[kyle1745]

Ok I am in misting system hell... to the point I am asking myself why I started this project. I have bought a ton of stuff, and am still trying to figure out where or what type of bulkheads to use for my drains. Any ideas? I have a 27mm drill bit I am planning on using and have found a few 1 inch bulkheads, but what type is best? The ones without the barbed ends on then how do you hook up a tube to them?

 

[Dancing frogs]

I'm no plumber, but I'm pretty sure the barbed ones are meant for hose, and the smooth ones are meant for cementing to rigid pipe...I think :roll:

 

[Darks!de]

I agree with Brian. I used a 1" bulkhead for my drain, you can use 1/2" for smaller vivs too. Bulkheads usually come with slip fittings. The inside of the bulkhead (the part that will be on the outside of the viv) has a smooth opening. Into this opening you "slip" in a barbed fitting, which then connects to the hose. If you ever need to take the hose off, you just slip the fitting out.
West Marine and Boaters World have bulkheads for around $3-5, but keep in mind that the sizes DO NOT match up to aquarium bulkheads.

This is what I'm talking about. The bulkhead is put in place, and then the fitting or strainer slips into it.

Luke

 

[kyle1745]

So where can you order them without going broke? Also will a 1inch one be fine in a 27mm hole or 1/1/16 inches. I need to get some here before next weekend.

 

[kyle1745]

This is the best price I have found so far...

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=25403;category_id=2643

I just wonder if my 27mm bit will work as it is 1/1/16 and not 1/1/8 inches...

 

[Darks!de]

1" bulkheads require a 1 1/8" hole, it can be a bit bigger though. 1 1/16" will be too small. BigAls is a good place to buy.

Luke

 

[kyle1745]

how close is it though... I mean we are talking a 1/16th. If I have to buy another $30 drill bit I will be ticked.

 

[Darks!de]

Hmmm...I can't tell for sure as my 1" bulkhead is permanantly attached. From what i can remember, a 1" bulkhead is very snug in a 1 1/8" hole. Maybe somebody could chime in that can check if there is 1/16" space between the bulkhead and the hole edge...

Luke

 

[Dancing frogs]

You probably will be ticked then! I measured mine, and the end that has to pass through the hole is at least 1+1/16...I bought my hole saw from ameriglass, the closest one to 1+1/18 was about 1+3/16, so they fit a little loose, but the flange is plenty wide to make up for it (1/4")

 

[kyle1745]

Damn damn damn.... First they are impossible to find local, second the bits are not cheap... Third I bought a drill press just for this crap...
It never ends, I had hoped to get some tanks setup on the misting system this weekend, but due to all the issues that is not going to happen. Still waiting on the glass for my lids too.

I could send the 27mm back as I have not used it yet.

 

[Catfur]

Kyle, take the tanks to a local glass shop, just about any one will drill and fit bulkheads on your tanks pretty cheaply.

 

[kyle1745]

With as many as I will be doing I wanted to have the stuff to do it myself. Just ordered them and another bit... at least I am about done spending money on it at this point. I want to have 4 tanks ready on the misting system before IAD if I can. The drill press will be nice to have also and it was not that bad. It will also run at 250rms which should be good for glass.

 

[Dancing frogs]

Yeah, I dont have a micrometer, and I was just using a tape measure, but the bulkhead was damn close to being "right on" 1+1/16...so you're bit may work, but if you can still send it back, I would.
I didn't have very good luck drilling the holes for the bulkheads...1/8" glass is pretty flimsy. With a real drill press you should fare better though.
One tip I did hear was when drilling to put a scrap piece of glass underneath where you want to cut, so it's not so much of a shock when the bit goes through.

 

[kyle1745]

A bit ago I bought a tank just to try drilling and figured it out after a couple holes. I'm hoping the drill press makes it a bit easier as it will run at a constant low RPM. Worst case i'm out $9 if I screw one up. I even bought an extra just in case.

 

[Dancing frogs]

Kyle, take the tanks to a local glass shop, just about any one will drill and fit bulkheads on your tanks pretty cheaply.

Not true everywhere...
Up here the glass shops will charge around $20 for a hole...in the glass they sell. They won't drill assembled aquariums etc.

 

[rjmarchisi]

I got my bulkheads from usplastic.com and found them to work great. They need a 1" diameter hole and are threaded for 1/4" FNPT. The ones I ordered are SKU # 16401. A little silicon tape wrapped on the threads is all you need.

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/product.asp?catalog_name=usplastic&category_name=37&product_id=5719

Rob

 

[Guest]

Use barbs and hoses Kyle ole dude, dont bother with hard plumbing, thats a REAL nightmare. Ive used barbs and hoses for fish for years without one EVER slippingoff, or leaking. Infact over time they become more and more solid and reliable. And your not exactly taking allot of head pressure on the feed, and the return is easy.

 

[Blort]

Use barbs and hoses Kyle ole dude, dont bother with hard plumbing, thats a REAL nightmare. Ive used barbs and hoses for fish for years without one EVER slippingoff, or leaking. Infact over time they become more and more solid and reliable. And your not exactly taking allot of head pressure on the feed, and the return is easy.

The problem with this is that if you don't have enough water depth and volume, you will not have enough pressure on the water column in the hose for it to make it up and over the side of the vivarium without losing capillary action causing a "trickle" effect that will slow your flow rate or cause you to lose the siphon. You can get around this by using smaller hose, but then your flow rate is diminished. I have a friend who is a MS in physics who is passing on some formulas to me to figure out the max height and minimum diameter for a given water depth, but even Hagen admits that without a tank that somewhat full that priming a siphon on 1/2" hose is going to be a serious challenge. So, while it may work for aquariums, it is a differnt set of physics rules when you are talking about smaller water features.

Marcos

Edited for typo

 

[steelcube]

If it is for drain, I'd use a 3/4 inch dia. bulkhead. It needs a 1.5 inch opening and there is a right drill bit size for it.

Since it's bigger than 1/2, you don't have to clean up the intake filter (if you plan to use one) as often.

 

[Guest]

Kyle, you may want to take a look at this guys site. Its based around fish tanks but has tons of diy plans and links to suppliers for plumbing parts. Even has a diy bulkhead link.

http://www.kingvinnie.com/aquaria/