Hello everyone I recently purchased a reef ready 210 gallon from another member to set up as my first tank. I had it drilled in the back for a ghost overflow and the plan was to just plug up the bottom holes with bulkheads. The problem is there is a chip in the glass at the edge of one of the holes on the outside bottom of the tank. This seems to cause a slow drip around the nut of that bulkhead. I added a second gasket so I had a gasket inside the tank and outside the tank and this seemed to work so I continued filling the tank. But when I got up this morning that bulkhead was dripping again. My question is could I just get a square of aquarium glass and cover the hole with it and seal it with silicone? If so where can I get a 2 inch square of glass? It does anyone else have any suggestions about what to do? I don't need this hole at all since I have a ghost overflow. So if the solution permanently seals the hole it's no big deal. Thanks for your help.
Plugging an unused hole
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I have used glass, even acrylic to seal holes with 100% silicone.
You can get a larger piece of glass and cut yourself, or have it cut.
I use a Dremel or a frag saw.
Some home improvement stores can cut glass but the glass they carry I wouldn't use.
You can get a larger piece of glass and cut yourself, or have it cut.
I use a Dremel or a frag saw.
Some home improvement stores can cut glass but the glass they carry I wouldn't use.
You can get plastic shapes from USPlastics.com. Used them to cover holes in a sump.
Thanks guys, I found a glass square, but I think before I do that I'm going to try to just silicone around the bulkhead and then install it and put some more silicone around the nut and the glass on the bottom. Unfortunately I'm headed out of town for work, so it'll be next week before I can get it done. I'll create a build thread and post some pics then. Thanks again.
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Good luck. Have a safe trip and I'll be watching for the build. 
Ugh... silicone on bulkheads... they'll leak eventually then be a major PITA to remove.
In this application it's a bit less hassle than if you siliconed a bulkhead holding a standpipe or return, but it's still a pain.
How bad is the chip around the hole? If it's bigger than the gasket on the wet side, I'd almost be worried about the integrity of the glass itself.
Jenn
In this application it's a bit less hassle than if you siliconed a bulkhead holding a standpipe or return, but it's still a pain.
How bad is the chip around the hole? If it's bigger than the gasket on the wet side, I'd almost be worried about the integrity of the glass itself.
Jenn
the best way to fix it is to silicone a glass patch over the hole.do NOT use acrylic for this as silicone wont permanently adhere to the acrylic.it might work short term but it wont last.also,I'm with Jenn on the silicone on the bulkhead idea.it will be a much more permanent repair with the glass patch.
Thanks everyone for the advice! I ended up putting silicone around the bulkhead, mainly because I didn't see the other two replies until after I had done it and refilled the tank. So for now it's holding water, I have a small leak in the plumbing I'm working on but once that's done it should be good.
+10000 they will ALWAYS leak. It may not be today or even tomorrow. It will be when you're away on vacation.
Truer words were never spoken. If I had $1 for every vacation nightmare story I've heard, I'd be retired and living large someplace with summer weather all the time, on a beach, with one of those little drinks with a paper parasol in it, in each hand
Jenn
