Stuck Bulkhead

[verbal]

I have a bulkhead stuck on the bottom of my overflow on a 150 gallon tank.

It is stuck about 1/2 between tight and off. The space around the bulkhead is very limited(drain a couple inches away, stand a couple inches on the the other side.

I think the best way to get the bulkhead off at this point is to cut the nut and remove it from the threads. The simplest approach would be to get help and flip the tank on its side. The I could easily get access to it with a hacksaw. Any suggestions for doing it in place?

 

[AndyNarwhal]

It is most likely sand or debris in the threads that is keeping it from spinning. You can try a lubricant into the threads to see if that can get it moving again (mineral oil or vegetable oil would be best since they are not toxic if they get in the water). Otherwise the best option is to cut the nut off and get a new bulkhead.

Andy

 

[ezrk]

Let us know if you need help we can come out.

 

[Tony]

Do you have a Dremel? Much more convenient than a hacksaw in tight spaces.

 

[Hawkman2000]

Try hitting the treads above the nut with a stiff brush, like a wire brush. Gently!

 

[verbal]

Thanks for the advice and offer of help.

I started with attempting to grease the threads on the bulkhead, but it had gotten too stuck.

So I ended up getting a dremel and cutting the nut off the bulkhead. It was partly fun and partly nerve wracking cutting a couple inches away from the bottom of an acrylic tank.

I put the new bulkhead in and did a quick test and the overflow seems to drain without leaking. The real test will be running the pump through the outbound lines. Hopefully tonight I can get the tank filled up.

 

[ezrk]

One suggestion I have read is to soak the rubber gasket in warm water before putting the bulkhead in.

 

[londonloco]

Wow, congrats. I'm still too chicken to cut the trim away from my 75g to make the friggen AC70 fit better. I'll get up the nerve one of these days.....

 

[Hawkman2000]

Something I was thinking about was to find the bulkheads that fluval uses on some of their setups that bring the intake and output up through the bottom of the tank and drilling the bottom of a tank for a 206, 306, or 406. Would have to be acrylic or plate glass though.

 

[ezrk]

Something I was thinking about was to find the bulkheads that fluval uses on some of their setups that bring the intake and output up through the bottom of the tank and drilling the bottom of a tank for a 206, 306, or 406. Would have to be acrylic or plate glass though.

Should be able to do it with standard bulkheads. My eheim 16/22mm tubing fits 1/2" barb fittings just fine so I could easily route that through an appropriate bulkhead.

I would probably use a slightly larger, say 3/4" bulkhead.

 

[Hawkman2000]

That would work, I guess all the pluming in the tank could be sprayed with epoxy paint.

I was also wondering if anybody has hooked up a canister to a reef ready tank.

 

[Tony]

I was also wondering if anybody has hooked up a canister to a reef ready tank.

I've thought about it before and it would work - for a little while. The problem would be maintaining the water level in the overflow(s). Since the canister has a fixed volume (closed system), the corner overflow(s) would function as your sump(s).

If you had one overflow (and one canister), the water level would gradually drop due to evaporation. Since it is a small surface area, it would drop relatively quickly (as compared to a sump with a larger surface area). If you didn't monitor it carefully, you'd be sucking air since the overall system volume would no longer be enough to overflow water from the tank to the overflow.

The problem would be even worse if you tried to do this with two canisters and two overflows. Even slightly differing flowrates from the canisters would cause one overflow to fill up all the way while the other goes empty.

I suppose if you played it safe - one canister with one overflow and a tight fitting lid, it would work, but you're really not gaining all that much over plumbing a canister conventionally. One thing that would be cool to do would be to add bioballs to the overflow... Shoot, that might make it worth it. ??

Personally, I'd just rather hook up a sump.

 

[Hawkman2000]

Makes sense.