PVC question

[djray77]

Has anyone used clear plumbing? I tried a search on here but nothing came up. Hoping someone has, would like to know what they think? I have never seen this in a build and thought it would look pretty cool. I would only use it on the return line as I would guess the drain would get pretty dirty.

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[sarcophytonIndy]

I wouldn't use it as it is likely to have algae grow inside of it

 

[ndrwater]

Sounds cool. My only issue is that in a bare bottom tank, the light spillage can and will grow algae in the plumbing if it were clear.
The other reason most people use plain old white PVC is that's it's cheap

 

[Crabs McJones]

Cool, but I would imagine that algae would grow like crazy, especially if you run a fuge.

 

[Dragon52]

I tried it once, ended up with algae caking up all thru it. Now I have colored pvc from BRS.

 

[djray77]

Dang, OK I thought as I'm not running a refuge or light under my cabinet I would be OK. It's not worth the risk though.

 

[djray77]

I have a waterbox build going on and trying to match the color of there pipe is impossible. So I thought what about something completely different lol

 

[JoshH]

I have a waterbox build going on and trying to match the color of there pipe is impossible. So I thought what about something completely different lol

Formufit certainly has some of the best options plumbing wise and at a reasonable price. I agree you're probably looking at an algae magnet. However if you make the plumbing super easy to disassemble and clean, and more importantly you don't mind doing it, that decision is up to you. If you're not planning on running a fuge and run something such as an algae scrubber or reactor this could really limit the light spill into the cabinet and help reduce algae growth in the pipe.

If it's too much work there are a ton if color options available as well

 

[Bossman]

A clear return line would be different. But with water being pretty much clear, it might not be that exciting. I've thought that just having different color return and overflow colors would be cool. Like red and blue. But I just went with the standard plumbing that came with my sumps.

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

I have a waterbox build going on and trying to match the color of there pipe is impossible. So I thought what about something completely different lol

I sprayed my white pvc with black plastic coating. Looks pretty cool.

 

[djray77]

I have the drain and emergency I dont wanna touch so my return and manifold are left and not sure what way to go.

 

[coseal]

yea i use it! havnt had any algae issues in the year and a half the tank has been runnin!

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

Untitled by shaun s., on Flickr

 

[coseal]

this post made me curious! lol so went and snaped some pics! this is all that has grown since the tank was set up! so 18-19 months?

IMG_0786 by shaun s., on Flickr

IMG_0785 by shaun s., on Flickr

 

[djray77]

That's really cool! I like it alot. Never seen clear used before. Thanks for the pics.

 

[lapin]

I use clear short clear pieces with 45's on the ends. I have 3 of them connected to sea swirls. YOu do have to clean them often and they will haze over from scrubbing algae off them

 

[djray77]

It reminds me of watercooled PC plumbing.

 

[coseal]

It reminds me of watercooled PC plumbing.

yea! i guess it does lol!! i had some left over from some custom work i did. figured i might as well use it! its harvel so kinda $ came from mcmaster i think....;Greedy