I have a problem that needs fixin and feel you people are the best in the business at helping me fix it. This post may be wordy, but I want to lay it all out so it's as understandable and clear as possible........
The Setup: 180 gallon All-Glass Aquarium (fowlr) with 2 overflow boxes. the overflows go to a 65 gallon tank in the stand. the 65 is divided into 3 compartments. 1 overflow goes to a fuge (not really a fuge, more like an unlit area that has rocks and sand in it). the other overflow goes to a compartment with the skimmer (ASM-G3). the 2 compartments flow over baffles and meet in the middle (sump). in the sump are 2 pumps. 1 pump goes back to 1 overflow to the tank and the other pump goes to the other overflow back to the tank.
The Problem: there is a slight leak in one of the overflows. more specifically.......the pipe that goes from one of the sump pumps to the overflow........where that pipe meets the nozzle that's screwed into the drilled hole, it's a slight leak. it's a very slow drip actually. now, the stand isn't a cheap tank stand, it's a heavy duty custom made oak cabinet with a 2x4 frame. but the leak is dripping to the back 2x4 that connects the 2 back corners of the stand. I'm worried that this will.......
a) explode from a small leak to a big leak and cause major problem, or
b) the water will gradually weaken the 2x4 and cause a major problem
The Proposed Solution: now, I've determined that even as slight as this leak is, it's not something that can be fixed while the tank is setup. it's also not something that can be fixed with plumber tape or epoxy due to how close the drilled holes and nozzles/pipes are to the stand (can't wrap the stuff around the nozzle/pipes because it's too close).
so what I propose is shutting that whole box down (flow from and to the box) completely. I would first shut down the pump that runs to that overflow box (where the leak is happening). all the pipes are pvc, so I would try to prevent any backflow from the box by putting a completely closed pvc pipe in that drilled hole. I would also shut off the other hole (the one that takes water from the main tank to the filtration tank).
if both holes were closed off and nothing in the filtration tank was sucking water from that overflow, would the overflow box be empty, or would it fill up and be full of water at all times? what would happen? would the leak stop?
now, I would have to do some rearranging in the filtration tank. namely, I'd have to put the skimmer in the side that the good overflow would be running to. I don't think I'd miss much filtration from the "fuge" because I have over 200 pounds of LR and a 6 inch sandbed in the main tank, and the skimmer is a pretty good one. I also wouldn't miss the flow movement from this much, because I already have a lot of water flow in the tank even without the flow from this one pump.
so, would this work? is there a better solution that does not include taking the whole system down (because that's something I'm not going to do and setup again)?'
Thanks for your assistance.
The Setup: 180 gallon All-Glass Aquarium (fowlr) with 2 overflow boxes. the overflows go to a 65 gallon tank in the stand. the 65 is divided into 3 compartments. 1 overflow goes to a fuge (not really a fuge, more like an unlit area that has rocks and sand in it). the other overflow goes to a compartment with the skimmer (ASM-G3). the 2 compartments flow over baffles and meet in the middle (sump). in the sump are 2 pumps. 1 pump goes back to 1 overflow to the tank and the other pump goes to the other overflow back to the tank.
The Problem: there is a slight leak in one of the overflows. more specifically.......the pipe that goes from one of the sump pumps to the overflow........where that pipe meets the nozzle that's screwed into the drilled hole, it's a slight leak. it's a very slow drip actually. now, the stand isn't a cheap tank stand, it's a heavy duty custom made oak cabinet with a 2x4 frame. but the leak is dripping to the back 2x4 that connects the 2 back corners of the stand. I'm worried that this will.......
a) explode from a small leak to a big leak and cause major problem, or
b) the water will gradually weaken the 2x4 and cause a major problem
The Proposed Solution: now, I've determined that even as slight as this leak is, it's not something that can be fixed while the tank is setup. it's also not something that can be fixed with plumber tape or epoxy due to how close the drilled holes and nozzles/pipes are to the stand (can't wrap the stuff around the nozzle/pipes because it's too close).
so what I propose is shutting that whole box down (flow from and to the box) completely. I would first shut down the pump that runs to that overflow box (where the leak is happening). all the pipes are pvc, so I would try to prevent any backflow from the box by putting a completely closed pvc pipe in that drilled hole. I would also shut off the other hole (the one that takes water from the main tank to the filtration tank).
if both holes were closed off and nothing in the filtration tank was sucking water from that overflow, would the overflow box be empty, or would it fill up and be full of water at all times? what would happen? would the leak stop?
now, I would have to do some rearranging in the filtration tank. namely, I'd have to put the skimmer in the side that the good overflow would be running to. I don't think I'd miss much filtration from the "fuge" because I have over 200 pounds of LR and a 6 inch sandbed in the main tank, and the skimmer is a pretty good one. I also wouldn't miss the flow movement from this much, because I already have a lot of water flow in the tank even without the flow from this one pump.
so, would this work? is there a better solution that does not include taking the whole system down (because that's something I'm not going to do and setup again)?'
Thanks for your assistance.
