SO my tank is leaking... thoughts on my next move?

Devaji108

Devaji108

New member
Hey guys,
so yeah my tank is leaking.. its a 40br that i drilled about 4 to 5 months ago. using the glass holes system. I thought the hole was a little big when drilling. anyway so after letting it set for a few months cycling because I was going to be out of the country. now that i am back and ordered some TBS rock. i found it leaking from the hole.
it's not much was doing it a few month ago i added more silicone to it, it seamed to stop for a while but it started again. :( it goes underneath my paint and into the rime of my DT then overflow down the stand to the floor. addig salt creep and a mess.

I tried to tighten the nut on the inside using my hand and well as some channel locks it just very hard to get to do to the inner working of the over flow box. + i dont want to over tighten a crack the tank. I tell you drilling this tank and getting it up has really been a PITA. I have had many tanks but for some reason this one has ben the most difficult. funny thing was it was suppose to be a simple 40br... fill and go

anyway here are my thoughts moving forward.

option 1
drain tank and replace with a 40br I have on hand using a CPR over flow.
most likley the option I will end up doing.

option 2
drain tank figger out why its leaking fix teat, teast agin then move back to house. see it winter here in wyoming. and I have a few feet of snow out side so working on it does not sound fun at all.

option 3
buy a IM fusion 30L I need it to be 36" long as thats what my lights are BML 36" strip. i loose 10 gallons + 25 in the sump. but its an option. gonna to more research on it.

option 4
buy a cad lights system. i thought about this a while ago when I was setting this up. but read some pretty bad reviews. i think they where having a problem. wonder if is fixed now...

so just thinking out load. what are your guys thoughts?
 
If you can show some pictures it will be easier to make a judgement on whether it is fixable or not.
 
If you put silicone around the the bulkhead, you need to remove it, clean it all off, and put it back together without any silicone at all. A properly installed bulkhead won't leak. At least none of mine ever have, and some of them are going on 30 years old now. Silicone on the leak is nothing more than a bandaid.
 
+1, I would avoid the silicone option as it is likely to leak again. A bulkhead should be tightened hand tight, then 1/4 to 1/2 turn using a wrench.
 
I've used original gorilla glue before for this kind of thing. While probably not the ideal option, it will definitely seal it up and give you plenty of time to find another solution.

I would pull the bulkhead, clean it up, smear gorilla glue all over it, spray some water on it and reinstall. The expanding glue will seal it up and you can still remove the bulkhead later if you so desire.

That stuff could seal the Hoover dam.
 
Good advice given and just a heads up, SCA makes a pretty much identical tank to the cadlights if that is something that catches your eye, in fact originally SCA was supplying the tanks for them, and SCA has great CS
 
yeah I know it was not properly installed. I think i was afraid of cracking the tank by tightening it to much. already cracked on from drilling.. but the drill hole was really loose for the bulkhead like a 1/2" or more. glass holes said that was normal?

if it was summer I would pull the whole thing take it apart and see whats the story. but being winter not so much in to that.
 
davocean said:
Good advice given and just a heads up, SCA makes a pretty much identical tank to the cadlights if that is something that catches your eye, in fact originally SCA was supplying the tanks for them, and SCA has great CS
Click to expand...

on man thanks for the heads up they do have some pretty nice tanks!
I am dreaming of the 150 :) I emaild them about some 36" tanks.
 
it is probably the seam on the bulkhead fitting need to be cleaned/sanded down so its a clean mating surface
 
looking at the tank I guess I could drain it 1/2 way take out the bulk head and play with it. i dont know I am kinda over it anyway it's really noise. never could get it to run smooth.

on that note anyway have reviews on the deep blur professional 57 rimless edge? i look like it a great tank.
 
I had the same issue. I drilled my current 50 breeder with the glass-holes system and them it started leaking...I think it was always leaking I thought it was simply condensation on the bottom and the back. The troubling think is I already had livestock and corals in it.

I drained the tank to half and simply replaced the gaskets. I had 2 friends who drilled their tanks with gl*******s and each time simply replacing the gaskets worked. Of course replace the plumbing tape each time. AND DON'T over-tighten the bulkhead. No silicone was used at all each time.

Now they are contractors by trade so I'm sure they drilled the tanks properly. I'm a little worried when you said you think the hole is too big. Did you drill the tank according to instructions or had any issues when drilling?
 
My bulkheads fit really loose in the holes as well.

However, as someone else said, you may need to sand the mating side of the flange. Mine also leaked a little and it was from some left over flashing from the molding process on the inside of the flange. Sand it smooth and it should fix it.
 
Ideally a bulkhead will fit into the hole on the tank with very little 'play'. That maximizes the amount of glass the flange and gasket will cover. The more play there is, the poorer the seal; and the possibility that the bulkhead will slip. I'm actually one if the few, apparently, who does use silicone on bulkheads in certain situations.
 
^ yeah there was so much space it was cray. let me see if i can find a pic...I Am thinking it would be a problem at some even if I fixed it.
 
oseymour said:
I had the same issue. I drilled my current 50 breeder with the glass-holes system and them it started leaking...I think it was always leaking I thought it was simply condensation on the bottom and the back. The troubling think is I already had livestock and corals in it.

I drained the tank to half and simply replaced the gaskets. I had 2 friends who drilled their tanks with gl*******s and each time simply replacing the gaskets worked. Of course replace the plumbing tape each time. AND DON'T over-tighten the bulkhead. No silicone was used at all each time.

Now they are contractors by trade so I'm sure they drilled the tanks properly. I'm a little worried when you said you think the hole is too big. Did you drill the tank according to instructions or had any issues when drilling?
Click to expand...

yeah I drilled according to there instructions. even ordered the bulk head through them as the one i got from BRS was to big for the hole. even the it was "right" size according to them.
 
here is the pic of how much space there was around the bulk head:
<a href="http://s1103.photobucket.com/user/devaji108/media/20150708_203140.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g480/devaji108/20150708_203140.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20150708_203140.jpg"/></a>
 
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