Piping 2 sumps together

[falconut]

I piped two sumps together, but had an issue with the smaller one after about a week. I have a 40 gallon breeder, drilled for 1" bulkhead on the side. Then I have a ten gallon on a stand, to make the top even with the 40 gallon. It's drilled on the side. I used two bulkheads with a 1" union to joint them.

After about a week of running, I noticed that the bulkhead was leaking on the 10 gallon. It wasn't loose and I also noticed some salt creep at a few spots around the bottom lip. It was an old tank from my basement, so I pulled it figuring I'd have to re-chalk the bottom. But, after pulling it, I noticed that there was a line from the middle of the hole all the way to the bottom. Yep, it cracked.

I believe it cracked because the union didn't line up exactly the same, it was off by maybe an 1/8". I'm guessing it stressed the glass too much and caused it to crack.

I bought a new 10 gallon, but was wondering if there was a better way to do this with a flexible fitting. Or if I should be fine as long as the hole matched up perfectly. I drill the 1st 10 gallon prior to building the riser stand.

 

[ca1ore]

Use flex pvc to connect the two bulkheads.

 

[tazzy695]

Raise ten above the 40 and set up so it can overflow into it

 

[falconut]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I thought about getting two new bulkheads and using spaflex, but I'm not sure 1/4" - 1/2" length would do anything. The tanks are pretty close together, as you can see in the attachment.

My current 90 gallon had the extra room, so I have the refuge gravity flowing over the top of the sump. However, this time I'm doing a more concealed layout, so it'll be under the stand. See attachment.

I would up drilling the hole in the new 10 gallon tank. This time I went a little bigger, so I had the ability to move the bulkhead a little, so it's lined up prefect now. Plus this time I didn't crank either down real tight. It's only a gravity line, so hopefully it won't need to be super tight.

 

[tazzy695]

Another sugestion/question can u turn the 10 sideways to allow for more flexibility in the plumbing so there wont be extra stress

 

[tazzy695]

Btw the tank in pic looks more like a 120 might just be optical ilusion

 

[falconut]

I think I tried sideways at first & it wouldnt fit. Looks are deceiving at times, it's 72" × 24" × 24" & took 200 gallons+ to fill.

 

[tazzy695]

Ahh ok i knew it was bigger then 90