Need Help - Bulkhead plug leaking

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Mystus Redtail

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jun 8, 2007
2,154
3
68
Fishing in Wisconsin
Hi,

I have a 300 gallon tank that has a 4" bulkhead on one end. Since I am using canister filters I have attempted to seal the bulkhead by installing a threaded plug on the inside of the bulkhead, but it won't hold water. I attempted to use a schedule 40 plug with teflon tap, but that failed immediately. I then tried a thread sealer, T Plus 2. This lasted 6 weeks then the drip started. So I picked up a schedule 80 threaded plug and used the T Plus 2 and it failed immediately. What should I do? I put the plug on the inside of the bulkhead, is this wrong? Should it be on the outside? The bulkhead is threaded through both inside and out. Should I not use the thread sealer?
 
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Here you go
 
2 questions related to that suggestion:

since the tank is made of half inch acrylic, should the patch be of the same thickness?

the bulkhead nut, for lack of a better term, seems to have had some of the nubs ground off, I presume by whatever type of wrench the previous owner used to install it, how difficult will it be to remove if it is overtightened?

is there anything else that might work other than removing the bulkhead? I only ask because I don't know how it was installed, I'm hoping they didn't glue it down...
 
Are you sure the plug is leaking and not the bulkhead/washer itself? sure fire way to get a bulkhead to leak is by overtightening the nut with a wrench.

If it were me, I'd remove the bulkhead altogether and cover with a piece of the same thickness if possible. If it's high up on the acrylic, towards the top of the tank, you might be able to use a thinner piece to work, but with 300 gallons, I don't know if id chance it. Although, I do alot of things to my garage tanks that I wouldn't be comfortable doing to my in house displays.
 
I can say that I'm not going to chance it, it's only half way up on the side. Any advice on the dimensions of the patch to cover what I assume will be a 4.5-5inch hole?

I know it's leaking around the plug, I can watch the drip come through the threads. I did have it holding water for 6 weeks, but I was sure that the new plug would solve the problem, but I was wrong. Now I just want the forever fix, this one is an indoor tank.
 
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