Friendly reminder: Check your plumbing!

[ashr]

By checking your plumbing and seals you can see if anything is coming lose or degrading. These things do happen you know.. haha

Also it was from my pump to my chiller. It came undone.. the silicon didnt hold and the force of the pump blew it apart.

[sphelps]

I see, it sounded like you were describing an actual burst pipe which seemed unlikely is all. While I agree checking plumbing may not be a bad idea I don't feel it's necessary when done properly. 90% of the plumbing in your home is concealed behind walls or other obstacles making checking virtually impossible without destroying something. This plumbing is put under much higher pressure and temperature loads than our aquariums yet it lasts for decades without issue if done correctly.

A better suggestion would be doing things right the first time to avoid devastating failures that can ruin your home. Using silicone to attach hoses to pumps is a bad idea and, as you now know, likely to fail. Using appropriate hose clamps or hard glued PVC fittings is the proper way to do things.

[JetJumper]

I second this! I had a line let go on a pump that was 1500gph and it shot right near a powerbar. We all know what power and saltwater do right? wasn't pretty.. I was pretty "anal" about my wiring as well which was all nicely tie wrapped and set a side.. however I never thought of a pump line letting go like that..

Ever seen a T5 fixture that is on a PC4 from digital aquatics get wet? you don't want to.. its like an indoor LIGHTNING show!!! I had to kill the power to it which I needed to step in the water.. that wasn't fun.. quite the shock.. again, this happens normally at night.. it was 3:00AM. My Wife heard it as she is a light sleeper.

Triple check the pipes!!!!!!!!!!

[Mike-fish]

Originally Posted by JetJumper

I second this! I had a line let go on a pump that was 1500gph and it shot right near a powerbar. We all know what power and saltwater do right? wasn't pretty.. I was pretty "anal" about my wiring as well which was all nicely tie wrapped and set a side.. however I never thought of a pump line letting go like that..

Ever seen a T5 fixture that is on a PC4 from digital aquatics get wet? you don't want to.. its like an indoor LIGHTNING show!!! I had to kill the power to it which I needed to step in the water.. that wasn't fun.. quite the shock.. again, this happens normally at night.. it was 3:00AM. My Wife heard it as she is a light sleeper.

Triple check the pipes!!!!!!!!!!

that's what the breaker panel is for switch off power then step in the water = no more painful dance

[whatcaneyedo]

I think the real message here is don't silicone plumbing parts together, use plumbers PVC cement. I do however suggest frequently inspecting pump seals. Anyone who owns a Reeflo pump knows that they can suddenly start to leak from around the drive shaft seal.

[ashr]

I would assume that most PVC cement is reef safe? Or is there special brands people use.

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by ashr

I would assume that most PVC cement is reef safe? Or is there special brands people use.

Yes any PVC cement is safe it is just advised to wait at least 1 hour after application before start up. Keep in mind PVC cement is only effect on rigid PVC parts/pipe. Spa flex can be glued into rigid PVC fittings but may require a non standard cement for best results.

[jtbadco]

Originally Posted by sphelps

I see, it sounded like you were describing an actual burst pipe which seemed unlikely is all. While I agree checking plumbing may not be a bad idea I don't feel it's necessary when done properly. 90% of the plumbing in your home is concealed behind walls or other obstacles making checking virtually impossible without destroying something. This plumbing is put under much higher pressure and temperature loads than our aquariums yet it lasts for decades without issue if done correctly.

A better suggestion would be doing things right the first time to avoid devastating failures that can ruin your home. Using silicone to attach hoses to pumps is a bad idea and, as you now know, likely to fail. Using appropriate hose clamps or hard glued PVC fittings is the proper way to do things.

I understand what you are saying but it hardly the same thing comparing house plumbing and aquarium plumbing.
In a perfect world all of our plumbing would be done perfectly the first time but we all know this is far from a perfect world. So for everyone else, take the time to check your fittings and hoses any time you have a chance, better safe than sorry.

I think it was sound advice, other contributions notwithstanding.

[sphelps]

It is the same, why would a leak in your aquarium plumbing be more acceptable than your household? We often use or at least we can use the same parts that are used in residential and commercial plumbing applications, there is no reason to lower your standards. I don't mean to critical but if something was executed poorly the solution is not increased inspection which to be frank won't do anything. The solution is to fix the problem, the cost of doing so is often very little and it makes no sense risking all kinds of damage that can result from not doing so.

[jtbadco]

Missed the point entirely.

His post was intended to help people who already have their plumbing set up. If they could or were able to re-do it properly then I'm sure they would.

Barring that, his advice is sound. And you added nothing, only distracted from a valid point.

If you wish to start a thread called "everybody should do their plumbing right the first time', then feel free to do so.

Anyways , I won't reply on this further because it only serves to further distract people from the original message.