Pathetic Plumber (Seeking Help with Plumbing 90 gallon)

[DoubleBubble]

Hey guys/gals -

Alright I am sitting down for the task at hand and need help/suggestions on the best way to plumb my reef tank. I have never hard plumbed anything previously, so I am looking for answers here. My tank is a 90 gallon, DSA, its predrilled, reef-ready, with the standard 1" drain and 3/4" return. The sump is directly under the overflow. I got the standard Durso-styled AGA megaflow kit with the tank, which has the barbed fittings for the drain and the return lines - made to fit flexible tubing. I picked up an additional bulkhead for the return with the standard, threaded connection as well. The return pump I am using is an Eheim 1260.

Ok here's my questions:

- What should I use for the drain? Flexible tubing, flexible PVC (Spaflex), or rigid PVC?

- What should I use for the return? Same as above.

- What is the best way to connect everything? Meaning what fittings do I need to purchase, keeping in my mind safety, noise level and detachability for cleaning, etc. being the most important to me.

There really isn't a whole lot of distance that the plumbing needs to travel, flexible tubing obviously is the easiest, but appears to be susceptible to possible mishaps, something that maybe one of the other options would avoid. Spaflex to me, looks like the best option that I would like to go with, but I am unsure what I need (tools, materials, connections/fittings, etc.).

Thank you for your help, it is much appreciated!

 

[07FocusST]

- What should I use for the drain? Flexible tubing, flexible PVC (Spaflex), or rigid PVC?

I use PVC hard pipe because my sump is directly beneath the drain. I leave about 6" between the PVC end of the drain and the water surface in my sump. then add a hose that is slightly larger to slip over the PVC pipe to llow for height and direction adjustment. It is suggested to use flexible line for future consideration. I would suggest some sort of clear rigid flexible hose or a accordian style vacuum hose from Home Depot or Lowes. Make sure you clamp it down!

- What should I use for the return? Same as above.

I hard pipe PVC all my stuff. It is suggested (and I suggest also) to use a flexible material on the return side. It just makes life easier. Hard Line PVC may look nice but there is little room for error in assembly and it can't be re-arranged easily. Plus the flexible line reduces any vibration the pump may make going back to the tank.

- What is the best way to connect everything? Meaning what fittings do I need to purchase, keeping in my mind safety, noise level and detachability for cleaning, etc. being the most important to me.

Hard Line PVC is simple. Get a 2 stage glue: Primer & Glue. All barbed fittings need some sort of clamp for saftey. I use the plastic ratcheting clamps that you squeeze together to make a clamp. Just be sure that anything flexible is connected via a Barbed fitting and Plastic clamps (NOT metal hose clamps).

Threaded barbed fittings work best for me. Just make sure that you use a liquid pipe sealer in place of the Pipe Thread Tape. The liquid seals much better and lasts longer. SpaFlex tube is nice but if it is the same material that I am thinking of then you cant see thru it meaning that you can not see any obstructions that could occur.

A general rule of thumb to follow. Your Overflow Drain (Durso stand pipe) works best being between 1/4"-1/2" larger in diameter than the bulkhead fitting. Use a reducer on the top and bottom of the drain Bulkhead. This helps prevent the drain from surging and gurgling. On the return pump, allow atleast 1/4"-1/2" larger diameter piping on the inlet to reduce the amount of suction the pump has to make thus reducing the strain on the pump and reducing heat the pump would make. The pump outlet should remain the same diameter from the pump to the tank. Never reduce the outlet size... or restrict the outlet flow path. Increasing the return piping diameter is OK but will reduce the total pressure at the return spout. This can either work for you or against you.... Some people use Ball Valve to control their return flow from the return pump, I dont recommend it. Some will say its fine and others will say its not. **Never restrict the inlet to a pump!** Restricting the outlet creates a higher pressure on the pump outlet creating more strain on the impellar while creating heat. This will reduce your pumps life span. Just be sure to get a pump that is about the same GPH as your Overflows max GPH. An example would be: A 1" Overflow (remeber to go off of the smallest diameter in the drain) will yield around 600gph max. so a 600gph pump will do fine considering the vertical lift it has to overcome which will reduce the overall GPH by the time it reaches the tank.

There are online calculators available to help determine your return pump size vs your overflow GPH. The calculations depend on how much feet of lift the pump has to overcome, plus all the angled fittings used (Meaning hardlined PVC fittings such as a 45 & 90 degree fitting). These will reduce the overall GPH of your return pump. Pipe diameter is another big key factor in the total return GPH.

 

[YamahaF934]

Thanks, I needed this too!

 

[Peppie]

Now that you know what to do -^- . The best way to find out how to do is go to the Big Hardware Store and buy a do it yourself plumbing book. There are a bunch out there. It will give lots of pics. The cost is probably under $20. and worth every penny.
I find it very difficult to understand what some ppl are trying to explain about that I have no experiance in. The book will help.
Good luck, we will be expecting pics.

 

[DoubleBubble]

Focus thanks for the information. Since the week or so when I originally posted I pretty much went back to the drawing board, researching, researching, and researching some more. One of the things that has recently caught my attention is going the Herbie overflow route, using both predrilled holes as drains while running reinforced vinyl tubing up to a sea-swirl as a return in the opposite rear corner.

Alternatively I also planned out a plumbing diagram using essentially what you mentioned above in your recommendations. I guess what I am saying is that I do not mind ditching the durso if there is a method that would achieve greater results in line with what I mentioned above. Thanks again for your help.

 

[07FocusST]

If you can use a Durso Stand Pipe in each of your drains. I use both of my overflow chambers as Durso stand pipes then route the return behind the tank and back in thru the top. I will be doing some plumbing of my own here in a week.

 

[DoubleBubble]

OK, sounds good, if I can I will try and squeeze two dursos in there. Seems like the best of both worlds to me. We'll see how this goes in the coming weeks, thanks for letting me bounce some ideas off of you.

 

[07FocusST]

No problem. Just an FYI my overflow chamber is very narrow so I took the 90 degree PVC fitting and cut a little of one side off to make it flush with the stand pipe. I used a Miter saw to just chop off about 1/4" to 1/2" of the material. Then used PVC Cement to hold the piece in place.