DIY Bulkheads

[ronrca]

Just a quick introduction to diy bulkheads! You can buy 'bulkheads' from aquatic stores however it would be wise as always to compare prices. You will not find 'bulkheads' in Home Depot or other plumbing hardware stores. Its a term that is not used however the pieces used are the same.

First of all, I use PVC, white or grey whatever I can find and is cheapest (grey is usually cheaper actually and works just as well). There are 3 parts in making a bulkhead. The pic only shows 2 of the 3, a male and a female connector. These particular connectors are 1".

[ronrca]

The connectors are threaded on one side but are slip fit on the other side. You can get connectors that are threaded on both sides. Choice is yours!

[ronrca]

The 3rd part of a bulkhead. When using 1" PVC pipe, my favorite gasket is the as shown in the pic. It is really wide and seals the bulkhead completely without even having to use any type of thread seal (telfon tape for example).

[ronrca]

An example of the bulkhead complete.

[ronrca]

Another example of the bulkhead on my 65G tank set up as an overflow. I always put the gasket on the outside of the tank so it is not exposed to the water.

[disvegas]

Hi Ronca,

I am looking for some the gaskets you use for your bulkhead. I've visited Home Depot and Lowes home improvement warehouses and they don't carry that big (1" or >) sizes. Any insight as to where can I get them?

Collin,

[LizStreithorst]

What a wonderful idea. Is everyone else thinking, "Well, why didn't I think of that"?

[ronrca]

Hi Ronca,

I am looking for some the gaskets you use for your bulkhead. I've visited Home Depot and Lowes home improvement warehouses and they don't carry that big (1" or >) sizes. Any insight as to where can I get them?

Collin,
Sorry to hear that Collin! The home depots in my area carry them regularly. Perhaps try ordering them or try the website.

Wish you luck,
Ron

[Graham]

Find a dedicated plumbing store they'll sell ''O'' rings or gaskets. Depending on the thickness of the glass and the o rings or gaskets used the white PVC male/female may not tighten up enough, as the male is slightly tapered.

The gray electrical PVC fittings are not tapered and will tighten all the way up.

G

[CAGE-RATTLER]

Try the isle where the bathroom plumbing parts are. The rubber gaskets for the tub and sink drains look like they will work.

Roncra ...... one question i have is ......... what size hole do you need to drill for the 1" PVC parts??

The regular Bulkheads are much thicker and require a larger hole. 1 3/4 for a 1 inch bulkhead i believe.

I have access to a 1 1/2 inch glass drill bit and was wondering if that is large enough for the PVC DIY bulkheads?

[ronrca]

I took these tanks to a glass repair shop to drill as I didnt feel comfortable drilling these tanks at the time. If you have a bit, measure using the bulkhead male fitting. If the male end threads fits in the bit comfortably, it should work as long as lip of the fitting isnt smaller than the bit.

[Elite Aquaria]

Tip for drilling tanks

Take a 2 x 4 and cut out a hole large enough for your diamond bit to pass through. Place the 2 x 4 under the area of the tank you intend to drill. fill the tank with a solution of 50% water 50% antifreeze (this keeps the bit from getting hot). You only need about 1 inch of water/AF solution in the tank. Go to Home Depot and by a tripod stand for an ordinary drill. Also a low RPM Drill is better than a HIGH RPM Drill. It cost about $20. And start to drill slowly without putting a lot of pressure on the glass. With a good diamond bit you can drill a tank in a few minutes.

Dan

[kaceyo]

Ron,
how much did the glass shop charge per hole? I did consider the DIY bulkhead fittings before but wasn't sure there was enough flat surface area on the fittings to seal the gasket. Have you used these in bottom of the tank holes?

Kacey

[Graham]

kacey If you were to go through the bottom the I'd suggest using a regular bulkhead. They're ugly but provide greater strenght and not that expensive. For the back of the tank the PVC fittings are fine

I just drilled a new 90 last weekend...here's the thread I did for the local club site. I used a pipe bit and carborundum powder

http://www.eastcoastaquariumsociety.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?id=10139

[kaceyo]

Hey Graham,
Good advice. I wouldn't want to trust a drilled tank bottem with one of the DIY type bulkheads. The thread is very informative too. I didn't know you could use a reguler pipe bit instead of diamond.

kacey

[ronrca]

Ron,
how much did the glass shop charge per hole? I did consider the DIY bulkhead fittings before but wasn't sure there was enough flat surface area on the fittings to seal the gasket. Have you used these in bottom of the tank holes?

Kacey
The glass shop charged quite a bit to drill. If I can remember correctly is was around $50/hole. I have not used any bottom drilled tanks yet but would it I did.

Graham, what is a regular bulkhead?
Btw, nice thread for drilling glass. If you dont mind, I'll add it to the diy list. When I drilled my tanks, I used a drill press and diamond bit. I also built a dam using plumbers putty and used cutting fluid inside the dam for cooling. Worked great! If in doubt use a scrape piece of glass before actually drilling your tank.;)

[Graham]

:noway: $50 per hole...for $60 I bought all the pipe (4) bits several years back and bummed an pint container of carborundum powder out of a local glass shop. Toss in the my hand drill, some water and you've got holes.

Water is all the local guys use with the carborundum powder..around here.

You used a drill press ????:bandana: There's not way I could fit a 90 gallon tank into mine .....hand drill and patience...it took 5 to 6 minutes to cut the hole.

This is the 1st time that I've drilled the back of a tank and the only reason I did it here was that the bottom on this Perfecto tank was tempered....NOTE: do not drill temper glass...if your not sure call the manufacturer

The ''bulk head "' that I used here were just a male/female Sch 40 PVC fittings. I used rubber gaskets inside and out and layed the silicone to them as I tighten them...zero leaks;) These are prettier looking than a big 4'' diameter standard black bulkhead fitting

I'll use those tomorrow when I replace the drop in liner in my 2500 gallon holding tank:(

G

[ronrca]

:noway: $50 per hole...for $60 I bought all the pipe (4) bits several years back and bummed an pint container of carborundum powder out of a local glass shop. Toss in the my hand drill, some water and you've got holes.

Water is all the local guys use with the carborundum powder..around here.

You used a drill press ????:bandana: There's not way I could fit a 90 gallon tank into mine .....hand drill and patience...it took 5 to 6 minutes to cut the hole.

This is the 1st time that I've drilled the back of a tank and the only reason I did it here was that the bottom on this Perfecto tank was tempered....NOTE: do not drill temper glass...if your not sure call the manufacturer
G
Yep! $50 or so and thats why I drilled my next tank myself. lol.
Funny you should mention temper glass. My wife actually took the tanks to the glass shop. To start, this must of been the first time they drilled holes in tanks before because they sent my wife away due to the stick at the bottom of the tank that said 'temper glass. do not drill'. I had to explain to them that only the bottom was tempered and that they were suppose to drill the backs. Was kind of funny imo! I would of thought a glass shop would be able to determine quite easily if glass is tempered or not.

[Cosmo]

I use these same home made bulkheads on my water storage tanks, but as I remember there was a taper and had to use several gaskets... wouldn't look to good on the tank itself. Is the grey you're referring to "Sched 80" ?? that's the only grey pvc I've ever seen and I can't find it anywhere locally.

I've only drilled bulkheads for overflows in 20 hi tanks, so I put them in my utility sink and ran water over the surface as I drilled - used a diamond tipped hole cutter and simply let the weight of my 1/2 corded drill (held vertically) to push the bit through glass.

Never tried a bottom drilled either, though in my acrylic tanks it would be no different... just too scary for me :p would be tough to fit a 90 in a drill press I guess :D

Would I be correct in stating that it's the powder than provides the cutting rather than the pipe cutters when not using diamond tip cutters??

Jim

[ronrca]

I use these same home made bulkheads on my water storage tanks, but as I remember there was a taper and had to use several gaskets... wouldn't look to good on the tank itself.

Are you refering to a taper on the PVC fitting? Hmm, never had a problem with the gaskets, taper or no taper. Depends on the gasket being used and thats why I like the one in the pic.



Is the grey you're referring to "Sched 80" ?? that's the only grey pvc I've ever seen and I can't find it anywhere locally.
Actually refers to the white fittings. Have you looked in the plumbing section? The grey fittings are usually used in electrical and even though they work, the white fittings are more tighter fitting.




Never tried a bottom drilled either, though in my acrylic tanks it would be no different... just too scary for me :p would be tough to fit a 90 in a drill press I guess :D Depends on how big the drill press is or if you can remove the platform. I guess I was fortunate as I build the tank from scratch and was able to drill using just the side of the tank.


Would I be correct in stating that it's the powder than provides the cutting rather than the pipe cutters when not using diamond tip cutters??

Jim You are correct! ;)

[Graham]

The pipe cutter are just a high quality steel and wear away with each cut. The Carborundum powder does the actualy work