what exactly is a bulkhead?

[miston]

I kind of know, but not exactly.

Thanks in advance. This place f'in rules!!! I wish I had this place existed when I was 15!

 

[Anonymous]

it is a plastic adoptor that you put on a hole so that you can put other adoptor/pipe on it. See pic:

 

[Len]

Reefs.org is the oldest reefkeeping resource, so depending on how old you are, we could've been around

A bulkhead slips into a drilled hole to keep it watertight. Below is a picture of my pumps plumbed inline with the sump. I first drill a hole in my sump, insert the bulkhead into the hole, and plumb my pump to the bulkhead.

 

[Anonymous]

Len, you got a cleaner pic around? You are more organized than me, but there are so many things under your stand that it is difficult to find the bulkhead...

 

[Len]

Sorry, no pic (at present), but here's a pic of reefland's standpipe that has a bulkhead at the bottom. I think you can get an idea of what a bulkhead does from it (maybe that's just me looking through experienced eyes):

 

[Anonymous]

Bulkhead is a navy term technically...kinda like a wall...they dont call them walls on ship, the call them bulkheads...
bulk·head ( P ) Pronunciation Key (blkhd)
n.

1.) a.) One of the upright partitions dividing a ship into compartments and serving to add structural rigidity and to prevent the spread of leakage or fire.
b.) A partition or wall serving a similar purpose in a vehicle, such as an aircraft or spacecraft.
2.) A wall or an embankment, as in a mine or along a waterfront, that acts as a protective barrier.
3.) Chiefly New England. A horizontal or sloping structure providing access to a cellar stairway.

 

[HClH2OFish]

Just my .02 to add

A bulkhead is used with your aquariums plumbing (as in Len's picture of piping)

You need some way of getting the water into/out of the main tank and sump and you have a few choices.

If you have a *drilled* tank and sump, you need to have a bulkhead. The bulkhead is nothing more than a special fitting that goes into the hole in the glass/acrylic to ensure a watertight seal. Each end of the bulkhead is also (usually) threaded in some way so that you can hook up your piping to it.

For even better clarification Check out this thread...one of the links is a picture of an installed bulkhead on a freshly drilled tank...

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t ... lling+full

Hope this helps!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

FYI, a DIY bulkhead can be made with two PVC fittings that are threaded and screw together. Make sure they can be tightened all the way to the end of the thread. Use teflon tape on the threads, and put rubber washers on both sides in between the tank wall and the PVC fittings. It works, as long as the water is not very deep around it.

 

[hdtran]

Len's picture doesn't have a key, though he does tell you it's at the bottom. (1) is the bulkhead.

LordNikon, I thought that in navy parlance, the bulkhead was where guys went to p** in bulk?

 

[Anonymous]

nope..see the above definition from dictionary.com... i know there is a difference between what you guys are talking about and what i am being a smartass about...