Leak!!!!!!

My 54 corner bow is leaking at the bulkhead underneath the tank, any ideas on how to fix without having to drain the tank would be great. Any silicone products out there that dry wet?

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Meekel1

cant you just turn of the return pump and then let the overflow drain into the sump
that way there should be no water in the pipe and then its easy to use any silicone

 

If the bulkhead is inside an internal overflow it will only drain the overflow section.
If not I would still drain the system and do it right rather than try to scab something together, leaks don't get better, they get worse and usually at the wrong possible time.
Follow my tips here:
Installing Bulkhead Tips

 

What stinks is..I just moved the tank so I don't want to stress the fish out any more than they currently are...someone mentioned a product call 5200 for boats..

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Do it right and forget about it. Patch it and worry.

 

Even though you just moved your fish it would probably be more benificial to you to just drain it and fix it the right way. The only silicon that i would use on a tank is 100% silicon. It should say it on the tube. Its the only one that i know of that is not toxic to fish and is water ready in 3 hours. I would definently fix it though, especially since its on the bottom. You would be really mad to come home and find out that the pressure caused more damage over time and drained all your water out on the floor. Not to mention the possibility of your fish dying as a result, losing coraline algae because your rocks have been out of water for so long, corals, etc.

 

You shouldn't need to drain the tank. Just the bulkhead compartment. So, I am not understanding why it would stress the fish. Just make sure you have power heads going in the tank and sump to keep the water circulating while the return pump is off.

I am very familiar with 5200, it is amazingly strong, and if you glue something with it, good luck getting it off ever. 4200 is easier to remove, however, I'm not sure either are reef safe. If the bulkhead is leaking usually just the fitting needs to be tightened or you need a new gasket. I'm not sure how it's leaking from your description though, if you really need to seal it, I would think regular aquarium silicone would work. They sell it at my local petco even. If you can't find it, pure silicone from HD or lowes will work, I think it is GE Silicone I. However, there is also GE silicone II, you need to make sure it is the one that doesn't have any mold or mildew inhibitors as this will likely kill everything in your tank.

 

Is the bulkhead inside the overflow? If so then don't overdo things.

It makes sense that a bulkhead would leak after moving. It could have been just tight enough and sealed enough prior then during the move gotten tweaked during to let water through.

I would:

First: Tighten the bulkhead a bit. Don't over-torque.

Second: If that doesn't work, remove the bulkhead, grease the seal of the bulkhead and reinstall.

 

What the rocket said. Its like any plumbing fixture. 10 years old joint mess with it. It leaks slight tighten stops in a little while.

 

It's the bulkhead on the bottom outside of the tank...also someone mentioned draining just the overflow..how can that be done with the slits on the bottom of the inside of the tank?

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