Fix leaky bulkhead

Need a "Quick" sealant that will work on a black bulkhead -to 1" PVC
...and BTW, hopefully the "Seal" whatever it is can be semi-removeable (not a solvent that will ruin the bulkhead) ...if thats a "pipe dream", plz advise

.....background noise.....

This is sort of a lack of planning semi-emergency:
I had to tear down a "temporary" tank to setup a new one:
I got a pair of clowns, blenny & chromis in a 20G waiting to go in a 90G

Anyway, the "overflow" kit is a standpipe glued to a std bulkhead fitting...one would expect a thread x thread on the bulkhead instead of a thread x Slip (reason being, gluing something to the bulkhead prevents dissasembly without ruining the whole assembly, or perhaps thats the idea; sell more crap)

...silicon takes too dang long (fish ain't gonna last 48hrs in a unfiltered 20G), I tried self sealing "F4" tape (at $7 for a 12ft roll, ouch!) but...

...the tape "Worked" pretty good on the outflow side, but I discovered 1 drop on the pressure "inflow" side (after 8hrs of running, not bad, but it's near my power strip) ...

Skip it, accept 1 drip per 8hrs and quit tripping? OR
leave the new tank tore down until you people bail me out?

 

Wow, that's a hard choice. I have no idea of any material that can do what u want, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. Maybe other members will know exactly what u need.
A while back when I was plumbing my tank I had a leak and fixed it with a ring of epoxy around the pipe, where the ball valve was glued not too well, apparently.
It's been at least one year and I can't see a drop. But, I will have to spend some back breaking time breaking it off if needed cleaning.
Hopefully someone has a good idea over here. I know a good part of 3reefers have their plumbing experience.

Good luck.

Sent from my phone using my two opposable digits

 

Mabe try funtack around the seam them use that selfsealing tape over it just to seal the deal abit better?

 

I don't ever glue those. I don't care if there's a minor leak there because the water just goes to the same place (the plumbing) it would if there was no leak.

Salt will seal this up in 4 or 5 days. (Obviously, this isn't the preferred method because if you ever mess with the bulkhead again, it will start leaking again).

 

Against my better judgement I glued a 8" long piece of 1" PVC pipe to the inside of the bulkehad using "general purpose" PVC glue (2he cure)....my thinking is that I can pull it straight through the drilled hole in the glass if need be and its long enough to cut and re-glue "whatever" on the end for about the next 5-6 times

....and ditto on the leak "fixing" itself...I totally forgot that leaks in hard water do self seal over time.... NTM the leak is directly over the sump

 

You more than likely cracked the bulkhead or ripped the gasket when originally installing. Salt-seal is a wonderful thing, but there is no guarentee that things don't get worse before getting better.

Gluing pvc to the inside of the bulkhead is fine - they are cheap and easy to replace. But I don't see how that resolved your leak ? your leak would have been the bulkhead to glass seal, not the stand pipe to bulkhead. Anyway, I am glad to hear the issue has been resolved. Order new bulkheads so that you have them on hand going forward ... never know, always good to be prepared.

 

Most black bulkheads are HDPE plastic and glues don't adhere well.

Why not get the correct bulkhead and parts and do it right the first time so you don't have to go back and repair it at some inconvienient time in the future? Just a thought but temporary of cobbled fixes seem to bite me every time.

I have a bulkhead installation tips sticky here on this forum somewhere that has some good tips and ideas for a leak free installation.