HARD PLUMBING JOB

[Zepman323]

Getting ready to start a new build.. Gonna try to hard plumb it instead of using Vinyl tubing, the only problem is I've never done it. With all this free time I have being stuck at home, I figured why not, might as well take my time and try to this right this time.. I'm setting up a 90 gallon 36x24x24 with two holes drilled o the bottom of the over flow, Drain and return. So I would like to see pics of you guys plumbing jobs for some ideas on how I'm gonna do this.. If anyone has any links to articles or videos with step by step instructions on how to do this, it will be greatly appreciated.. it looks simple enough, but I just wanna make sure I don't mess this up and rush it like I did my last tank.. Thank you guys, and impute will be greatly appreciated .

 

[Sdot]

So i was in your position just over a month ago. Tips:

1.Use many unions..... It pays huge dividends later trust me.

2.Pressure test each piece after you glue it in 15-20 minutes to minimize leaks.

3. Plan, plan, and plan!! Thank god i planned a design and manifold weeks ahead. It made this much smoother.

See some pix of my plumbing for the new build:

Dry fit design:

Dry fit build out under the aquarium:

Dry fitment completed: Metal supports added

Issues after gluing: Pipe not fitting to bulkhead correctly...fix... add a union!

Design Complete: Tank up and running and no leaks after cutting out half of the piping out due to leaks. It was painful to redo but worth it! Always pressure check!

 

[Zepman323]

WOW! that looks pretty amazing.. I was thinking mine would be a little more basic.. I was just gonna hard plum the drain and the return.... How long did that take you to complete???

 

[Pickwun]

Get a section of 1" pvc pipe and a bag of connectors. Mark and cut various lengths of pipe to get the feel for it. Practice dry fitting the parts and mark where they fit. Glue pieces together to see the difference between the dry fit and the wet fit. Once you've done all that you'll be in pretty good shape to start real plumbing.
Keep in mind that if a joint leaks when you test it you'll never get it to reliably stop leaking.
It never hurts to actually read the directions that are printed on the glue can.

 

[Zepman323]

Get a section of 1" pvc pipe and a bag of connectors. Mark and cut various lengths of pipe to get the feel for it. Practice dry fitting the parts and mark where they fit. Glue pieces together to see the difference between the dry fit and the wet fit. Once you've done all that you'll be in pretty good shape to start real plumbing.
Keep in mind that if a joint leaks when you test it you'll never get it to reliably stop leaking.
It never hurts to actually read the directions that are printed on the glue can.

thank you very much, im trying to gather as much information and knowledge before I start this project

 

[Sdot]

WOW! that looks pretty amazing.. I was thinking mine would be a little more basic.. I was just gonna hard plum the drain and the return.... How long did that take you to complete???

Thanks! A few weeks after planning. @Pickwun great advice. I didn't do that initially and had to cut allot of my return section out and redo it. Not only is it inconvenient, but time consuming especially on a running aquarium.

 

[Zepman323]

I got a feeling im gonna make some mistakes on this ...lol

 

[Sdot]

I got a feeling im gonna make some mistakes on this ...lol

Planning will minimize. But totally worth it IMO.

 

[Sailfin11]

I had a similar set up with my overflow. One hole was for a return and the other for a Durso overflow. There was always a trickling sound with the Durso, so I decided to switch to a Herbie. Essentially, I used one hole for a siphon drain (you'll need a gate valve) and the other for an emergency. I then ran the return line over the back. It's absolutely dead silent! If you have the ability to do it now rather later, I'd 100% reccomend switching it

 

[samnaz]

Plan it out on paper first. Unless you're confident in your plan, you can post it here for advice/other thoughts (I found this helpful). If you think have enough unions, add more. Then plan for mistakes if it's your first time. If you can buy extra pipe and fittings, buy them.

My first time around, the main issue I had was the difference in length between dry fitting vs glued pipes. But my plumbing setup was probably more complicated and difficult and crammed so required more precision than normal. They say 'measure twice cut once'. Apparently you should account for an inch at each fitting to pipe connection. I think, the better way to go about it is to dry fit some or most of the plumbing for each line, and start by gluing one piece at a time. After each glue, check that everything fits well and doesn't need adjusting. Unions are especially helpful here, they allow you to adjust angles if needed. It's always better to make the runs of pvc pipe longer than needed, because if they're too short you're sol, if they're too long just trim it. I ended up going through twice as much pvc pipe and fittings than I thought I'd need.

Maybe there is a better way to do this for first timers but I learn by doing, often learn the hard way, and boy did I learn a lot! It was really fun, surprisingly. If you're interested or have time to kill, I detailed a lot of my failures during plumbing in my build thread. I made so many mistakes but I'm proud of the end result.

A few videos and articles I found particularly helpful. I'll see if I can find them and get you some links...!

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Are sure to get the fancy ball Valves, the white ones won’t last a long time. I knocked out the plumbing for my 120g in 3-5 hours and it was a really enjoyable experience.

The toughest thing to do it not get frustrated if you have a leak, It’s not a huge issue. Just take a step back, do some research, maybe you put a gasket on the wrong side and need to fix it, maybe you overtightened the bulkhead. It’s all nbd.

 

[Bryknicks]

As stated above you want to draw everything out first and dry fit everything so you make sure your plan and vision will work and keep everything accessible. Make sure to use plenty of unions so you can disassemble things for cleaning.

Apparently you should account for an inch at each fitting to pipe connection.

When measuring to cut the pipe you want to add the thickness of the pipe to the end of each side. So if you are working with 3/4" pipe then add 1.5" to the overall length you are going to cut (3/4" on each side). If you are using 1/2" pipe then you add 1" in total (1/2" on each side). This will be the part that gets glued inside of the fittings.

 

[samnaz]

GMAC has many great plumbing articles. Here are a few:

Plumbing, PVC, cutting, gluing, bulkheads how to guide.

https://gmacreef.com/plumb-reef-tank-glue-pvc-drill-glass/

Pipe materials for plumbing.

https://gmacreef.com/reef-tank-pipe-material/

Plumbing a return line.

Reef Aquarium Return Line Plumbing - A How-to Guide

Returns pump water up to your display tank from the sump. Covers system turnover & flow, choosing the right pump, and proactive safety measures

gmacreef.com

Herbie plumbing how to guide.

Herbie Overflow Plumbing Guide for Quiet Reef Aquariums - gmacreef

The Herbie method can quiet down your aquarium drain and eliminate microbubbles. The guide includes helpful diagrams and explains each component.

gmacreef.com

Some R2R threads with helpful info, and some plumbing ideas if you need them.

Installing Bulkhead Tips

Bulkhead tips: 1. Always install bulkheads clean and dry, no silicone, teflon or thread lubricants. Silicone and lubricants cause the gasket to scoot out or not seal properly. Have you ever removed an old automobile windshield or other gasketed glass? The rubber vulcanizes to the glass with...

www.reef2reef.com

Show off your PVC plumbing skills

Starting a new build.I'm looking for really clean and well thought out designs.Looking for detailed descriptions.Duel reactors- Carbon/Gfo. Manifolds for added equipment.quality shut off valves that open and close easy.not at lowe's or HD.they are hard to turn.

www.reef2reef.com

Using primer.

Reef Addicts - Plumbing Primer - how to do it correctly

Learn how to properly assemble plumbing using PVC primer and cement and some common household tools. This multi-page article shows step by step how to assemble the circulation plumbing for a saltwater storage tank.

www.reefaddicts.com

How to glue pvc according to BRS.


All of this guys videos about plumbing are good, here's one.

 

[Alan_J_MN]

And I would highly recommend buying a PVC pipe cutter. SO much faster and easier than using a hacksaw.

https://www.menards.com/main/plumbing/plumbing-tools/pipe-cutters-pipe-shears-parts/1-ratchet-pvc-pipe-cutter/37110/p-1523255728019-c-8610.htm

 

[Zepman323]

Thank you very much to all of you. I’m picking up my tank tomorrow and will post a pic of it for ideas.. I will watch all the videos posted and take any advice.

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

I am a pipe welder by profession, so fitting up the pvc wasn’t bad at all, once you know the take offs it’s easy.... I literally would hold the two fittings and pull a measurement from fitting to fitting, add 2”..... cut and glue and move on to the next piece.... there was a lot of planning though, I’m not that brave to just wing it..

also unions are your best friend in a setting like this... I have a total of 13 on my 75g system, and if you’re slick you can hide some of them in places that are really convenient for making maintenance easy!
Good luck!

 

[o-townFLA]

Just remember to hold the 2 pieces being glued together for a few seconds. As most have mentioned, unions...!

I also used a heat gun to shape a few pieces to alleviate using any additional fittings and try to make the water flow as smooth as possible.

Also, purchase additional fittings. You can always return the unused ones

i

 

[flsalty]

Some more tips. Give the joint a twist as you are gluing it together. That ensures that glue gets evenly spread in the joint. Use a marker to mark the position of the pipes to the fittings after you dry fit everything. You may find that a pipe slides into the fitting deeper with glue than with a dry fit. The glue acts as a lubricant. When you are marking up the joints make a mark on the pipe at the end of the fitting to show depth. Don't push the pipe in past that line when you glue it up.

 

[Zepman323]

Thank you guys again for the responses ... I’m reading all of them and soaking it all in.. well I got her home today and it’s time to start this journey . Unfortunately with the current situation in the country. I’m not really sure the time frame on when I will actually see live stock in this bad boy, but slowly and surely. I’m gonna take my time and try to do this one right, unlike the rush job I did on my last tank..

 

[Zepman323]

Thank you for the post, I will take my time and go through all this , thank you

GMAC has many great plumbing articles. Here are a few:

Plumbing, PVC, cutting, gluing, bulkheads how to guide.

https://gmacreef.com/plumb-reef-tank-glue-pvc-drill-glass/

Pipe materials for plumbing.

https://gmacreef.com/reef-tank-pipe-material/

Plumbing a return line.

Reef Aquarium Return Line Plumbing - A How-to Guide

Returns pump water up to your display tank from the sump. Covers system turnover & flow, choosing the right pump, and proactive safety measures

gmacreef.com

Herbie plumbing how to guide.

Herbie Overflow Plumbing Guide for Quiet Reef Aquariums - gmacreef

The Herbie method can quiet down your aquarium drain and eliminate microbubbles. The guide includes helpful diagrams and explains each component.

gmacreef.com

Some R2R threads with helpful info, and some plumbing ideas if you need them.

Installing Bulkhead Tips

Bulkhead tips: 1. Always install bulkheads clean and dry, no silicone, teflon or thread lubricants. Silicone and lubricants cause the gasket to scoot out or not seal properly. Have you ever removed an old automobile windshield or other gasketed glass? The rubber vulcanizes to the glass with...

www.reef2reef.com

Show off your PVC plumbing skills

Starting a new build.I'm looking for really clean and well thought out designs.Looking for detailed descriptions.Duel reactors- Carbon/Gfo. Manifolds for added equipment.quality shut off valves that open and close easy.not at lowe's or HD.they are hard to turn.

www.reef2reef.com

Using primer.

Reef Addicts - Plumbing Primer - how to do it correctly

Learn how to properly assemble plumbing using PVC primer and cement and some common household tools. This multi-page article shows step by step how to assemble the circulation plumbing for a saltwater storage tank.

www.reefaddicts.com

How to glue pvc according to BRS.


All of this guys videos about plumbing are good, here's one.