Help with new 125 gallon build

Crisis!!

Crisis!!

Could not believe this, as I was checking things out on the tank this afternoon I noticed the floor of the stand around the sump was moist and wet! The bulkhead on the return was leaking ever so little but it was leaking, probably all week. So my first thing was to tighten the bulkhead a bit to see if it would help. After tightening it seemed to be ok for a bit...then a few minutes later I looked at it and low and behold...a crack in the glass!

So the mad dash began. Basically shut her down, closed valve on return, removed skimmer, etc...and got the sump out. Moved heater in main DT and also added the rocks from the fuge in the DT. I have both mp40's working to keep water moving in there. As for all the water in the sump, i drained it out and put it in my saltwater Brute container and it is currently being circulated by my pump with a heater. I don't want to go through this again so i am custom ordering an acrylic sump from glasscages.com at the exact dimensions of the old sump. They will custom install the baffles and drill the hole for the return. Going to be quite more expensive then going DIY again but worth the peace of mind IMO. Going to also use a schedule 80 bulkhead.

My question is, how long can I keep the DT tank as it is now? Also is the sump water that is being circulated in the Brute container going to be ok after a few days to put back in the new sump? Today is quite a setback.:sad2:
 
So sorry to hear your mishap! Can you use a submersible pump in the Brute can and pump water to your DT and use your DT drain system to drain water into the Brute can? Then you can put the skimmer in the Brute can and keep it running. Basically you replaced your current sump with the Brute can temporarily until you get the new sump?

I will agree that your water in both the DT and Brute can are okay for a few days if you can keep the water agitated the way you have now.

I wonder if there was a slight crack to begin with after you drilled the hole which was the reason for the initial leak.
 
SimonSKL said:
So sorry to hear your mishap! Can you use a submersible pump in the Brute can and pump water to your DT and use your DT drain system to drain water into the Brute can? Then you can put the skimmer in the Brute can and keep it running. Basically you replaced your current sump with the Brute can temporarily until you get the new sump?

I will agree that your water in both the DT and Brute can are okay for a few days if you can keep the water agitated the way you have now.

I wonder if there was a slight crack to begin with after you drilled the hole which was the reason for the initial leak.
Click to expand...

Well just got off the phone with glasscages.com and they are shipping it out today! I only need to glue in the dividers, they will cut the hole for me and make the baffles. If i had them install the baffles, I would have to travel over 1 hour away to pick up the tank at a central location to meet their truck and that would be in 4 weeks or just glue them in myself and ship out today, that was a no brainer!

Simon, I have a 20 gallon long that i bought a few weeks ago for a QT. Should I try to set that up instead of using the Brute container or is it not worth it and just wait 2 or 3 days to get the tank?

Probably was a small hairline crack that I couldn't see and leaked from there and the tightening made it worse. At least now with an acrylic tank, i dont have to worry about this and I will be using a schedule 80 bulkhead which should never fail.
 
I don't think the bulkhead is your problem. If you use schedule 80 bulkhead, won't you have the same problem with the regular 1" PVC that you have before that they don't fit? 2-3 days without skimming of the water in the DT will be fine in this early stage of cycling as long as you keep the water circulating.

That was my biggest fear when drilling the hole in my glass sump. That was why I took extra care and a long time, 45 min, in drilling the hole with wooden support directly underneath the area that I cut. The final minutes were even more critical to avoid chip out.
 
SimonSKL said:
I don't think the bulkhead is your problem. If you use schedule 80 bulkhead, won't you have the same problem with the regular 1" PVC that you have before that they don't fit? 2-3 days without skimming of the water in the DT will be fine in this early stage of cycling as long as you keep the water circulating.

That was my biggest fear when drilling the hole in my glass sump. That was why I took extra care and a long time, 45 min, in drilling the hole with wooden support directly underneath the area that I cut. The final minutes were even more critical to avoid chip out.
Click to expand...

It definitely didn't take me 45 mins to drill that hole, probably why it failed. Are you referring to the initial problem I had when I ordered sched 80 bulkheads for my DT? If that is the case, the reason they didn't fit is because the DT was already drilled to accomodate only the regular 1" bulkheads which require a 1.75" hole. Glasscages.com will be drilling the hole for me in the sump and they are going to drill it to accomodate the sched 80 bulkhead which they are also providing me. Is there anything else i need to know about the sched 80 bulkhead? Once installed, i should be able to put in my 1" street 90 PVC coming out with no issue right?
 
here are some pics of my tank at the moment and the old sump

IMG_0110_zps2d528f12.jpg


crack in sump

IMG_0112_zpsbe25d929.jpg


DT holding steady with mp40's working hard to keep water moving..
IMG_0113_zpsc22e7413.jpg


Sump water circulating in Brute container
IMG_0114_zps920b1f39.jpg
 
Yes. You are right the problem you had was with the drilled hole in the DT to accommodate the sch 80 bulkhead so I thought you will have the same size hole drilled for the new sump. No you shouldn't have any problem with the 1" PVC pipe with the sch 80 bulkhead. Just make sure when you install the new bulkhead, the surface on each side of the hole is squeaky clean so the rubber gasket and the flange have perfect contact with the acryclic. You don't need to tighten too much to have a good seal.

From the pics, the hole was drilled from a safe distance from the edge just like mine. I am glad this happened when you were home and had time to fix it before major disaster happens.
 
tassod said:
What type of glue or acrylic cement do I need to get for the baffles? Does Lowes or HD carry this?
Click to expand...

I have never seen Lowes, HD, or Menards carry any acrylic cement. Your best bet is to see if you can find a local acrylic fab shop who can sell you some. The one that was sold to me was called Craftics by a Champaign shop a few years back. I have since ordered them directly from their online store. They also sell the popular Weld-on products but my volume of acrylic work is so small I only need small volume of the coment. Basically I use the Craftics solvent cement for edge joining and the Thickened Cement #33 for gap filling. A 2oz solvent cement lasts me a long time.

http://www.craftics.net/

003m.jpg
 
SimonSKL said:
I have never seen Lowes, HD, or Menards carry any acrylic cement. Your best bet is to see if you can find a local acrylic fab shop who can sell you some. The one that was sold to me was called Craftics by a Champaign shop a few years back. I have since ordered them directly from their online store. They also sell the popular Weld-on products but my volume of acrylic work is so small I only need small volume of the coment. Basically I use the Craftics solvent cement for edge joining and the Thickened Cement #33 for gap filling. A 2oz solvent cement lasts me a long time.

http://www.craftics.net/

003m.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks Simon, which applicator would you recommend using with the solvent from this website?
 
I find their 1/2 oz bottle applicator and 25g replacement needle easiest to use and control. When I tried the syringe, I always put too much pressure on the plunger and ended up shooting too much of the solvent onto the acrylic making a big mess.
 
Well my new sump will be here tomorrow and the cement Friday. Hopefully i should be up and running again by Saturday. Took an ammonia reading yesterday and its climbed up to 2.0 ppm. My PH has been steadily dropping...was at 8.27 before the sump went out and now its about 8.10
 
tassod said:
Well my new sump will be here tomorrow and the cement Friday. Hopefully i should be up and running again by Saturday. Took an ammonia reading yesterday and its climbed up to 2.0 ppm. My PH has been steadily dropping...was at 8.27 before the sump went out and now its about 8.10
Click to expand...

Did you do a nitrite test? I won't worry too much about the PH as it fluctuates depending on time of day. 8.10 is not too bad.
 
God, that sucks! You did the right thing though. Fix it quickly and it is good you had the money to do it... I think that the best advice I give to people when setting up a system is that I tell them to make sure you have at least 20-30% extra money set aside for mishaps and misfortunes that can occur along the way. Never stretch yourself to the limit to set up a tank because it never ever goes as planned! :)

It's funny to see you testing ammonia and nitrite because I hope I will never have to do that again in my established tank. After about 2 months, those tests will just begin to collect dust.

Hopefully, you don't have anymore hiccups along the way!

Cheers,
John
 
Sump has arrived!

Sump has arrived!

Sump is finally here. Its really nice and I'm very happy with it. The baffles are perfect unlike the ones I had before :spin2:

P1000408_zps5b580c72.jpg


P1000409_zps7249610d.jpg


P1000410_zps224da5e6.jpg


Just waiting on the acrylic solvent cement which will be here tomorrow.
 
Looks nice! I noticed the baffles have rounded corners on one end and square corners on the other. I think the rounded corner end should be on the bottom so it can completely touch the bottom pane. What do you think?
 
SimonSKL said:
Looks nice! I noticed the baffles have rounded corners on one end and square corners on the other. I think the rounded corner end should be on the bottom so it can completely touch the bottom pane. What do you think?
Click to expand...

Hi Simon,

You might be right, but wont the water be able to go through at the point where its rounded because of the small gap?

P1000411_zps3ee2512d.jpg
 
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