Brand new to the hobby and need advice - 75 gal

Oh, sorry I misunderstood! Next option would be to lower flow rate to the tank. Most people recommend installing a ball valve on the return line to lower the return rate, but this will shorten the life of the pump. Another option is to tee off the return line and run it into where your tank drain lines are. Install a ball valve on this line so you can control how much flow goes to either line. Make sure you have the discharge of this line below water level so it is not loud.

 

I messed with it all day and have realized that a smaller pump, teeing it off, and anything else won't work. I will have to add a piece of glass to the front because most of the drain pipes are higher than the front glass. I'm going to add 1.5" piece of glass to the front, which, if my calculations are correct, will fix it because it will give me a higher water level, covering the drainpipes.

 

Here's a few pics of the rock work with sand and water in the tank. They aren't great because my camera is acting up, but it'll do for now.

 

EMERGENCY

I just noticed what looked like water under the DT. Upon further investigation I found out it IS water. It's not running out and down the stand, but it's there. I looked at the return pump and plumbing and found that I have a leak around 2 of my 3 drain bulkheads. No leaks around my 2 return bulkheads. The leak around the bulkheads is fairly slow. A drip once a minute and some water runs down the back glass. There was a small pool of water, about 1.5"x6or8". My question is: Is that enough of a leak to run under the tank and me see it under the front?

The picture is the front of the tank and stand. The pointers are pointing to the water under the tank. I did leak test the DT several times before I brought it in the house. What can I do? Should I seal the bulkhead leaks and see if the water dries up or what? I need to know something quick. Thanks in advance.

 

I had a slow leak out of my bulkhead, about a drip every half hour or so. It was enough to leave water around the bottom frame. I cleaned the rubber and bulkheads then salt creep sealed it after about a week. AZdesertrat has a good bulkhead thread I'd link it but I'm on my phone. Anyways don't lose sleep over it, if its a slow drip you can research how you want to solve it tomorrow it wont flood your floor by then.

Also, if you need a quick answer you can edit the title thread if you go to advanced settings in your first post.

 

So I siphoned the water below the bulkheads and put new paper towels under the edges of the tank last night. This morning the paper towels were barely wet and the water was not pooled at all at the back of the tank. So, tonight i will be resealing the bulkheads with silicone and after 24 hours of drying, will retest. Cross your fingers.

 

Alright, I'm about ready to pull my hair out and throw the tank out the window! I got the pump and drains all dialed in and had it running for several hours and noticed water, a lot this time, under the edge of the tank. All week since I siliconed the drains there hasn't been any water. At all. I had to leave the house so I turned the pump off and closed the drains. I don't know what to do.

 

Hey jmann, any updates on your tank? Were you able to fix all your leaks?

 

Well, I got so frustrated with it that I had to just stop for a bit. I kept the water in it and kept a check on the water. It looks so good, but I know I can't just let it sit there lifeless. I did silicone some more of the bulkheads and have started replacing some of the gaskets. I also ran into an issue with the Clowns. They had a few spots on them, bigger than Ich though. I did some research and treated with melafix. It comes and goes right now, so I've been preoccupied with that. I plan to get back full blast on the DT this evening. If it still leaks after I reinforce all the plumbing then I guess I"ll have to drain it and start looking for a hairline. Although a hairline crack doesn't make sense to me since it only leaks when I run the pump and overflows.

 

Also interested in everything turned out for the good or bad?