+KimP Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 My tank was hooked up to the sump and running last night for the first time. This morning I have 2 issues. 1- There is a leak somewhere around the bulkhead on each side. Any advice for pinning down where exactly the leak is? It's somewhere in the mess of parts either pvc cemented together or threaded with teflon tape. 2- The humidity is unreal in the house. The carpet feels damp, everything feels damp. Inside the stand there are condensation droplets on every single thing, including all inside walls of the stand. Is this how it is with a sump? Could it be because of the leak? We run the a/c and keep the temp at a steady 77 all the time downstairs. The stand is open in the back and a couple inches from the wall. If it's going to stay this humid I will have to take it down, we will certainly get mold problems like this. Thanks for any advice. This is my first experience with a sump or any of this plumbing, and I'd really love to keep the tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 My tank was hooked up to the sump and running last night for the first time. This morning I have 2 issues. 1- There is a leak somewhere around the bulkhead on each side. Any advice for pinning down where exactly the leak is? It's somewhere in the mess of parts either pvc cemented together or threaded with teflon tape. 2- The humidity is unreal in the house. The carpet feels damp, everything feels damp. Inside the stand there are condensation droplets on every single thing, including all inside walls of the stand. Is this how it is with a sump? Could it be because of the leak? We run the a/c and keep the temp at a steady 77 all the time downstairs. The stand is open in the back and a couple inches from the wall. If it's going to stay this humid I will have to take it down, we will certainly get mold problems like this. Thanks for any advice. This is my first experience with a sump or any of this plumbing, and I'd really love to keep the tank! something you can try to diagnose the leak is to make sure that you dry off the area you're trying to find the leak really well with a towel, and then wrap areas with paper towels or toilet paper (toilet works better IMO) you should be able to pretty rapidly see where the leak originates, and then try to figure out a solution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 13, 2013 Author Share Posted June 13, 2013 Thanks for the quick idea, I'll try that now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 13, 2013 Author Share Posted June 13, 2013 So I found the one joint that's leaking on the drain and it looks like all the joints leak on the return. Luckily it doesn't appear to be either bulkhead. Thanks victoly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 are the returns glued or threaded where its leaking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 One of my problems I had was I connected everything together to test fit and forgot to glue. Hope you get it worked out. Can't wait to see the new tank hooked up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 So I found the one joint that's leaking on the drain and it looks like all the joints leak on the return. Luckily it doesn't appear to be either bulkhead. Thanks victoly! if they're threaded, you should be fine, just tighten then up and if that doesnt work, teflon tape! if they're solvent welded and leaking you have a bit of work ahead of you :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 Looks like it's only threaded joints, which is good. I've had the return shut off all day and it's still dripping. It seems like with no water traveling inside the pipes in the overflow, that the only thing that can still leak is the bulkhead, so I don't know. I'll get another chance to mess with it tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason & Amber Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Make sure theoutlet from the return is out of the water so it doesn't keep syphoning from the DT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 so if it the threaded fittings? did u use the standard white Teflon? IMO that stuff sucks for putting on threaded PVC, look in the plumbing department for some Teflon tape that is PINK, its thicker and I can tell u it will solve all of your problem with leaky joints. The only thing I use white on it copper fitting now (not in my reef tank though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 so if it the threaded fittings? did u use the standard white Teflon? IMO that stuff sucks for putting on threaded PVC, look in the plumbing department for some Teflon tape that is PINK, its thicker and I can tell u it will solve all of your problem with leaky joints. The only thing I use white on it copper fitting now (not in my reef tank though) The teflon is blue. I have a tube of the paste kind in the garage but no pink. Maybe I can get some this morning. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 The paste is a big mess ! I usually only use that when transitioning from metal to PVC (I.e., not In reefs). Offroaddodge has a point though, the pink or yellow stuff (used for natural gas connections I believe) is super thick and works very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 White tape for pvc wrapping. Blue for harsher liwuids and thicker tape. Red for gases and its three times as thick as white. Typically 6 wraps of white fixes a joint 5 wraps of blue or 5 of red (when used on gas) Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 The paste is a big mess ! I usually only use that when transitioning from metal to PVC (I.e., not In reefs). Offroaddodge has a point though, the pink or yellow stuff (used for natural gas connections I believe) is super thick and works very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 As far as the humidity do you know if your AC unit has a humidifier option on it? Even a small window unit will remove the humidity of a big open top system. While it is correct the humidity is coming from the aquarium if your house feels humid I would say there's an issue of some kind with your central air. Some units have covers you can remove to inspect the coils and make sure the drain pan and drain line to remove the condensation from the coils is not clogged up. Another problem may be for some reason the coils are freezing over and that would seriously reduce the airflow across the coils and when the thermostat trips the melting ice will put all that humidity back to the air. Regarding pipe tape I stopped using it it years ago because drips developing. I now use silicone with much better consistancy and reliability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 The paste is a big mess ! I usually only use that when transitioning from metal to PVC (I.e., not In reefs). Offroaddodge has a point though, the pink or yellow stuff (used for natural gas connections I believe) is super thick and works very well. Lol, I think the paste is super easy to use and so much easier & quicker than tape when I was changing our irrigation to drip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 As far as the humidity do you know if your AC unit has a humidifier option on it? Even a small window unit will remove the humidity of a big open top system. While it is correct the humidity is coming from the aquarium if your house feels humid I would say there's an issue of some kind with your central air. Some units have covers you can remove to inspect the coils and make sure the drain pan and drain line to remove the condensation from the coils is not clogged up. Another problem may be for some reason the coils are freezing over and that would seriously reduce the airflow across the coils and when the thermostat trips the melting ice will put all that humidity back to the air. Regarding pipe tape I stopped using it it years ago because drips developing. I now use silicone with much better consistancy and reliability. We just had the A/C fixed like a week ago, so hope the guy would've noticed if these were a problem. I'll certainly look into it. I know other members on here have sumps and I don't remember ever seeing a thread where anyone was having humidity issues. Thanks for the idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 The paste is a big mess ! I usually only use that when transitioning from metal to PVC (I.e., not In reefs). Offroaddodge has a point though, the pink or yellow stuff (used for natural gas connections I believe) is super thick and works very well. Lol, I think the paste is super easy to use and so much easier & quicker than tape when I was changing our irrigation to drip Hey, as the great DKR said, dance with who brung ya. I get all curse-word-ey when I'm using the stuff at work, i feel like it never comes off of my hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 White tape for pvc wrapping. Blue for harsher liwuids and thicker tape. Red for gases and its three times as thick as white. Typically 6 wraps of white fixes a joint 5 wraps of blue or 5 of red (when used on gas) Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 I did not use enough tape, only a couple wraps. Thankfully Tim is coming over to save the day! Whew... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wardlaw Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Not that it's the most responsible action, but I just left my tiny tiny drips alone and they eventually stopped. i then siliconed the joint. no more drips i have about 40 gallons in the sump and 120 in the display....havent put the front door on and the back is open....top is open as well no humidity even in the past few days with pretty warm temps if you guys don't get it fixed...i think you live very near me...i can help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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