Newbie Plumbing

[Playdope]

Newbie Plumbing

Right now, I have a bunch of grey fittings, and I had a professional setup the tank before with these fittings + tubing + true union ball valves. I have never done plumbing, and am a little overwhelmed with what in the back of my head seems to be a simple job.

I just don't know where to begin. Which fittings to get, whether to go with PVC or tubing (pvc threaded tubing or not?), etc..?

I have hose clamps, if i was to use tubing. I guess I would have to use PVC glue for the other option.

Any help would be great. My equipment consists of a sump, to an iwaki pump, UV sterilizer. I think I want to return in two places (because a 960gph pump on a 100 gal is a lot for one return point.

Jon

 

[ChrisRD]

Whether you use solid PVC pipe, flexible PVC or hose (or a combination) is really a matter of personal preference. It all works.

Keep in mind that if you use anything clear it will grow algae inside of it, so stick to opaque pipe/hose if possible. Worst case you can always use some electrical or duct tape on a clear hose to prevent light from getting in.

If you do a search you should be able to find plenty of diagrams of sumps and plumbing here on the board. If you want to post a sketch of what you have in mind we could give you some comments.

HTH

 

[Reef_Monkey]

Yeah, and just make sure if you use the PVC to use the Primer/cleaner and glue/cement, you don't want it to leak! Get a nice tight seal!

 

[Playdope]

Which PVC sealant products are recommended? Anything from home depot?

I was told flexible tubing would be easier to work with, and would be easier to work around b/c of it's flex. If I went with the PVC threaded hosing, how do i know that this hose clamps will hold. Has anyone used a hairdryer, and heated the hosing, put on the clamp, and then let it cool down with the clamp on to make a tighter seal?

Jon

 

[Anonymous]

You will not need to use the hari dryer method to soften the hose. If you do, you have a mismatch between the hose and the adoptor. Hose clamp is sufficient in almost all the case you will ever see in an aquarium setting. Just make sure the adoptor is barbed.

Home depot will have almost all the PVC parts, primer, glue (PVC sealant products that you are refering to?) that you need.

 

[Anonymous]

plumbing with pvc is easy because the parts are cheap for the most part.

I plumbed my returns 3 times before I got it the way I wanted, and I just tossed all the parts I ruined. Total of about 2.50$ wasted. I love pvc. Flexible hose is good too, and I got all the parts I used at Home depot except for the unions which I got at a plumbing store.

Post a sketch, doesn't have to be anything fancy, and we can tell you what parts you will need

Bryan