ya know what's awesome?

[Capt_Cully]

You fiiiiiiinally get your tank ready to go after moving and slowly setting it up over 9 months. You break a few tanks while making the sump. You have a few leaks while doing the fresh water test. Get that all repaired.

THEN, after letting it run and pouring in a bucket and a half of salt mix, a few hours later you hear "POP POP" and take a peekski under the tank only to find ANOTHER sump tank has spontaneously cracked and is leaking into the stand.

AWESOME!!!

Gotta get ANOTHER tank, drill it again, redo all the baffles, redo the plumbing, buy a ton more bulkheads etc etc etc....

I swear, if this tank wasn't such a PITA to get into my house, it would be for sale. I cannot catch a break with this pig.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

you're supposed to explode FIREWORKS this weekend! :hb2:

 

[andrew2010]

The bulkheads that you are using.. are they butyl or neoprene gaskets? sounds like your over tightening the nuts..

 

[Capt_Cully]

Yeah, the whole sump set up is suspect at this point. But I really don't have any other options other than under the tank. A basement sump at this house isn't feasible. Thank God for the $1/gallon sale....

 

[Capt_Cully]

The bulkheads that you are using.. are they butyl or neoprene gaskets? sounds like your over tightening the nuts..

Probably right, but one of them was leaking so I had to tighten it. Damned if I did, damned if I didn't.

 

[pascal32]

Sorry to hear. Make sure the rubber washer is on the clang side (not touching the nut). Unless the plumbing is pulling the bulkhead at an angle you shouldnt need much pressure.

Is this the bulkheads connecting the two smaller tanks?

 

[Capt_Cully]

Correct. They leaked during the FW test so I had to tighten them. I really didn't tweak them much to be honest. I'm just surprised that it took several hours, AND had been through a FW test (before and after tightening).

I suppose I should be looking at this from another angle. It's LUCKY that I happened to be sitting near the tank when it "popped". It's lucky that I can salvage the glass baffles, and adjust the way the tanks are plumbed together. It's lucky that this didn't happen to an established reef, I might be up all night in that case (although we're up all night with a 9 week old baby anyway).

 

[pascal32]

Those tanks have thin glass. It's hard to line two up so close together even with flex pipe, even if you get it perfect if anything moves or settles that glass is under a lot of stress.

Wondering if a uniseal is better. Used some on a plastic bin and they were great, not sure about glass.

 

[pascal32]

Another thought- if you used a tempate to drill both with the template clamped in place your odds of lining up improve. Of course that depends on how consistent the black trims is...

 

[solRNY]

man, so sorry to hear... when u connect both the tanks thru bulkheads, is one of them floating or able to flex against the other?

 

[Capt_Cully]

Originally I wanted these tanks because of the depth, but with the $1 a gallon sale at Pet-whatever..I'm thinking I may just throw a 40 breeder under there and call it a day. I'll have to redo some plumbing...AGAIN...but ultimately it's gonna take all this BS out of the equation. Once I come down from the clock tower, I'll do some measuring and see if I can make it work.....

 

[toddmh]

cully just buy two bulkheads and use the rubber washer on both sides,worked great for me..this should give you a little wiggle room if off a bit..

No only if I can figure out my micro bubble problem...Fix one damn thing and another pops up

 

[reefboarder]

Wondering if a uniseal is better.

+1 it sounds like it would eliminate any stress between the two tanks. I personally do not have experience with them but from what I have read they seem fairly reliable and if you ever needed to remove either of the tanks it would be less difficult.

 

[oneradtek202]

DUDE, im sorry man.....this sux

 

[magdelan]

Try drinking more. It will ease the "stress" of the two tanks.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

do the 40 breeder or find an acrylic sump....
something sounds goofy with all these sumps breaking.

Who the heck needs MORE STRESS to keep you awake at night?

 

[Capt_Cully]

Grabbed the last 40B @ Petco, $40 down from $110. Not too shabby!

 

[pascal32]

Good move man!

 

[Henry Colf]

sorry to hear of the bad luck..

 

[GMaquarium]

This may be just a feeling but I think the tanks petco run on sale are different. I may be wrong here. But I have drilled a million tanks of all sizes and have recently cracked one. So a guy asked me to punch a hole in a 20 long he picked up on sale. The tank cracked, feeling bad about it I grabbed one of my 20s also made by AGA. The glass didn't seem thicker but felt different when drilling. This gave me a thought that thy are made from different grade glass.