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Teflon Tape

I'm trying to link together two of the 100 gallon rubber made tanks. They come fitted with 1 1/4" bulkheads. I used teflon tape to seal the threads and noticed that they leaked. (Dripped)

Question: Should I put silicon in the threads? Add more teflon tape? ( I put about two or three wraps around the end of the threads)

Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks,
Ken.
 

mikem

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Ken. First try wrapping the threads with more tape. Even 10 wraps wouldn't hurt.
If you sealed the threads with silicone,it's still not guarantied to stop.
 

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I would first make sure where it is leaking…from the threads or from the bulkhead connection. If it is the threads, instead of Teflon, you could use pipe dope. It is commonly used on metal pipe, but is also good on PVC.
 
be carefull which pipe dope you use, some are for gas and not ok for potable water.... make sure the can says it is ok for water, cause if it is ok for us, then it should be ok for our fish.. but extra tefflon tape should do the trick as mike said
 

Edwardw771

NJRC Member
Those Rubbermaid tubs always leak with the bulkhead that comes with them. Its way eaiser to buy a new bigger bulk head and dremel the hole and make it bigger.
 
Edward771 said:
Those Rubbermaid tubs always leak with the bulkhead that comes with them. Its way eaiser to buy a new bigger bulk head and dremel the hole and make it bigger.

You are a wise man my friend. You were right, the drips were not comming from the threads...the leaks are with the bulkhead. I tried putting silicon around the edges to seal...and it worked...until I moved the tanks a bit. The movement caused the seal to break and the drip started again.

I'm going to try replacing the bulkhead. Very frustrating.
 
Actually, I'm embarrassed to say the solution was pretty simple. I didn't realize the bulkhead was threaded and needed to be tightened. I just assumed it was a solid piece that came from the factory water tight. Once I tightened, every thing worked fine.
 
What size do they come in? Are 50ga the smallest for the rubbermaid tubs? Some one let me know, because I'm looking into setting it up in the basement with my skimmer and other equipment, less clutter in the DT.
Thanks
 
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