Diy Plumbing

[drunktank]

so i took on the task of plumbing my 125... wow wut a mess HAHA


filled the tank up with water and turned on the pump, noticed a lot of little beads of water running down the pipes.... dunno where they are coming from- is there anything i can use to plug up the joints better. I dont want to have to take it all apart. I think it may be coming from the bulk heads- so i tightened them up, and it got better. But still an occasional water droplet or 2....

what should i do all mighty reefers! lol

 

[DevIouS]

What did you use to seal the pipes?

Be careful not to over tighten those bulkheads!

 

[drunktank]

yea i know, i'm afraid to over tighten them :-X

I used PVC cement and primer to connect the pipes, thats all... was tehre sometthing else i should have used?

 

[DevIouS]

Sounds right.
I was checking to see if you used the correct sealant.
Not sure what to tell you now.....

 

[DEEPWATER]

you got it right ,primer then glue
But you must hold the 2 fittings together for at least 30sec to min or else it come loose .the pressure of the pipe and elbow ,tee,and so ,push apart from eachother ,the glue making it easier for it to get out ......so holding it for that 30 sec give the glue enuff time to hold the pipe in place .

you should use the sch 80 bulk heads ,they are the heavdy dudy ,also check your gaskets

 

[dzuckerm]

Were your bulkheads threaded? If u had any threaded joints u must use plumbers tape to ensure the joints don't leak,

 

[drunktank]

all threads were covered w/ lots of tape

i didn't really hold them together all to long , to late now cause they are damn tight on the bulkheads. I'm jsut going to cover the seams w/ liquid nail and marine epoxy- perhaps down the road i'll re do it lol

the leaks seem to be coming from one spot (also the spot i rushed and couldn't reach)

pray for no future problems lol... cause i'm adding salt now

 

[drunktank]

so i got some marine apoxy and used my finger to go around all the joints where PVC meets PVC. It stoppped a lot of the little drops, but theres one elbo that keeps dripping every 5mins. is that something to be concerned about, or do u think it will stop once i add salt and the tank establishes?

 

[junglebase]

so i got some marine apoxy and used my finger to go around all the joints where PVC meets PVC. It stoppped a lot of the little drops, but theres one elbo that keeps dripping every 5mins. is that something to be concerned about, or do u think it will stop once i add salt and the tank establishes?

John,

Just my opinion, I think any drip should be corrected. I would be wary at having even just a small trickle of water. Who knows whether it will get better or not...maybe a professional plumber will be the better judge... but for me, i think it is better to correct it now than letting it be that way...

 

[Reefer420]

I was just wondering...

Is PVC piping really any better than just using tubes for the plumbing? Don't all the bends in the pipe reduce your flow and make you have to get a large return pump? I know it looks better, but it seems like PVC can go really wrong...and be a pain to take apart if anything does go wrong...


Haven't really looked into it yet since I don't have a sump yet- but I was just thinking about it for the future...

 

[loismustdie]

Drunk, if you can pinpoint the leak, you can stick the blade of a sheet rock knife in some fire (a torch works great, but the stove top will do), get it hot and press the side of the hot knife into the area of the leak. This will stop the leak about 50% of the time. If you already epoxied over it, forget it. You really should fix the leak though.
You can get regular vinyl tubing, cut off a small piece and cut down the middle to make a sleeve over the joint. put some epoxy on the inside in the area of the leak and hoseclamp it into place. Your best bet though is to cut out the elbow and put in a new one using couplings.

 

[drunktank]

thanx guys, appriciate all the opinions. The leaks were driving me crazy, and were only on the down drain to the sump, so i cut the PVC out and put vinyl tubing over it w/ some clams. So far i havent seen any leaks yes!