should i apply silicon on the bulkhead?

[mrvicz]

sorry for the dumb question but this is the first time ill be using bulkhead. its not available here in the Philippines so I had to have it shipped from glass-holes.

anyways, just wanted to ask, is there a need to apply silicon on the part of the bulkhead thats outside of the aquarium? or is tightening it up enough to keep the water from leaking out?

thanks in advance for the info!

vic

[podcar]

I used it on mine. Glass holes has the intruction video too.

[leshnign]

No silicone required on bulkheads. If you want, you could spread a dab of vasoline on the washer. Also...make sure you don't overtighten the bulkhead, they can break quite easily. Remember the washer goes on the inside of the tank.

[billdogg]

There of plenty of people who do, and it works for them. I have in the past, but did not with the last go-round and won't in the future. After the tear down, it was an incredible PIA to clean off the old silcone so I could reuse the old bulkhead.

As long as you assemble it correctly, it was intended to be used dry. Put the gasket on the flange side, not the nut side and then tighten ~ 1/4 turn past hand tight. The flange can be inside or outside the tank - whichever works best for your setup. Over tightening may cause it to leak, or worse, crack the tank. Of course, both side of the tank must be clean and dry. If you must, a very thin coat of silicone plumbers grease can be used on the gasket, but just enough to make it shiny.

HTH

[sedor]

I used it on the first bulkheads I ever installed and it went fine. Then when I replaced the bulkheads it was a PITA to reach my arm down into the overflow with a razor blade and scrape it all off the glass, so I didn't reapply the second time around and the bulkeads are working leak free without it. In short its not necessary, you just have to turn the bulkhead that perfect amount so no water comes dripping out of it. It won't be as tight as it can go, nor as loose as it can get, its somewhere in the middle.

[AquaReeferMan]

FWIW Ive never used anything on my bulkheads. There is literally no need to.

[iwishtofish]

What is the whole concept behind use of the silicon? Is it supposed to help as a seal (and dries), or is it to provide lubrication of the gasket as it is tightened to prevent binding?

[noahm]

As billdog stated, it is silicone grease that you use if you use anything. Don't confuse it with silicone sealant. The grease never sets up/dries. It is made for exactly this purpose (lubing o-rings and gaskets without damaging the integrity like some petroleum products may) and you just need enough to make the gasket shiny/wet looking. It can make a huge difference in higher pressure situations like under water camera housings or scuba connections, but not so important in the low pressure aquarium applications. Personally, I use it in a lot of applications. It helps keep removable acrylic parts from binding on skimmers etc. etc.

again it is silicone grease, not silicone sealant

[iwishtofish]

As billdog stated, it is silicone grease that you use if you use anything. Don't confuse it with silicone sealant. The grease never sets up. It is made for exactly this purpose (lubing o-rings and gaskets without damaging the integrity like some petroleum products may) and you just need enough to make the gasket shiny/wet looking. It can make a huge difference in higher pressure situations like under water camera housings or scuba connections, but not so important in the low pressure aquarium applications.

Ok, thanks! That's pretty much what I figured - just got a little confused when people discussed the difficulty of scraping it off later. :)

[mrvicz]

thanks a lot for the input guys. I have a sch 40 bulkhead but most of my plumbings are sch 80 ... tough to find a sch 80 1-1/2 which is slip x slip as the thread differs here with that of the one from the US. i might just use a brace on the pipes so as to ease the tension and the weight of the pvc pipes that the bulkheads will carry.