Plumbing habits

[basile]

As a new build up will be started soon for me, just wodering, the favorite amongs hobbyist, and why, is it Flex or hard PVC.

 

[mike007]

I think scedule 80 pvc is great and spa flex is also good .

 

[Reefing Madness]

Hi ya Basile. Nice to see you here.:wink:

 

[reefgeek96]

I like a mix of spa-flex and hard the hard makes life easy because it doesn't move as much and it looks cleaner but you usually need some wiggle room for some parts so flex is in my opinion necessary.

 

[Kworker]

I use all hard plumbed into my sump basement. Use whatever works best for you really. Play around with some ideas.

 

[Greenstreet.1]

All PVC here. I just like PVC better


The Lord is good.

 

[Reefing Madness]

I guess it all depends on what your plumbing. Under pressure, I use PVC, just gravity flow and I use rubber aquarium hose.

 

[basile]

Hi ya Basile. Nice to see you here.:wink:

When i saw that name i said ah ha!! LOL Well its nice too expand lol. And learn from others too .

 

[basile]

Since my build is not quite finished its important to get feedback too.

 

[inurocker]

I look at all of them as tools to be used where most practical. I have used them all at one time or another. It's like asking do I like a screwdriver more than a saw each has its uses. imho

 

[roryb24]

PVC looks so much cleaner and if done right its easy to remove and change bits and pieces with unions as well as added control with ball valves.
It cost more but in the long run its better.
If i could redo mine i would go 95% PVC and 5% clear tube and Hard plumb everything but where the plumbing connects to the Return pump i would use the clear tube to cut down vibration a little more but thats just what i like.

 

[3Twinklets]

PVC for me.

 

[AZDesertRat]

A mixture of reinforced vinyl tubing and PVC. Over the last couple decades I have found it quieter than all PVC and relieves the stress on pumps and bulkheads due to slight misalignments.

I oversize all the vinyl tubing one size so the inside diameter of the barbed nipples do not cause any restrictions.

 

[cdness]

I use Spaflex and PVC... I use reinforced vinyl for the closed loop though to give me the options to move stuff around if needed...

I used to use vinyl on the sump plumbing however I had an issue with snails getting into the overflow plumbing. The barbs restrict flow so the snails got into the pipe but were stuck at the barb causing an overflow...

 

[Eric B]

I use PVC on everything but I usually use spaflex on the suction and discharge of all pumps to allow for a small amount of movement and to dampen any harmonics that also might arise.

 

[AJsTank]

I like using schedule 80 because of the look with a combination of Black spaflex.

 

[Jakemac]

I guess it all depends on what your plumbing. Under pressure, I use PVC, just gravity flow and I use rubber aquarium hose.

Im building my tank and doing the same thing, that flex PVC works perfect for gravity feed into the sump, anything that goes up or is under pressure however is getting hard pvc.

 

[MattL22]

If I could redo mine I'd go with the spaflex

 

[basile]

The Borg Look

I think some have a point when they talk about the look. For myself, i have custom made tanks and steel stands and because they're black powder coated and the tanks are rimless i went with black UltraFlex . The way the tanks are set too was a factor. i couldn't hide the plumbing. so i made it part of the over all look and gave it a them. So black steel, black pipes, tubing, the Borg came to mind . with green strip LED lighting it will be coo looking. Thank God its not in my living room but my PC room, and my cats room lol. take a look.I'm not finished yet still lots to do. no connection and no returns. The 150 g is not even done .The top one is the 75 starfire display refugium.

 

[kschweer]

Im building my tank and doing the same thing, that flex PVC works perfect for gravity feed into the sump, anything that goes up or is under pressure however is getting hard pvc.

Flex PVC has the same rating as hard schedule 40 PVC. The rating of schedule 40 far exceeds pressure in our tanks. I have used flex PVC for plumbing returns and other things with pressure. I like it for coming off pumps because it dampens any vibration from the pump.