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[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Myka

I only put a union on the return pump. If you put unions under the bulkheads, then if you ever move the tank you have to cut the unions off in order to get it to sit on a flat surface (like a truck bed) because you can't remove the bulkheads with the unions installed below them. If you want to replace the sump then you can just cut the drain lines and put them back using a coupler fitting. Neither of these situations tend to happen very often/if at all.

You don't need a ball valve on the return pump if - you chose a pump that fits the tank, there is only one return line, and you don't use a manifold. They are only $5 though, so if you're concerned, then go for it. If there are two return lines then the ball valves are handy to make the flow through each return even. If you do a manifold then you should put a ball valve on the return too. If the return pump is too big you will need the ball valve to dial back the flow so you don't get microbubbles in your display.

A manifold is a great idea if you have the extra flow from your return pump. If your return pump has barely the flow for the return then it won't power a manifold anyway. Have you picked your return pump yet? What are the dimensions of your tank? Do you have extra flow or not?

Try to use 45 degree elbows instead of 90 degree elbows as they reduce flow a bit less. I also recommend, if it's your first time plumbing or you just aren't that confident, make sure you have at least 2" of pipe between all fittings so that you have room to cut the pipe and re-glue differently if need be. If you glue all the fittings with no visible pipe between them it looks real good, but if you make one boo boo then you throw the hole kit and kaboodle out! Also, I made a 3-valve manifold one time, put it all together and one of the valve leaked in any position other than full open or full closed. I can to cut the manifold out and redo it. Luckily it was just SCH40 ball valves so it was only $15 and some time.

Use lots of glue. I like to use the clear HEAVY DUTY glue. I prefer to sand the ends of the pipe than to use the primer. If you use primer you can't dry fit the connections after you primer them as they will stick. They stick bad enough you can't get them out, but not good enough that they will hold water. That's a crappy lesson to learn. So I sand each end of pipe instead. Put glue on the pipe end, insert into the fitting all the way, give it a 1/4 turn, then use your finger to run around the joint to clean up the excess glue (like running your finger along a silicone joint). The 1/4 turn makes sure the glue is spread all over, but don't turn it a bunch (some people naively recommend this) as you will get air bubble in the glue. Air isn't water proof (lol). When I was a carpenter years ago, a real plumber (haha) taught me this 1/4 turn thing.

haha well yes in a world filled with internal overflows i can see dragging a tank across the stand as a bad idea , however we have to think outside our own tanks and realize not all holes come out the bottom of the tank


the idea of the unions below the bulkhead isnt to remove the tank (not completely anyways) , if your going to cut then your going to cut right? the idea of the unions under the bulkhead is to replace the sump if you need to without having to cut away the drains a union is $5 at concept......if plumbing budget is under $100 and someone cant afford the $10 for two unions then yes i guess its not affordable but i don't see why someone wouldn't put these in for the sake of a few bucks? like you mentioned leave space always between joints and you'll have the room to cut if you need to

as for the ball valve over the pump , last i checked the only way to turn a return pump off is to either unplug it and cut its power( lame isnt it lol?) or use a ball valve , i don't know about you but i personally dont want to be unplugging a pump every time i need it to be turned off for any period of time, be it pulling the plug or using the apex , so for the $3 they are i install them after the pump and right before the bulkheads , that ways i can shut off the flow to the tank while keeping my manifold running(biopellets) or i can shut the pump off temporarily while not having the back syphon that unplugging will certainly bring down and overflow the skimmer.

[rishu_pepper]

Will adding a check valve on the return line reduce the amount of back siphoning?

[jason604]

Theoretically it should stop all siphoning

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by rishu_pepper

Will adding a check valve on the return line reduce the amount of back siphoning?

it will temporarily , but theres not enough pressure in a gravity feed to stop it completely so if enough time goes by it will slowly leak , it will stop the skimmer from overflowing though

[rishu_pepper]

Originally Posted by reefwars

it will temporarily , but theres not enough pressure in a gravity feed to stop it completely so if enough time goes by it will slowly leak , it will stop the skimmer from overflowing though

As long as it does that job, I can always control the power from the Apex. I'd only turn it off during coral feeding anyway.

Would drilling a hole on the return loc-line be another (additional) option to help with controlling back-siphon? I did that in my previous tank but it was above the water line, so the constant water spray was annoying.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Brian,

Whether you do it or someone else plumbs your tank, remember to dry fit everything so you know for sure everything is going to fit before you glue. I glue everything that is under pressure, but I only silicone those pipes that are under gravity flow. I imagine most people glue everything.

Also, most of the time, leaks will be from the bulkhead so be extra careful there. Hand tighten & only add a 1/4 turn with a wrench. Any more and you risk damaging the glass around the hole.

Mine is an external overflow box so my ball valve for the return is under the overflow for ease of access, as opposed to being right near the pump outlet. Of course, part of the reason is also I don't T-off my return to run any media reactors (I just use Maxijet 1200s for that). I use a controllable flow DC pump as well, so I'd rather run my pump at lower flow and hopefully put less wear and tear on my return pump and just use easily replaceable MJ1200s for the media reactors.

Anthony

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by rishu_pepper

As long as it does that job, I can always control the power from the Apex. I'd only turn it off during coral feeding anyway.

Would drilling a hole on the return loc-line be another (additional) option to help with controlling back-siphon? I did that in my previous tank but it was above the water line, so the constant water spray was annoying.

absolutely , a syphon break is def one way to stop it , placing your lines near the top or using locline to angle them is another option as well. check valves will buy you enough time to stop your skimmer from going haywire or even two check valves in line