Bulkhead fitting leaks

[jdr3366]

Hi,

I placed two 1" bulkhead fittings in my tank. They started to leak today after a week of working fine. Fortunately they are near the top of the tank, so I lowered the the water level.

When I installed them I hand tightened and then used a wrench to tighten another 1/4 turn. I read to do it this way on a website. After they started to leak today, I used the wrench to tighten them as much as I could, about another half turn, but they still leak.

What is the best way to seal them? Should I have used silicone between the gasket and the plexiglass? Could I just smear some silicone around the edges of the fitting on the inside of the tank and the outside?

John R

did they come with a rubber washer to go inside the tank between the edge of the bulkhead and the glass?? usually that's more than enough for a tight fit...i've drilled 8 of my tanks and installed bulkheads and still no leaks(some of them after months) be careful how much you tighten them over-tightening could be bad, and if you do have a washer it could damage the washer...

if you're going to use silicone, i would make sure that everything is dry and will stay that way for a few days, to allow it to cure...

[jdr3366]

Yes, as you described, the rubber washer goes inside the tank between the edge of the bulkhead and the glass.

I put some silicone around the edge. Maybe I wil get lucky.

John R

[Jeff]

Is it a new washer? That should work if it is the right one.

Most of the times you have to replace the washer. When you do that and after you tighten it then you can run a bead of silcon around it. But to be honest I have never had one leak. Over tightening it will make things even worse.

HTH
Miles

[1bigfish]

I hate to say this, but are you sure the bulkhead does not have a small crack inside. Even with a gravity flow system, I have had a bulkhead with a small crack leak. The crack can come from an inperfection or overtightning. If it still leaks after all the additional work, replace the entire bulkhead with a new one. What brand? I have had very good luck with Lifeguard.

Steve

[Jason]

I use a neoprene sheet material to make my own gaskets and washers, I've always found that you can find a better quality one than the parts the bulkhead came with

[jdr3366]

It has been about 18 hours since I smeared the silicone around the edges of the bulkheads, inside and out. I filled the tank about 3 hours ago, and so far, so good.

I don't know the name of the bulkhead, but I got it from Jehmco. If it fails again, I will take it apart and check for cracks. If there are no vixible cracks I will add silicone to the surface of the gasket and retighten.

The fish are very happy in their new 180 gallon tank, and so far today, so am I.

Fingers crossed.

John R

[Jeff]

Good Luck John. ;)