Plumbing is leaking

[tombraider23]

The last few days we have started to set up the fish tank again. We are running the plumbing from the main floor to the laundry room in the basement. There is 2 small leaks. We tightened all the PVC. We tried aquarium safe silicon at first. Then wrapped with miracle wrap around all the seams. Still had small leaks so put more silicon on. It's still leaking! Any other ideas?!

 

[tombraider23]

 

[treemanone2003]

Have you used PVC cement ? Also, I'd use a lot of caution around that outlet especially if you're having leaky pipe issues. Perhaps consider changing that to a GFI outlet if it is that close to water. Just my own thought process.

 

[tombraider23]

We thought PVC cement was unsafe for aquarium use so we haven't tried that. Wish I would have asked sooner! Could have saved time and money!

GFI is a great idea also! When we noticed the leaking we just flipped the breaker off. Our plans were to make a new outlet above and to the right of the tank to avoid moisture. Gfi sounds a lot easier

Thank you

 

[treemanone2003]

We thought PVC cement was unsafe for aquarium use so we haven't tried that. Wish I would have asked sooner! Could have saved time and money!

GFI is a great idea also! When we noticed the leaking we just flipped the breaker off. Our plans were to make a new outlet above and to the right of the tank to avoid moisture. Gfi sounds a lot easier

Thank you

I dug around here a bit and came up with this one here. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f11/is-pvc-cement-safe-51508.html
Also, a quick google search yielded this as well. https://www.google.com/search?q=is+...quarium&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

GFI would help in a leak situation ( and is a national building code around water, I believe ) but moving it AND making it a GFI is the smartest option. If it's only one ore two outlets on that breaker, I would def go for it and while your at it, make that one a four gang outlet.

 

[PB_Smith]

The last few days we have started to set up the fish tank again. We are running the plumbing from the main floor to the laundry room in the basement. There is 2 small leaks. We tightened all the PVC. We tried aquarium safe silicon at first. Then wrapped with miracle wrap around all the seams. Still had small leaks so put more silicon on. It's still leaking! Any other ideas?!

It is almost impossible to fix a leak by applying stuff to the outside of the connection. My advice is to redo all the plumbing using pvc cement for all the joints, otherwise you are going to be constantly chasing leaks.

 

[Fresh2o]

PVC glue should help with the leaks in pic #1. I am thinking the PVC piping is the drain line since it is larger. Not sure if it available in this size, but using either 45 degree elbows or 90 degree "long sweep" style elbows will cut down on the water resistance. Or you could find an appropriate sized clear flexible hose for the drain and not worry about all of those potential places for leaks or elbows. Plus since it is flexible it is easier to work with and around.
For the leak in pic #2, you may have to remove the entire bulkhead fitting, clean off the silicone, replace the rubber gaskets, clean the area around the hole where the gaskets sit and put it back together. Make sure the fitting is stewed on tight. It a lot of work but a lot less expensive compared to potential floor/wall damage and electrical hazards. Good luck with this.

 

[Mifsud]

+1 for replumbing with PVC cement