Plumbing through bottom of tank

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SpeshulEd

Fire Eel
MFK Member
May 7, 2009
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I'm trying to figure out the plumbing for my 450g. Basically, I have everything figured out except for what plumbing to use through the holes.

I have three 2" holes and three 1.75" holes. All of which are drilled in the bottom of the tank. Doing the math on a 450g tells me there's going to be almost 2 tons of pressure on these since they're on the bottom so I'll most likely need something heavy duty. The acrylic is 1.25" thick.

What part am I looking for to put through the holes? I'm afraid to just stick any piece of plumbing through the whole and hope for the best. This will most likely be my weakest spot, so if there's a leak, this would be the place. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
 
Yep^^^^
 
Thanks guys, now the challenge is to find those locally, haha.
 
local is for the birds... hit up glass-holes.com... every order ships with free candy :)
 
SpeshulEd;3562730; said:
Thanks guys, now the challenge is to find those locally, haha.
Click to expand...
Not just getting them in the right diameter, but they come in a few different styles...
they come with slip x slip, slip x thread, thread x slip, and thread x thread

After they are installed you either have slip or threads to fit your plumbing to, on the inside and outside of the tank. You'll need to figure out your plumbing first, and that will tell you which bulkheads to get...;)
 
zennzzo;3562848; said:
Not just getting them in the right diameter, but they come in a few different styles...
they come with slip x slip, slip x thread, thread x slip, and thread x thread

After they are installed you either have slip or threads to fit your plumbing to, on the inside and outside of the tank. You'll need to figure out your plumbing first, and that will tell you which bulkheads to get...;)
Click to expand...


go for threadxthread because then you can unscrew things as needed.. with slip fittings once you get them in there even if you only seal them with silicone it can be a real fight to undo them..
 
Yeah, that is a valid point, but depending on how you plumb them you might not be able to turn the fittings all the way 360degrees to tighten them, so only a slip will work in that case. And if you use slip fittings in places where water will drain out of the tank if the connection comes apart, you should use PVC cement, on clean dry pipe.

Another thing to consider is if you use threaded on the inside of the tank, and need to clean the pipes, unscrewing them can loosen the bulkhead fitting, then you are really screwed, so it all depends on the application and location...

Those are mainly the two places where I had to re-buy and re-install different bulkheads...

If, I would have figured out the exact plumbing lay out beforehand, I would have done alot less work and spent alot less money...;)
 
I had to go local because the tank needs to be running by tuesday. I have a fish coming that needs to go in it. Luckily, I won't have to cycle the tank as I have a ton of cycled media.

I ended up going to a saltwater only place and there was a guy in there that seemed to know his stuff. He was just a customer, but he helped me out quite a bit. I was planning on going the home depot route, but as he started listing off things I'd need, I just started grabbing them and buying them there. I probably bought a few things I didn't need and paid too much for them, but I got what I needed, so I can live with that.

I ended up buying one of these just for the hell of it, which I'm positive I don't need, but the guy was a pretty damn good salesmen.
http://www.marinedepot.com/SCWD_Wav...ums-3IQ_Ventures-3Q1111-FIWMEW-3Q1113-vi.html
 
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