Hard Plumbing Cleaning Question.

malx · 04/17/2017, 08:45 PM

Hi, All.

Anyone here who have a completely hard plumbed set up had to take it apart and clean it? If so, how long did you go before you had to do it? One year? Two? What did you use? How did you do it?

This setup I have now will be with me for 8 years and there won't be any upgrades done to size so I may run into an issue where I need to clean parts of the plumbing.

Let me know,
Joey

RogueGrown · 04/17/2017, 08:49 PM

Drano MaxGel "the clog remover" works for me every time.

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thegrun · 04/17/2017, 08:51 PM

I'm giving serious consideration to taking my two year old plumbing apart and using a good wire brush to clean it out. I have unions that allow me to take it apart, I've just been to lazy to do so, but at the two year mark I expect to see a fair amount of calcium build up.

Spunky Bob · 04/17/2017, 08:54 PM

I had my PVC plumbing setup on my 5x2x2 for about 2 years without cleaning it.

When I shutdown the tank my pipes aaide from being a little brown inside they were not clogged at all.

Just install unions near the bulkheads and you will be good.

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Spunky Bob · 04/17/2017, 08:56 PM

Is addition. Make sure you install a ball valve right at the end so you can adjust the drain so that it's always full of water (little to no bubbles) as this will decrease not only noise, but reduce Sultan and calcium buildup in the parts that the water doesn't always hit.

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RogueGrown · 04/17/2017, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegrun

I'm giving serious consideration to taking my two year old plumbing apart and using a good wire brush to clean it out. I have unions that allow me to take it apart, I've just been to lazy to do so, but at the two year mark I expect to see a fair amount of calcium build up.

This is a good reason to have valves. I'm curious though, how would you clean from the bulkhead to the valve? I've been wondering this same thing.

Would you lower the level in the DT open the main and drain the overflow to empty it then proceed to take the rest apart? The OP has a good question.

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malx · 04/17/2017, 09:32 PM

Thanks for the tips. I went crazy with unions and valves so I'd be good. I would just do a water change and lower the level in the DT then remove and clean out the plumbing.

malx · 04/17/2017, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RogueGrown

Drano MaxGel "the clog remover" works for me every time.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

This is a joke right?

RogueGrown · 04/18/2017, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malx

This is a joke right?

It is, unless you're into pooring bleach on crack into your system to kill It with fire... Or clean your plumbing to a sparkle lol

Is this why people run strainers on their main drain, So there is less passing through and just water? I can understand a bit of elements building up but when you get chaeto or a snail blocking it make me wonder where people went wrong.

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Ron Reefman · 04/18/2017, 06:08 AM

Joey, I had to tear down a 6 year old 400g system (2 tanks and a huge sump/refugium) due to a 30gph leak. I found the plumbing to be in pretty good shape. Some pipes had little calcium tubes, but nothing remotely serious enough that I would consider taking the system apart to clean.

malx · 04/18/2017, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

Joey, I had to tear down a 6 year old 400g system (2 tanks and a huge sump/refugium) due to a 30gph leak. I found the plumbing to be in pretty good shape. Some pipes had little calcium tubes, but nothing remotely serious enough that I would consider taking the system apart to clean.

Thanks for the tip! Sorry to hear about the leak dude.

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Ron Reefman · 04/18/2017, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malx

Thanks for the tip! Sorry to hear about the leak dude.

I tore the entire 400g system down and replaced it with this:

To be honest, I'm a happy camper 6 months after the fact!

malx · 04/19/2017, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

I tore the entire 400g system down and replaced it with this:

To be honest, I'm a happy camper 6 months after the fact!

Looks really nice!

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Ron Reefman · 04/19/2017, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malx

Looks really nice!

Thanks. It's a start. There are some nice colonies that survived the rebuild by living in buckets for 6 weeks while I got the new tank and set it up. I've gone mostly sps with lots of new frags. Last count a few weeks ago there are 110 different species of coral in the tank. Now I can watch them grow into each other and do some fragging when it gets out of control. But that's 12 to 18 months away... more or less.

billdogg · 04/19/2017, 11:00 AM

FWIW - before I would spend even 5 minutes cleaning plum bing (other than valves/unions/etc that are $$$) I would cut it out and replace it. PVC and standard fittings are just too inexpensive for me to waste time cleaning them.

The oldest tank I've torn down was about 15 at the time - other than a little slime there really wasn't anything to clean anyway. I have seen exceptions to that rule (a standpipe filled with bristleworms comes to mind)

04/17/2017, 08:45 PM	#1
malx Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 1,324	Hard Plumbing Cleaning Question. Hi, All. Anyone here who have a completely hard plumbed set up had to take it apart and clean it? If so, how long did you go before you had to do it? One year? Two? What did you use? How did you do it? This setup I have now will be with me for 8 years and there won't be any upgrades done to size so I may run into an issue where I need to clean parts of the plumbing. Let me know, Joey

04/18/2017, 06:08 AM	#10
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	Joey, I had to tear down a 6 year old 400g system (2 tanks and a huge sump/refugium) due to a 30gph leak. I found the plumbing to be in pretty good shape. Some pipes had little calcium tubes, but nothing remotely serious enough that I would consider taking the system apart to clean. __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017

04/19/2017, 11:00 AM	#15
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	FWIW - before I would spend even 5 minutes cleaning plum bing (other than valves/unions/etc that are $$$) I would cut it out and replace it. PVC and standard fittings are just too inexpensive for me to waste time cleaning them. The oldest tank I've torn down was about 15 at the time - other than a little slime there really wasn't anything to clean anyway. I have seen exceptions to that rule (a standpipe filled with bristleworms comes to mind) __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

04/17/2017, 08:49 PM	#2
RogueGrown Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Medford, OR Posts: 382	Drano MaxGel "the clog remover" works for me every time. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

04/17/2017, 08:51 PM	#3
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	I'm giving serious consideration to taking my two year old plumbing apart and using a good wire brush to clean it out. I have unions that allow me to take it apart, I've just been to lazy to do so, but at the two year mark I expect to see a fair amount of calcium build up.

04/17/2017, 08:54 PM	#4
Spunky Bob Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 33	I had my PVC plumbing setup on my 5x2x2 for about 2 years without cleaning it. When I shutdown the tank my pipes aaide from being a little brown inside they were not clogged at all. Just install unions near the bulkheads and you will be good. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

04/17/2017, 08:56 PM	#5
Spunky Bob Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 33	Is addition. Make sure you install a ball valve right at the end so you can adjust the drain so that it's always full of water (little to no bubbles) as this will decrease not only noise, but reduce Sultan and calcium buildup in the parts that the water doesn't always hit. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

04/17/2017, 09:32 PM	#7
malx Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 1,324	Thanks for the tips. I went crazy with unions and valves so I'd be good. I would just do a water change and lower the level in the DT then remove and clean out the plumbing.