Plumbing help - Silicone or Epoxy to fix

[DMD123]

My UV sprung a leak. Timing was amazing, I had just started a water change on Sunday morning, went to open my cabinet to grab the mag-float and saw a very small puddle of water. Then I saw a tiny stream of water jetting out the viewing lens. I was able to clean up the water with just one paper towel so it really was that quick that it happened. I took the water pressure off it but have not removed it yet so dont know if the lens cracked or just developed a pin hole.

I contacted Coral Life and they have no parts for these. They commented about having some supply issues. Anyway they suggested a clear epoxy product from Locktite or Gorilla to fix it. I had thought about using aquarium silicone.

These units seem to degrade with the UV attacking the plastic. This unit has been running for years with no issues but now I either try to fix the leak or buy a new one for $199 at Kens. Thoughts?

Would you repair with silicone, epoxy or just replace altogether?

 

[DMD123]

I forgot to add that the 300 does have a tendency to get green water so I feel the UV is necessary.

I could also try a cheap brand like Jebao which runs about $110 on Amazon. But then I may have to make more extreme plumbing mods to fit in as opposed to the Coral Life Turbo Twist model.

 

[fishguy1978]

Is the clear lens plastic? I think I would go with the recommended clear epoxy. A 2 part would probably be best.

 

[sir_keith]

Is the clear lens plastic? I think I would go with the recommended clear epoxy. A 2 part would probably be best.

I agree; if it's plastic, I would go with epoxy, assuming you want to fix it. Any chance you could seal both surfaces?

But then again, $199 buys you some peace of mind. Tough call.

 

[sir_keith]

Do you know about these?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JOK11K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[DMD123]

Is the clear lens plastic? I think I would go with the recommended clear epoxy. A 2 part would probably be best.

Yes its a clear plastic lens. Stopped leaking when pressure was taken off so if I epoxy from the inside it should seal up.

 

[DMD123]

I agree; if it's plastic, I would go with epoxy, assuming you want to fix it. Any chance you could seal both surfaces?

But then again, $199 buys you some peace of mind. Tough call.

Im tempted to buy new because I have other spare parts for this thing. A whole other ballast and some other stuff.

Do you know about these?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JOK11K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


View attachment 9246

lol, I have one.... in the package under the stand. Have not set it up yet.

 

[DMD123]

I think I will try epoxy on it from the inside and maybe see if I could also do a light amount on the outside too. That way it should seal everything with no chance of the seam around that clear window leaking. Its only like $6 for a tube of the clear Gorilla epoxy at Lowes

 

[DMD123]

Picked up a small tube of the clear Gorilla epoxy this morning. Will attempt to fix the original unit before I buy a replacement for $200. I guess Im just being cheap at the moment. I have about $200 in fish I want instead, lol.

 

[DMD123]

lol, here it is pretty much 5 months later and I finally fixed it. I did go with an epoxy repair with the Gorilla brand that dried clear. The inside where the lens sits has a considerable ‘divit’ that got filled with epoxy and I covered the entire outside of the lens too. I also installed plugs to unplug the ballast from the light portion.

 

[DMD123]

UV has been running for about 3 days solid and no leaks. Looked back at my records and saw my bulb has been running for about 10 months which is pushing the effectiveness. So I ordered two more so I can replace this one and have a spare.

Looking back at my set up, I cant believe it took me this long to install a plug for quick release of the cord for water changes.

 

[DMD123]

A couple months have gone by since the repair and all is well, no leaks or issues with the epoxy job.

 

[DMD123]

Today my epoxy repair started leaking again. When I pulled the UV out the lens which had a hollow like a cup that I had filled with epoxy was completely hollowed out. This tells me the water movement just wore the patch down. Got a couple years out of my patch but Im not taking another chance on it. Time to replace it.

 

[DMD123]

I decided to try a Fluval FX UVC clarifier. Ordered it this morning.

https://fluvalaquatics.com/us/shop/product/fx-uvc-in-line-clarifier-series?srsltid=AfmBOoruIJMoAUPNFYeUX5UUW32Pm6yLFPpomEp5hL5gceqKgR_6STYC

Its only 6 watts but that maybe all I need to prevent the little green water tinge the tank gets at times without a UV. This is designed with the FX series filter in mind and looks to be an easy plumb in. My plan is to do it like the top picture with the elbow.

If I like it I might add a second to another FX6 and then try to do an inline heater set up with the middle filter. As much as I liked the way the uld UV was plumbed in, the Coral Life units are not built for longevity. They are kind of cheap junk that are going to have problems down the road.

 

[John58Ford]

That's a nice looking unit, I've thought about plumbing one in with my sump but haven't had any of the issues that required the one I used to use. Please do update on it's performance in a free months.

 

[DMD123]

Been running into worn parts after many years of running my FX6 filters so Im waiting on parts for some full rebuilds before adding the Fluval UV. I need to actually replace the Aquastop valves on the top due to leaking and the lower drain one too. I have decided to replace all the hoses too for my own peace of mind since they are all going on 10 years old now.

The other seals get replaced regularly but the aquastop valves dont have any way to rebuild, they can be taken apart and lubed with silicone but the seals are very particular and when they go, they just start leaking.

 

[DMD123]

Just got around to cleaning the filter that I wanted to add the Fluval UV on and removing all the old plumbing. Since the filters have been going for so long I replaced all hoses and clamps and did new aqua-stop valves. This little unit is well thought out in size and installation but really inadequate for the 300 by itself. At 6W it is just a clarifier and even then, running for days now, Im not seeing a huge improvement in clarity like when the 36W unit was in the system. Maybe if I installed one on each FX6 filter on the 300 it might do something...