plumbing for new tank, please help

guilford · 07/11/2006, 07:34 AM

I need advice on plumbing the new tank I am setting up. I had another tank many years ago, and from my experience then, I know that I do not want to use vinyl tubing and insert connectors because they were a major hassle when I needed to take things apart to do maintenance. So this time I either want to use normal PVC or flex/spa PVC. I have a couple of questions I was hoping I could get some input on.

1) Is there a general preference between regular sch 40 pvc and spa/flex pvc?

2) I'm planning to use a lot of unions and true union ball valves to make things easy to take apart for maintenance. Do I want all of those pieces to be slip or threaded? Is one more prone to leaks than the other?

3) I'm looking at getting sch 80 fittings for the bulkheads and valves and things. Can I connect regular sch 40 pipe to the sch 80 fittings?

4) I'm going to put a gate valve on the output of my pumps. Do I also need a ball valve on the output in addition to the gate valve, or will the gate valve work just fine to seal off the pipe if I need to pull the pump for maintenance?

Thanks so much for any help you can give me,
Brad

techreef · 07/11/2006, 12:38 PM

1) in my experience and reading, the sch 40 works just fine, is cheaper, and the flex pvc doesn't really flex that much to be all that helpful.

2) I used slip. Seems like a personal choice to me. If you make good connections w/ the solvent, the slip joints should be rock solid, as the cement turns everything into one continuous piece of plastic.

3) I believe so. Depending on the size tank you're setting up, the sch 40 stuff was just fine. If you're building something over say 150G, then you might generate large enough psi that it would benefit you to use sch 80. Again, it largely comes down to how solid you are w/ the PVC cement and how good your connections turn out.

4) Not sure on this one. I have a gate valve on my skimmer feed, but i never need to completely close it off, so i didn't check how completely the valve closes. I will say though that if you're using a valve to control the flow of anything that requires fine adjustment, gate valves are WAY easier to do this with than ball valves.

Good luck. Let us know how your project goes!

Shooter7 · 07/11/2006, 01:31 PM

A gate valve would give you more refined control over the flow through the line. That being said, if you are wise in your choice of return pump, then the gate valve would not really be necessary as ideally you would not want to restrict your pump at all and let it run at its full capacity. Also, closing off your return line is not really necessary when working on something because if you have your in-tank return lines drilled with anti-siphon holes just under the water line, they will back-siphon very little before breaking and there won't be anthing for you to close off anyway at that point. So, when it came down to it, I chose to use just a ball valve on the off chance I'd want to tune my pump back a little for some reason and saved myself the cost of the gate valve. I can honestly say I haven't really used the valve for anything in the 6+ months I've had my big tank up and running. Oh, and I used all slip fittings on mine, but it seems to be personal preference. This was my first time plumbing a tank and it has worked well.

guilford · 07/11/2006, 07:40 PM

Thanks for the input. It sounds like just getting slip valves and everything is probably the way to go. I'll need a few threaded pieces to connect to the pumps themselves, but I'll probably go ahead and order everything else slip.

Thanks,
Brad

07/11/2006, 07:34 AM	#1
guilford Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 133	plumbing for new tank, please help I need advice on plumbing the new tank I am setting up. I had another tank many years ago, and from my experience then, I know that I do not want to use vinyl tubing and insert connectors because they were a major hassle when I needed to take things apart to do maintenance. So this time I either want to use normal PVC or flex/spa PVC. I have a couple of questions I was hoping I could get some input on. 1) Is there a general preference between regular sch 40 pvc and spa/flex pvc? 2) I'm planning to use a lot of unions and true union ball valves to make things easy to take apart for maintenance. Do I want all of those pieces to be slip or threaded? Is one more prone to leaks than the other? 3) I'm looking at getting sch 80 fittings for the bulkheads and valves and things. Can I connect regular sch 40 pipe to the sch 80 fittings? 4) I'm going to put a gate valve on the output of my pumps. Do I also need a ball valve on the output in addition to the gate valve, or will the gate valve work just fine to seal off the pipe if I need to pull the pump for maintenance? Thanks so much for any help you can give me, Brad

07/11/2006, 01:31 PM	#3
Shooter7 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Tolono, IL Posts: 6,754	A gate valve would give you more refined control over the flow through the line. That being said, if you are wise in your choice of return pump, then the gate valve would not really be necessary as ideally you would not want to restrict your pump at all and let it run at its full capacity. Also, closing off your return line is not really necessary when working on something because if you have your in-tank return lines drilled with anti-siphon holes just under the water line, they will back-siphon very little before breaking and there won't be anthing for you to close off anyway at that point. So, when it came down to it, I chose to use just a ball valve on the off chance I'd want to tune my pump back a little for some reason and saved myself the cost of the gate valve. I can honestly say I haven't really used the valve for anything in the 6+ months I've had my big tank up and running. Oh, and I used all slip fittings on mine, but it seems to be personal preference. This was my first time plumbing a tank and it has worked well. __________________ Dave Current Tank Info: 10 years salty - standard 29g reef - moved from 120 gal reef, 2x250w Reeflux 10k's on ARO electronics and VHO super actinics on Icecap ballast, 2xTunze 6060, MSX 200 skimmer, GEO 612 Ca reactor, mag 12 return

07/11/2006, 12:38 PM	#2
techreef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montclair, NJ Posts: 1,046	1) in my experience and reading, the sch 40 works just fine, is cheaper, and the flex pvc doesn't really flex that much to be all that helpful. 2) I used slip. Seems like a personal choice to me. If you make good connections w/ the solvent, the slip joints should be rock solid, as the cement turns everything into one continuous piece of plastic. 3) I believe so. Depending on the size tank you're setting up, the sch 40 stuff was just fine. If you're building something over say 150G, then you might generate large enough psi that it would benefit you to use sch 80. Again, it largely comes down to how solid you are w/ the PVC cement and how good your connections turn out. 4) Not sure on this one. I have a gate valve on my skimmer feed, but i never need to completely close it off, so i didn't check how completely the valve closes. I will say though that if you're using a valve to control the flow of anything that requires fine adjustment, gate valves are WAY easier to do this with than ball valves. Good luck. Let us know how your project goes!

07/11/2006, 07:40 PM	#4
guilford Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 133	Thanks for the input. It sounds like just getting slip valves and everything is probably the way to go. I'll need a few threaded pieces to connect to the pumps themselves, but I'll probably go ahead and order everything else slip. Thanks, Brad