gallons so I wasn't even half way there. So idea after idea after idea when through my head. I knew that I had to damn off the area somehow. To give you a scope of the picture here, the bulkhead sits about 16" away from the from wall and about 12" from the side. So building some kind of box with a water tight seal was really an impossible task.

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It was getting late on the first night of this remodel and I was pissed off, stressed, tired and couldn't believe that this is how this project was going to start. I decided to call it a night, I needed to sleep and come back with a clear head. I placed a 5 gal bucket underneath, took the risk and went home. Sleeping was a failure, I had already installed the start of the APEX system and all night, every time I would doze off I would hear running water, or start dreaming of a gigantic wave, I would jump up and pull up the APEX and check the ORP, PH, and Temp knowing that if the tank did blow that seal I would know right away.

The bulkhead didn't burst during the and the next morning I knew I would have to face this problem and solve it one way or another. I was honestly hoping that somehow it would have sealed itself, but that wasn't the case. Over the night I did come up with an idea, wasn't sure if it would work or how well it would work but its the only thing I could come up with. So I went to the hardware store and starting piecing it together. While I shopping I decided to call my dad and get his advice as he is the king of DIY and coming up with some ridiculous fixes. He seemed to agree with my idea, and gave me some good ideas and tips to speed up the process. He said "boy its a rig job, its either going to work or its not."

So a supply list is as follows:

4" PVC pipe
Bag full of rags and towels
4x4 flexable pipe connector
Shop Vac
1 1/2 SxS bulkhead
10 ft corragated drainage tubing
1 1/2 flexiable tubing

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The plan was simple. Use the 4 inch pipe to act as an overflow. Fit the rubber pipe connector to the pvc, apply tons of pressure and try to create a water tight/resistant seal. Shop vac and rags for clean up and the drainage pipe was for a fail safe, I would fit this into the hole and divert as much water as possible back into the sump. First few test rounds didn't go so well. The moment I stopped siphoning the water out the dam would break and the water would refill the pipe. While the water was impeded slightly, I needed more time, as I would have to remove the old bulkhead, pull it out up through the pipe, lower the new bulkhead down, clean the area, seat the bulkhead and reattach while holding pressure and keeping the pipe as steady as possible. Even without any issues this would take about 10 minutes. I decided to up the stakes and in conjunction with the hose clamps, I put a bead on silicone between the pvc and the connection fitting. I also put a LARGE bead of silicone on the underside to help seal against the bottom of the tank. The trial run of this worked better but still was far from perfect. I was still dreading what was about to happen. But "boy its a rig job, its either going to work or its not" kept playing in my head. I went over the plan one last time with the help, and took a leap of faith and just went for it.

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Was it perfect.........................far from it, did I get wet sure did, is it leaking..........NOPE!. The joy of sealing the leak was numbed by the taste of saltwater, and the realization that I had lost an entire day of work and I had barely scratched the surface of the remodel. So I slapped a pretty decent layer of silicone on the underside of the bulk head. And that was that. Writing this blog 2 days later and the new bulkhead is holding up nicely.

As always thanks for your time. If you have any questions feel free to ask, if you have had this issue before and solved it in a different manner please let us know about it. I'm sure I will run into this problem again at some point in time of my career so any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated. A few days behind on the progress blogs but as of today 7/15/2014 the work is 95% and I will update you on the progress as time permits.
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Tank - Full Summary , ‎ Plumbing , ‎ DIY projects

Comments

  1. melev's Avatar
    Talk about a challenging situation. I would have been just as concerned as you, and this is one of the main reasons I've never run a closed loop through the base of the tank. It's just a problem begging to happen, some day.

    A friend of mine went through a situation where his closed loop was in the way of a new skimmer. He knew he'd have to cut off the plumbing and glue a new fitting up higher to provide the necessary clearance. His solution was to get naked, put on some goggles and cut it fast. This was under a 400g system. He didn't expect as much water pressure to blast out, and he was completely alone when it got going. He tried to stop the water and it deflected into the nearby outlets, shooting sparks everywhere. He did get the new pipe affixed, but was always thereafter referred to as Naked Travis. lol I'm so glad back then we didn't have smartphones or we'd still have to see that video to this day.

    The best choice for any bottom pane closed loop bulkhead is to use Schedule 80 fittings. They are about as bulletproof as you can get. Schedule 40 are lesser quality and prone to failure in this application unfortunately. They will get brittle with age. There are some other products on the market that you can use to glue and stop a drip. DD's Aquascape two-part putty is one: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.p...quaScape-Putty The other is Epo Putty, which I would only use for plumbing: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.p...view-EPO-Putty

    Glad you got it resolved.
  2. Jhodge's Avatar
    Thanks for the tips Melev. The putty was a thought but I wasn't sure how well, or how long it will hold up.
  3. melev's Avatar
    I have a spot under my tank that has held water ever since. Granted, it was a drain line and not a pressure line like a closed loop.

    So what held your upright pipe in place during the vacuum session? How did you extract the old bulkhead and insert the new one? I'm really glad it worked out.
  4. Jhodge's Avatar
    Ok so I know I was vague in the post..............so here is the explanation.............to answer your questions...................The pipe was held upright by a member of my team, he was to apply a lot of pressure while remaining as still as possible. An initial siphon was created with the 1 1/2 inch tubing and when the siphon broke the process began. I would have liked to keep a constant siphon but given it was only a 4" pipe, having the tube, or even maxi jet with a smaller tube would have made the removal and installation of bulkheads impossible. The old bulkhead was then unscrewed and the water began to pour. The seal was definitely not water tight. The old bulk head and attached fittings were fed up through the pipe via some complicated work with a pair of aqua tongs. The fitting was then removed and only pressure fitted ( I may regret this later, but given the needed speed of the process................) into the new bulkhead. It was then fed back in to through the 4" PVC with the aqua tongs. The seal was cleaned of as much sand and debris before the process began but the movement of water pushed some back. I wrapped a finger with a rag and wiped the bottom of the tank as quickly and as clean as possible. From under the tank, I proceeded to seat the new bulkhead (based on your recommendation, should have gone 80 but I stock 40) Tightened her up and no leaks....................But I wasn't satisfied..........so I made a few risky decisions, there was a lot of residual silicone from the massive bead I placed on the underside of the "dam", while it was gummy I was able to spread it around the flange and get a secondary seal from that, I then immediately placed sand over the silicone to create at sturdier bond. On the underside I placed an excessive amount of silicone, in multiple coats to build a strong layer of protection. Overdone, maybe, was the silicone bead inside the tank, my best bet, probably not but I don't see any future issues with that (I could be wrong) but it seemed like a good idea at the time and I was not confident in the long term seal of the bulkhead as water was coming out and I'm sure sand as well. I didn't go into to much detail given my stress level and the length of previous posts. I hope this answers some of your questions and if anyone has anything else to chime in please do so.
  5. gettareef's Avatar
    Wow is all I can say. Nice DIY, quick, Macgyver-style fix! Thank you for posting your progress, experiences, successes and failures on this crazy project you've undertaken. The only thing I can relate to regarding this post is one time my sump on my 75 gallon (an aqueon model 2 sump) began to leak in the back where the back wall acrylic met the floor acrylic. The leak was about an inch of where to two pieces of acrylic met in the middle chamber (took me about two hours to even find the leak). This was a very awkward place to get to in my sump. I attempted to drain all the water from my sump and as much as i tried I couldn't get the last inch of water out, and as this leak was at the very bottom of the sump water kept leaking. As time and an angry wife (due to the extremely wet carpet) were a factor, I couldn't remove the sump. I had to seal the sump while it was still leaking. I tried many products: super glue, reef glue, various reef safe puttys and silicone. No matter what I tried, water continued to leak out of the glue, putty, or silicone. After consulting with a reefer friend, I went to Walmart to get some type of pool leak fixer glue/silicone made to fix leaks with out draining water. After about 5 coats of that, which I applied to the side of my sump near the bottom which is now Bonded with the floor of my cabinet, the dam leak was sealed. I couldn't believe how hard it was to seal this leak with the low pressure of water coming out of the leak with the sump nearly drained and with how tiny the leak was. With this experience I have sympathy for your bulkhead leak and admiration for how you fixed it! This was about a year ago and I've been lucky that the leak has stayed sealed. In about a month I am going to remove my sump (will be a challenge with it now glued to my cabinet floor), deep clean it, remove the stupid "miracle mud", rearrange all equipment, and replace all plumbing. I guess then I will have to reassess the leak, and probably reseal it after I tear it off of the cabinet floor. Any suggestion as what to use to seal it after the sump will actually be emptied and dry this time? Also as my cabinet it wood, I would like to put something on my cabinet floor when im rennovating that will hold water if any leaks occur, and maybe coat the cabinet with something (like a protective coating to protect the wood). Any suggestions on some type of floor mat and a coatino for the wood cabinet? During the renovation I plan to place a 20 gal temporary sump on the side of my tank so I can take time to get everything right. I plan to blog this experience. Anyways good luck on your progress with this massive project, and I look forward to reading about it! - Dustin
  6. melev's Avatar
    To fix your sump's leak, I would patch the spot internally with a small piece of acrylic. 3/8" x 3/8" x 3" would be a good size. Clean out the area well, wipe it down with a swipe or two of Acetone, and then apply Weld-on #16 to the area, and press that acrylic rod into place. Hold it for 60 seconds, then let go. Inspect it for any areas of concern. You could run a bead of #16 around the edges of the new piece if you see the need. 24 hours later, do a water test.
  7. Jhodge's Avatar
    gettareef..........thanks for you comment, the repair was very scary and honestly a few tears were shed in the process, but we are 4 days in and still successful, I'm not ready to say I am out of the clear, but signs are pointing up. Melev is the acrylic pro so I would follow his advice on the repair for the sump. My only recommendations would be to first be patient and allow what ever sealant you use to properly cure. WAY to often we are too impatient even though we know that PATIENCE is key in everything we do. In all reality I would really push you to just do a sump replacement there are many options out there, and possibly even contact Melev for a custom sump to fit your needs. IMO and IME a repair is just that, a repair, that is why I made the decision to replace the bulkhead vs. just loading it up with silicone or other barriers. My thought is that water made the Grand Canyon, leaks are a guarantee at some point in time, and every repair or temp fix we do is just delaying the inevitable. It is many times a better choice to pay the extra amount. later to rYou can spend 50 bucks now on some acrylic and silicone or 4000eplace your carpet that the "angry wife" says smells like fish. Also while it is a pain, while you have everything a part, this is a perfect time to do some major maintenance on all of your equipment. I'm glad that you are enjoying reading the progress, as while this progress is big, blogging it is a job all in its own and it is motivating to hear that people are enjoying it. I know I am a few days behind but I will rectify this as soon as possible, but with the bulk of the work done I have fallen way behind on the rest of my accounts and tanks and need to catch up on so then so time is very very thin. I am glad you mentioned "miracle mud" as I call it "miracle detritus" I am not a fan, but not going to rant too much here. But please remove that and just run a sand bed with rock and macro. Maybe one day I will blog about my opinions on certain products, or certain ways I like to set up my systems. But even if not you can always contact me personally via a message here on RA and I will give you my contact info, as I am always more than willing and happy to speak to fellow reefers and aquarists.