hazmat Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Got a used 90 gallon that is RR. Previous owner had flexible tubing going down to the fuge and from the return pump. I see most on here plumb using PVC. Is it better to have it hard plumbed? And I also see people putting in check valves with stopcocks. I want to do this right so can you experts advise me? BTW, hubby will be doing it and he is pretty handy but we r not professional plumbers so please bring it to our level Thanks!! Link to comment
coralcor Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 dang if i had only gon to plumbing school for more than a day now........ um ill give you a bump Link to comment
TridentSSBN Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I just did my 92 gallon. From what I know and have seen I would recommend putting ball valves on the supply and return, and you can either put a check valve on the supply or do something to prevent the siphoning effect when the pump is secured. It is best to know what exactly you want to do and have in the future for your tank prior to doing hard line. I like it, but the pump seems a little louder, but that can be prevented by connecting the pump to the PVC with a very short section of soft line so that the pump is acoustically isolated from the PVC. You can also place a piece of rubber under the pump to also further acoustically isolate it. This is just my personal experience, and thoughts. There are A LOT of other people here FAR more experienced than me on this topic. Link to comment
hazmat Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 dang if i had only gon to plumbing school for more than a day now........ um ill give you a bump Thanks! I've been looking thru threads and I SEE lots of examples. It doesn't look that hard but then again...I don't want a flood in my house! I need Plumbing for Dummies! Link to comment
coralcor Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Thanks! I've been looking thru threads and I SEE lots of examples. It doesn't look that hard but then again...I don't want a flood in my house! I need Plumbing for Dummies! they have that i asked a stupid question in class and my teacher said to go get it lol Link to comment
hazmat Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 I just did my 92 gallon. From what I know and have seen I would recommend putting ball valves on the supply and return, and you can either put a check valve on the supply or do something to prevent the siphoning effect when the pump is secured. It is best to know what exactly you want to do and have in the future for your tank prior to doing hard line. I like it, but the pump seems a little louder, but that can be prevented by connecting the pump to the PVC with a very short section of soft line so that the pump is acoustically isolated from the PVC. You can also place a piece of rubber under the pump to also further acoustically isolate it. This is just my personal experience, and thoughts. There are A LOT of other people here FAR more experienced than me on this topic. Any help is appreciated. The return pump he gave me is a Mag 12!! and it does have the foam under it. I was wondering what that was for. Good idea about a piece of tubing. I would think it would help when you need to disconnect your pump for servicing. Thanks! keep it coming they have that i asked a stupid question in class and my teacher said to go get it lol Nice! Link to comment
TridentSSBN Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Its not that bad, it just can be a PIA when it comes to having the right fittings, and what will me even more frustrating is when you think you have it all ready to go and you are down there test fitting the lines you find a better way to do something. FIW ALWAYS test fit the lines BEFORE you glue them.. lol.... on another note blukheads are not cheap, and can be a PIA to find if you accidentally crack one. If you do crack one JUST REPLACE it because it WILL leak... lol OH yea... UNION's this will allow you to disconnect portions of the piping without removing the whole thing. This is great for pumps, pipe sections, and pipe connections to the bulkheads. Oh yea... and teflon tape!! Link to comment
rean_jem Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 you dont need a check valve for the drain to the fuge as there is no use for it. as for the return pump it is recommended that you put a check valve on it in case power/pump stops to work, water doesnt siphon back down. another way is putting 2 holes on the output of the nozzle connected to the pump but do this if the nozzle is only a few inches below the waterline and be sure that the fuge will accomodate the extra water. soft plumbing is good especially if you have tight space but i preffer hard plumbing. Link to comment
hazmat Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 Its not that bad, it just can be a PIA when it comes to having the right fittings, and what will me even more frustrating is when you think you have it all ready to go and you are down there test fitting the lines you find a better way to do something. FIW ALWAYS test fit the lines BEFORE you glue them.. lol.... on another note blukheads are not cheap, and can be a PIA to find if you accidentally crack one. If you do crack one JUST REPLACE it because it WILL leak... lol OH yea... UNION's this will allow you to disconnect portions of the piping without removing the whole thing. This is great for pumps, pipe sections, and pipe connections to the bulkheads. Oh yea... and teflon tape!! Dang!!! What's a bulkhead?? I'm serious Writing all this down. you dont need a check valve for the drain to the fuge as there is no use for it. as for the return pump it is recommended that you put a check valve on it in case power/pump stops to work, water doesnt siphon back down. another way is putting 2 holes on the output of the nozzle connected to the pump but do this if the nozzle is only a few inches below the waterline and be sure that the fuge will accomodate the extra water. soft plumbing is good especially if you have tight space but i preffer hard plumbing. Awesome! I did read that about the holes in the output. Still would be nice to have another safety net. I have heard check valves aren't reliable either so maybe with both in place I'll be covered. So straight PVC down into fuge. Then from return plumb with check valve. check!! Link to comment
TridentSSBN Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 if your tank is drilled you will see a abs fitting the sandwiches the glass so that you can connect you plumbing to it and the attach plumbing on the instide of the tank. If I can download my pics I will show you what I did. before you start you need to know what kind of bulkhead you have. They come threaded x threaded Threaded x slip or slip x slip Link to comment
hazmat Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 if your tank is drilled you will see a abs fitting the sandwiches the glass so that you can connect you plumbing to it and the attach plumbing on the instide of the tank. If I can download my pics I will show you what I did. before you start you need to know what kind of bulkhead you have. They come threaded x threaded Threaded x slip or slip x slip Whoa! I am so glad I started this thread. I have NO idea what you're talking about. I can show you the 2 pieces of plumbing that are inside of the overflow. Is that what you mean? Link to comment
hazmat Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 This is exactly the same internal parts that my tank came with if this helps. Tboones thread. look at post #5 http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=169993 Link to comment
Nylaspop Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I just did my 92 gallon. From what I know and have seen I would recommend putting ball valves on the supply and return, and you can either put a check valve on the supply or do something to prevent the siphoning effect when the pump is secured. It is best to know what exactly you want to do and have in the future for your tank prior to doing hard line. I like it, but the pump seems a little louder, but that can be prevented by connecting the pump to the PVC with a very short section of soft line so that the pump is acoustically isolated from the PVC. You can also place a piece of rubber under the pump to also further acoustically isolate it. This is just my personal experience, and thoughts. There are A LOT of other people here FAR more experienced than me on this topic. the only thing i would recommend if you are going hard line (pvc pipe) is to put a check valve on ever port along with a true union after the valve so that way if you have to remove pipe it can be done with out a ton of mess. i would also say isolate the pump with true unions on the intake and outlet so if the pump poops out on you it is also easily removed. Link to comment
hazmat Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 K. my bulkheads are threaded x threaded. Wondering if I should replace the rubber seal in the middle. But I did check and it all looks secure. No cracks! Thanks for everyone's help so far Link to comment
TridentSSBN Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I would not worry about the seals until you are doing your leak test.. Make sure not to over tighten them or you could crack the tank. If I where to guess i would say that you have a 1" drain and a 3/4" return.. This will be helpfull to get the parts to start with. Unions will be your best friend. Link to comment
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