230 Tank Build

Well Kcress called it. After filling the tank, checking for leaks, draining the tank 3 more times, I am down to two very small leaks. <my water bill is going to be huge next quarter> One leak is coming from a threaded bulkhead at a rate of about a drop every 1-2 hours. the second is coming from a "T" I placed in one CL line to make draining easier during this process.

I am not sure what is the common rule of thumb, but I am very hesistant to move forward until all elaks are completely resolved and all fittings are bone dry.

I hope to fix the couple remaining problems over the short holiday break. I am getting close.
 
Sorry to be correct.. :evil_lol:


I can't see why a T is leaking? Why? If it is glued it's glued how can it leak?


As for the bulkhead. Is the gasket on the flange side? Is the bulkhead heavy duty? Is the flange inside the tank or outside? Did you add silicone? Is the silicone on both sides of wall? How tight did you tighten it? Too tight will always leak.

Sometimes the rubber gasket they provide with the flange is marginal. It is meant for use up against an absolutely smooth metal or plastic wall. You show up and use it against a non-absolutely smooth fiberglass surface with tiny dips and valleys. The hard rubber doesn't conform fully and you get pathways. I have seen bulkheads in commercial fiber glassed structures. Usually they either glass in a flat area that is something pre-made or they make the glass so thick that they come back with a giant counter bore to machine the flange surface absolutely flat.

I would suggest you fine some sheet gasket material with a lower Durometer Hardness than the supplied gasket.

See:http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/114/3428

Something softer like maybe silicone sheet or polyurethane. Something that can conform better to your inner tank surface. Then only hand tighten plus a little..

Keep slugging and good luck.

BTW that drip would stop on its own in a while but... I would not like to see that on a plywood structure..
 
Sorry to be correct.. :evil_lol:
Me too. LOL


I can't see why a T is leaking? Why? If it is glued it's glued how can it leak?
Dunno. Perhaps I didn't glue it well enoug <obviously>


As for the bulkhead. Is the gasket on the flange side? Is the bulkhead heavy duty? Is the flange inside the tank or outside? Did you add silicone? Is the silicone on both sides of wall? How tight did you tighten it? Too tight will always leak.

The bulkheads appear fine now. They are positioned and sealed with a small bead of silicone. The tend to loosen fairly easily wioth my work, but I imagine that wil not be a problem once everything is left alone. The leak is coming from where I screwed the fitting into the threaded bulkhead. I added plenty of heavy duty tap[e as well as some additional thread sealant, but the SOB is still dripping as of this mroning, albeit quite slowly. I am going to try to see if I can simply tighten it more, but I ahve to go very grdaually not wanting to break either fixture

Keep slugging and good luck.
Thanks - what choice do i have. Ugh!

BTW that drip would stop on its own in a while but... I would not like to see that on a plywood structure..
Really? How so?
 
Really? How so?

The evaporation is so great from a small drop which has a large surface area and small volume, that the minerals in the water are concentrated at slow drips. Soon you get a mineral build up that clogs the tiny leak. Seen it work dozens of times on household plumbing at much higher pressures then you're working at.

Still not ideal..

Very glad to hear it's not the bulkheads..

Too much sealant, especially tape, will often cause leaks contrary to what you'd think.
 
The evaporation is so great from a small drop which has a large surface area and small volume, that the minerals in the water are concentrated at slow drips. Soon you get a mineral build up that clogs the tiny leak. Seen it work dozens of times on household plumbing at much higher pressures then you're working at.

Still not ideal...
Right - I want this bone dry before I start adding anything other than tap water.

Too much sealant, especially tape, will often cause leaks contrary to what you'd think.


Perhaps, but the threads leaked terribly with only one loop of tape around them. Whereas all but the one was bone dry after adding more.

I realize this is not a perfect science. If iot were I would not be having these problems. :swear:
 
Yahoo

Yahoo - the tanks bulkheads and all fittings finally appear to be water tight! :clap:

I'll post pics and/or videos ASAP.

I have a more pressing question now. My overflow is working marvelously from a H2O balance standpoint. hwoever, something is amiss with my standpipe (drain) rather than perfrom a relatively constant drain the water level rises until it is over the elbow and the drains rapidly to just below the elbow opening via a loud flushing sound. I cannot be the first person with this problem. How do I adjust to rectify the situation (sound).

Thanks for help. Man is it an annoying sound almost every 10 seconds or so.

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Wow. I just picked this out becuase it was a large tank. I'm just totally amazed at people who can build this kind of thing. You ROCK. That is so cool and I can't wait to see it completed! HURRY UP! hahahahahha Great job!
Kim
 
drill a small hole.. (mine is about 1/8 or so in diameter, I should make it a little bigger though... sometimes it gets clogged with salt) . That'll let some air thru which won't create a suction.

Glad to hear everything's finally moving along!

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