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Lawrence's first (90g) salt water tank

From what I see those bulkheads are trashed.
I would start over with all new plumbing
I'm not sure if a sch80 bulkhead will fit the existing hole...I could be wrong
 
**insert photo of Betsy about to throw in the towel.**

I'll be calling you, Erin.


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Good plan!

Replacing the bulkheads with similar should be easy.
Better would be schedule 80, but increasing the hole size would be a hassle and a risk.
Done right, the thinner bulkheads are ok.
 
Flush cut the white PVC, a slip coupler and a small 1" or 3/4" will do the trick if needed.
By the image, I guess there's plenty of pipe to work with.
When placing the new bulkhead I would not glue it back; what I used to do is wrap some Teflon tape over the PVC and gently press it into the bulkhead then attach the assembly to the tank, silicon in between gasket, bulkhead and glass, then tighten with a plumbers wrench but not too tight.
There's a "specialized" tool, I believe name brand is Rambit to remove PVC from unions but is not worth the expense, bulkhead is cheap and so is PVC.
You may use a hack saw and cut the bulkhead perpendicular to the thread, heath the ABS plastic a bit; a heath gun is useful, then pull the softened plastic off the pipe assembly. I've removed glued PVC joints that way before but working from the inside; done it for pricey true-unions and whenever I have time to kill and no will to drive to HD.
 
Good news!!! I made a very wrong assumption -- the drain isn't glued - it came right apart. Easy to replace. And the return looks threaded. We'll get that figured out tonight.

Wahoo! Erin is helping for sure. And thank goodness Denzil does smart design.

We. Will. Cycle. This. Tank. Soon.


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Maybe the return is just pressed in as well, I see a Teflon bit of tape at the base on the image. I bet if the return is the thin walled PVC is also just pressed-in.
For peace of mind, once done with the attachment of the bulkheads, fill the overflow boxes only with the pipes in place and check for any leaks; I doubt there will be any
 
Maybe the return is just pressed in as well, I see a Teflon bit of tape at the base on the image. I bet if the return is the thin walled PVC is also just pressed-in.

You were correct!

Wahoo! Ok, getting some professional help this week to get some momentum.


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2017 is the year of the Blockhead Fish (Reef) Tank. Lawrence said that in a NYE haze last night. Betsy is holding him to it.

His birthday is 1/12, and I'm going to hire someone to help us as a birthday present.

We mean it this time. Really we do.


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Where are you at with it? What's your game plan?

Game plan: either host a reef tank raising party and feed people really well, or hire someone to help us get it cycling.
(I know a key tenet of the club is to avoid folks hawking their services, but we need to ask folks who know...)

Where are we at with it:
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1) need to get water out, clean and replace top frame (in box), and get the water back in.
2) get the dang thing sealed/no more leaks

I think those are the two big hold ups and we just got deflated by all the little things and not knowing our way around. We are pretty sure we have most of the supplies we need. Just need more hand holding.

Fun times.


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Leak: the overflow - and we bought the silicone sealant. Just low confidence on doing the right thing. (And this after getting an awesome visit with Erin.)

Frame: the big plastic bracket on the top. The current one is cracked and broken. (The bottom brace has a chip, too... but we are letting that go.)




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