I am creating a scenario that I am sure many reefers have had to deal with. I am curious as to how this happens.
Let's say your system is up and running. Return pumps and drains are all flowing as they should. One day, you find your bulkhead has sprung a leak, or maybe the plumbing that comes out of the bulkheads that goes to your valves. Whether it's the return or the drain, but let's address both. Let's say you don't have a union at the bulkhead, but rather further downstream, and you have to cut the connecting pipe that goes into the bulkhead.
I assume at this point, you'd have the whole system turned off. The pipe cut, and all the water in the overflow has been drained.
You make repairs, glue it all back up, and get it into place, and return the system back to normal. In a perfect world.
This is where my stress / questions come into play.
your system is off to begin the repair. Now you're up against the clock to get this done ASAP (stress level is at 2 out of 10). you cut the pipe and water flows out of the bulkhead until cleared. Who knows how much water I'll lose out of the main display in order to work with a dry pipe, (stress level is at 5 out of 10). You remove the section needed. you begin to remake the needed pvc run to get this back together. Hoping you have all the pieces necessary to fix whatever (unions, valves, fittings, etc). You are now using up more time to piece it all together to avoid the issue next time. Measuring, cutting, gluing, fitting it together with the right angles that are needed to make it an easy glue up with no tension. This could take quite a while, depending. Time has gone by and you still have no clue if things will or will not leak once you get it back together. Right before you are ready to turn the system back on and you are making sure all is right (stress level is at 7 out of 10), more nervous than anything. You turn the system on, watch it for a few minutes to make sure there are no leaks anywhere. What's that???? a leak!?!? (stress level 10 out of 10). Now you're having to repeat the process all over again. You are already spent who knows how long to get to this point with your system down. Now you have to shut down, and try again.
Now, after going through all that, how the hell do you do things like this with minimal stress? If things leaked the first time, and again the second time, you now have to make it right on the third time so this doesn't happen again. How on earth do you make leak repairs on an existing system?
Do many of you have glued up assemblies waiting in the wings in case of something like this? For the most part, measuring and creating sections twice, when initially setting up your system so you have them waiting to avoid the "rush" to replace.
I have had one reef tank, and never had any of these types of issues. I'd be lying if I said it certainly doesn't concern me. Things fail, and will most likely come at a time when it's not ideal. Certainly be nice to know how to handle it.
It's not like when it's a fresh start up, you have test runs you can perform, and re-routing of pvc that can be done if needed, BEFORE livestock, rock, etc are in place. (this is the stage i'm in now). I am still plumbing the system, and I am constantly thinking of "What if". I am using unions where I can, but it still doesn't avoid the possible cut and replace that might need to be done.
How do you handle things like this?
Let's say your system is up and running. Return pumps and drains are all flowing as they should. One day, you find your bulkhead has sprung a leak, or maybe the plumbing that comes out of the bulkheads that goes to your valves. Whether it's the return or the drain, but let's address both. Let's say you don't have a union at the bulkhead, but rather further downstream, and you have to cut the connecting pipe that goes into the bulkhead.
I assume at this point, you'd have the whole system turned off. The pipe cut, and all the water in the overflow has been drained.
You make repairs, glue it all back up, and get it into place, and return the system back to normal. In a perfect world.
This is where my stress / questions come into play.
your system is off to begin the repair. Now you're up against the clock to get this done ASAP (stress level is at 2 out of 10). you cut the pipe and water flows out of the bulkhead until cleared. Who knows how much water I'll lose out of the main display in order to work with a dry pipe, (stress level is at 5 out of 10). You remove the section needed. you begin to remake the needed pvc run to get this back together. Hoping you have all the pieces necessary to fix whatever (unions, valves, fittings, etc). You are now using up more time to piece it all together to avoid the issue next time. Measuring, cutting, gluing, fitting it together with the right angles that are needed to make it an easy glue up with no tension. This could take quite a while, depending. Time has gone by and you still have no clue if things will or will not leak once you get it back together. Right before you are ready to turn the system back on and you are making sure all is right (stress level is at 7 out of 10), more nervous than anything. You turn the system on, watch it for a few minutes to make sure there are no leaks anywhere. What's that???? a leak!?!? (stress level 10 out of 10). Now you're having to repeat the process all over again. You are already spent who knows how long to get to this point with your system down. Now you have to shut down, and try again.
Now, after going through all that, how the hell do you do things like this with minimal stress? If things leaked the first time, and again the second time, you now have to make it right on the third time so this doesn't happen again. How on earth do you make leak repairs on an existing system?
Do many of you have glued up assemblies waiting in the wings in case of something like this? For the most part, measuring and creating sections twice, when initially setting up your system so you have them waiting to avoid the "rush" to replace.
I have had one reef tank, and never had any of these types of issues. I'd be lying if I said it certainly doesn't concern me. Things fail, and will most likely come at a time when it's not ideal. Certainly be nice to know how to handle it.
It's not like when it's a fresh start up, you have test runs you can perform, and re-routing of pvc that can be done if needed, BEFORE livestock, rock, etc are in place. (this is the stage i'm in now). I am still plumbing the system, and I am constantly thinking of "What if". I am using unions where I can, but it still doesn't avoid the possible cut and replace that might need to be done.
How do you handle things like this?
