500G (84X48X30)- NOW REAL !

[badbones]

Sanjay,

A coulple more questions..What is an FRP Panel. I probably know what it is as something else I bet.

Again, I really like that stand. I am going to do a 400-450 not really sure on the height as thats that variable. My brother in law is a certified welder and when I told him about 4" tubing he laughed and said it was over kill. He said that 3" is plenty sturdy and had just used it to support a second story home. He also said 4" weighs a ton.

Any reason why you went 4" versus 3"

Thanks again
Tony

 

[jnarowe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7467536#post7467536 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sanjay
Yes, I think I am going to give it a coat of polyurathane before the sump goes in.

No, its not a flexible bulkhead. Its just regular black plastic bulkhead.

sanjay.

I would make a guess that polyeurathane is not good enough for the job and that it may end up flaking into your sump. I am not an expert in that area but from my extensive marine experience I would use something more formidable.

You are scaring me with the black bulkhaead! Those things bite big time. I think there may be more than one quality level of those but I only used them on my RO/DI & SW mixing system and had to replace them with schedule 80 fittings after dealing with sporadic leaking.

 

[Travis]

That schedule 40 bulkhead worries me also. I prefer the meatier schedule 80 inside the display, especially when it will be hidden behind rocks. If it is in a viewable location then the risk of the schedule 40 bulkhead is more acceptable because it is a lot more "slim" and doesn't stick out like a schedule 80 bulkhead.

 

[NAGA]

40 is plenty strong enough.

 

[jnarowe]

The plastic itself is plenty strong but it's not really about "strong". It's about how the nuts thread on. In the schedule 40 BH's I have used, the threads have not mated very well and have had too much slop. There's just not much to them and that's why they tend to leak. They are OK in some applications for sure but using them on a display is definitely living on the edge...not that I don't do that myself a lot!!

 

[GSchiemer]

Frankly, IMO, it's a bad idea to locate ANY bulkhead below the tank water line, especially not through the bottom, except if it's in an overflow box. In the event of ANY leak in the plumbing, the tank will drain to that point. It also makes it very difficult to do any plumbing work in the future, such as replacing or repairing valves. You'll also have to reach low in the aquarium to clean strainers at least weekly and worry about living creatures getting stuck to those strainers. It will definitely become an issue at some point. If it were my tank, I'd plug those holes very tightly and hope they never leak.

Greg

 

[Sanjay]

Greg:

So you are not in favor of closed loops at all ?

I debated this for a while in my head.... and decieded it may be best to have the tank drilled for closed loop.

Oh well.. the deed is done and I will have to make sure that no leak develops. If it does it will be a slow one and not end up draining the tank to the bulkhead level.

sanjay.

 

[Travis]

The main thing I like more about the sch 80 bulkhead compared to the sch 40 is that you get a higher quality gasket that is also softer and considerably thicker.

 

[boris MAC]

You should palce you cloosed loop intakes in the overflow chamber...

 

[jnarowe]

Sanjay I am not a fan of closed loops either but I do have 4 return lines coming through the bottom of my tank. Originally the tank had many more and of different sizes and I patched them with 1/2" acrylic pieces and made holes for larger lines. I used schedule 80 BH's and my return lines come from a manifold above the tank water level. Each BH has a BV and a union so I can disconnect the flexible PVC lines for cleaning. Also connected to the manifold is an open line to the fuge, meaning not submerged.

What this does is create a siphon break so in the event of a pump failure or power outage, the tank cannot drain. The only issue with this is if I turn off the flow to the fuge and forget to turn it back on. That leaves me with no siphon break and the tank will drain in that case. That has happened during a water change recently and although I caught it finally, it turned into a 24 hour freak out because I didn't have enough make up water available.

Closed loops are an entirely different matter since there is nowhere for the water to go. That line just loops back into the tank so the only possible problem would be the BH leaking. Putting a water sensor under the tank would be a good idea though!

The main thing I like more about the sch 80 bulkhead compared to the sch 40 is that you get a higher quality gasket that is also softer and considerably thicker.

I forgot about that and that is also key in keeping leaks at bay.

 

[GSchiemer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7469560#post7469560 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sanjay
Greg:

So you are not in favor of closed loops at all ?

I debated this for a while in my head.... and decieded it may be best to have the tank drilled for closed loop.

Oh well.. the deed is done and I will have to make sure that no leak develops. If it does it will be a slow one and not end up draining the tank to the bulkhead level.

sanjay.

You better hope it's a slow leak and one that develops while you're at home and not away on vacation, as so often happens. And then how will you repair that leak or bad valve when you have the pressure of your entire aquarium behind it?

I don't like "closed-loops" when the holes are drilled below the water line for reasons I've already mentioned. I know of too many disasters with this arrangement to be comfortable. It would certainly be better to locate the intake of a closed-loop in an overflow box, but that presents it's own set of plumbing issues.

Given the size of your sump and overflow box, there's no reason you can't plumb multiple circulation pumps through your sump. Even if your sump or overflow box couldn't handle the flow, you can always use Tunze and Vortech pumps inside the aquarium to provide additional water movement. They offer the advantages of being a heck of a lot simpler to install, offer redundancy, can run on a UPS for many hours in the event of a power failure, and they're easier to maintain.

I was at a seminar recently and the speaker was discussing "Murphy's Law" as it related to setting up a reef aquarium. You should have been there.

Greg

 

[Travis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7470036#post7470036 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSchiemer
I was at a seminar recently and the speaker was discussing "Murphy's Law" as it related to setting up a reef aquarium. You should have been there.

:lol: I saw that same presentation a few weeks ago. Maybe we can all get together and pool some money to send Sanjay a video of the presentation.:lol:

 

[Sanjay]

All right you guys now have me thinking about schedule 80 bulkheads. You know its bad luck to even talk about leaks when a new tank is being set up. Now I know for sure it will happen when I am gone.

If I am going to replace those bulkheads, then I better do it now before I fill it up.

I am not a big fan of drilling tanks either.. but the cost of a closed loop is a lot less than the tunze, vortec or any of the other equally expensive solutions. Plus the tank has already been drilled now. So I took a calculated risk, but want to make sure it does not manifest itself.


So, what is the size of hole required by the schedule 80 bulkheads. Right now the holes drilled are 3" in dia. Will a schedule 80 bulkhead fit in that hole ?

If so, where can I get this schedule 80 bulkhead.

sanjay.

 

[cward]

Here's a link for Savko that has the hole sizes for sch80 bulkheads.

 

[jnarowe]

Sanjay,

I defer to your significantly greater experience as a reef keeper but I think the long-term cost of the Tunzes or Vortechs are much lower than a closed loop. Plus no need for holes...

Schedule 80 takes larger holes so I have some advice. If you decide to switch to Schedule 80, get a piece the same size as the current hole. You may have one already or you can cut a piece of flat stock with the old size hole saw. Then put on your larger hole saw and use the disk to center the drill. Once you have started a grove, then the disk is no longer needed. Does that make sense?

 

[GSchiemer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7471550#post7471550 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sanjay
All right you guys now have me thinking about schedule 80 bulkheads. You know its bad luck to even talk about leaks when a new tank is being set up. Now I know for sure it will happen when I am gone.

If I am going to replace those bulkheads, then I better do it now before I fill it up.

I am not a big fan of drilling tanks either.. but the cost of a closed loop is a lot less than the tunze, vortec or any of the other equally expensive solutions. Plus the tank has already been drilled now. So I took a calculated risk, but want to make sure it does not manifest itself.


So, what is the size of hole required by the schedule 80 bulkheads. Right now the holes drilled are 3" in dia. Will a schedule 80 bulkhead fit in that hole ?

If so, where can I get this schedule 80 bulkhead.

sanjay.

I believe when you factor in the additional cost of the plumbing and the electrical savings, the Tunze or Vortech pumps compare favorably to a closed-loop setup utilizing a Sequence or similar-type pumps. The Vortech, for instance, gives you 3,200 gph of flow and utilizes about 40 watts.

There's still time to plug those holes!

I agree that Schedule 80 bulkheads are a much better way to go, but the hole size is dictated by the manufacturer of the bulkhead, so no one will be able to give you an accurate answer to that question. Typically, Sch. 80 bulkheads require a larger hole than comparable Sch. 40 BHs, so you may be out of luck.

Don'y worry Sanjay, you'll get it all right on the next tank.

Greg

 

[Sanjay]

Well, it figures.. the schedule 80 bulkhead takes a 3.25" hole.. and the hole size in my tank currently is 3".

At this point I guess I will have to live with the 3" hole and the lighter bulkhead. I am not about to drill larger holes in the a glass tank on a vertical wall.

The other choice is to plug the hole.. with a sheet of glass.

I guess I will buy some stock in Marine Goop !!

sanjay.

 

[jnarowe]

Sorry Sanjay, I forgot it was glass! You could put glass sheet inside with Goop and the pressure would hold it well, but it certainly wouldn't be the finished look you want nor would it be easy to keep the edges clean. WHy don't you look into getting better gaskets for the schedule 40s? That would certainly step them up a bit.

 

[NAGA]

Sanjay,

Do you want me to change the hole size on the sump to 3.25"?

BTW: you can change the holes in your tank to 3.25" as well. It's not too difficult and yes I know it's glass.

Jeff

 

[H20ENG]

I would just clean the gasket and tank glass with alcohol, tighten the bulkhead, then smear silicone around the bulkhead. DO NOT USE SILICONE ON THE GASKET BEFORE TIGHTENING, it will simply squish the gasket out and you'll never get it to seal. The silicone fillet on the bulkhead is cheap insurance, IMO. I usually put a dollop of silicone on the nut and thread afterward to keep it from loosening.
A big problem I see with peoples tanks, even sch 80 BHs, is that you have to properly support the plumbing. I see way to many cases of bulkheads holding up a gaggle of piping. This is even more critical on the lighter duty BHs.