Aquarium Plumbing Parts

[jostafew]

Not sure i this is what you meant by "softening" but when i first plumbed my system i used a 90deg pvc conduit elbow (grey pvc) instead of a regular 90. The idea was increasing the radius for better flow over a standard sharp 90 deg elbow. Got the parts from Home Depot. I've since removed all of that for more compact but less efficient plumbing to gain more space in the cabinet. I had to throttle the return pump back anyway so i didn't mind the loss.

After that i've seen ppl use flexible pvc in place of rigid for ease of use and smoother bends. Couldn't tell you exactly where to find in AB though.

As mentioned above you'll want unions for ease of service, ball valves to isolate sections of plumbing, gate valves to regulate flow, and a section of vinyl tubing between the return pump and rigid plumbing to help reduce the transfer of vibrations.