Plumbing Help

[Chago09]

OK first off I'm a plumbing moron so I need help. I can build with wood and metal but with water I'm scared LOL. I had my 150 gallon drilled and I bought two 1.5" bulkheads and made a basket that was 12" long by 10" tall and 3" deep... here is how it looks

Those bulkheads have these little rubber washers on the inside of the glass. Will that be enough to keep water from leaking??? or should I put some sort of silicone or something???

Ok here are the pieces I am using to make my elbow and turn the water down into the long hose.

Then it will be attached obvioulsy like so...

I have a few quetsions about this.

1.)First off you will notice the end that goes inside the bulkhead is a smooth end. I realized that pet store bought bulkheads are not exactly home depot friendly and there size is not standard. So I couldn't find a female screw on pvc to fit but this one fit snuggly inside of the bulkhead. Will this work properly??? I bought pvc cement this is what I need to use correct?? it is safe for aquarium use???

2.) Secondly the other pieces like the elbow and the pvc hose connector are all threaded. So when I put them together should I use anything to prevent leaking??? the guy at home depot said pvc threaded with pvc will make a better seal then if you use tape. Is this right???? and I was screwing them together by hand and you can see how far I got in the pic. Should I use a wrench or something to keep screwing it until you can't see any thread left??

3.) Any comments on my design???

 

[rob28]

I just actually finnished plumbing my 55 gall. last week and filled it yesterday with no leaks or suprises...
Your bulkheads dont need silicone but it never hurts to put some on the seal inside.As for tighting them,Use a big adjustable wrench or waterpump plyers....If plyers are used put an old rag on the bulkhead,this will prevent unnessary damage from the plyers.NOT TOO TIGHT You can break the tank if it's too tight.Just watch the seal compress.You don't want to crush it.Once it makes contact about 3/4 to 1 more turn.
Your threaded fitting need to be taped with teflon tape to prevent a leak or you can silicone the treads befor puting together i have siliconed and it works fine.They can be tightened again with an adjustable wrench or waterpunp plyers.They can be pretty tight but the treads don't need to dissappear...Good luck...Hope i helped.. Rob

 

[BurntOutReefer]

1) yes...if you have it tight enough...(don't over tighten as the washer will break/crack).
2) do you have enough room in the back to go with a 45 degree versus 90 degree?....it doesn't sound like a lot of difference, but trust me on this...(you should also use on your return...) Use Teflon tape on threaded connections

 

[rob28]

Oh ya...What did they tell you to use for those bulkheads?I was told you couldn't glue that white pvc to the black bulkhead material? If your not sure take one to a plumbing store...Not HOMEDEPOT...They will have all the right stuff and Knowledge.Rob

 

[silverwolf72]

You should only really need to tighten bulkheads by hand other wise your going to either break the bulkhead or damage the washer. if you can't a fitting to fit that bulkhead I would suggest getting new bulkheads with a more standard size. The outside of that right angle is not smooth so I think your going to have a hard time getting it to seal right.

 

[Chago09]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9590061#post9590061 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BurntOutReefer
1) yes...if you have it tight enough...(don't over tighten as the washer will break/crack).
2) do you have enough room in the back to go with a 45 degree versus 90 degree?....it doesn't sound like a lot of difference, but trust me on this...(you should also use on your return...) Use Teflon tape on threaded connections

ya so what did you use to seal them??? I bought pvc cement and the lady told me that it may melt the plastic. I bought it anyways although haven't used it yet. What did you use to seal yours??

 

[BurntOutReefer]

for your, you will need a reducer.....you can get at Home depot or plumbing store....no more then a $1.00 for piece of mind.....thats what I did. Dont use the cement.

 

[Chago09]

reducer??? is that the actual name of it because I have no clue as to what the is so lol if you don't give me a idea of what it is I won't know what to get lol

 

[jmait769]

If it was me I would find a fitting that screwed onto the black fitting/bulkhead and then plumb from there. The fitting in your third photo that you have screwed into the 90 and then inserted into the bulkhead is designed to have pvc pipe fit into it. You can see some raised markings on the outside which may interfere with a solid bond if you glue it. This way you could use Teflon tape on all fittings and not use the glue.

HTH

Jay

 

[BurntOutReefer]

dude...its called a PVC reducer. do a web search for gods sake....

 

[BurntOutReefer]

They are called Threaded Reducing Couplings.
Call any home depot/plumbing place. In fact, take your bulkhead with you to a store. Tell them you want a coupling, threaded, to connect this to a elbow/pipe.