Plumbing 101 - Help Me Please (lots of pictures)

[Hoss]

I need some help with the plumbing of my tank. I am beyond dense when it comes to PVC and really need some hand holding here as I want to get this right the first time. I'm probably making this more difficult than it really needs to be, but I am pretty paranoid. Recently I purchased a full set up and the current plumbing has me VERY nervous. I'm going to let the pictures do the talking. I've done tons of reading, but would really like everyones advise based on my situation.

*Edit* Sorry guys, probably should have put some specifics about the tank. It is a 60 Gallon (48 x 24 x 16) with a 30 gallon sump. All kinds of corals, but I have the SPS in the high flow parts of the tank. Do not need a ton of flow from the return, but would like more than I have now.

Overflow
- 3 Holes drilled but I do not know how big the bulkheads are. They look to all three be the same size.....maybe an inch. How can I tell.
- 1 Durso drain pipe, 1 Return, and 1 Capped off unused

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Underneath Plumbing
- This scares me and I do not know if it should or not.
- Drain I think is spa flex but the hose is just wedged up into the bulkhead. It seems pretty secure, but all I need is a good yank and it comes right out. This can not be safe.
- Return is a Mag 7 (more on that later) and it just goes to clear hose and connects to the bulkhead via some kind of barb connection I think. Is this ok? I can pull the hose off the barb without a lot of effort. For being a mag 7, I am not impressed with the flow at all. Maybe it is in the plumbing.
- Middle bulkhead is unused now, but clearly had something there. How can I get that PVC out to utilize if I wanted to and should I?

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Additional Underneath Plumbing
- I do not think this sump was well designed as the baffles do not seem to be in the right spots. Different story and not really relevant.
- Return spa flex just dumps straight into the skimmer section. Noise is not noticeable to me.
- Return hose is clearly too long, but maybe it is ok.

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Hose Connection to Return Pump
- This just does not look right to me. How can I make this better?

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Basically I am scared to death I am going to come home from work and find the return spa flex has fallen out of the bulkhead or that the barb connection would have come free and now I have a flood on my hand, not to mention the damage to the livestock. I can tell you all that as it stands now, things are running smooth and flowing well (minus a pretty week return flow).

The question I pose to you fine folks is if this were your tank, what would you do to plumb this. I think with step by step directions I could accomplish it, but because the tank is up and running I do not have all day to get it done. Seriously, I need details right down to the glue to use (if any at all). I do not mind tearing everything out and starting from scratch either, if that would be best. Should I use that third bulkhead?

Please help a paranoid new reefer out so he does not keep thinking about his plumbing while at work......wow, that sounds kinda bad.

Just a shot of what came with the tank. I'll post more pictures on a different thread.

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Hoss

 

[kthomas]

put zip ties around the flex hose to keep them from popping off. Other than that everything looks good.

 

[Wes]

really the best way to tell is to remove the center bulkhead. you can also get a pretty good understanding of size by simply checking pvc size and since the bulkheads appear to be standard and not heavy duty then it should be easy to tell from that.

unfortunately if it is glued in you cant do anything, just have to replace the bulkhead which is no problem. turn off return pump, then get a bucket or something under you and remove it. only the overflow section would drain.

i cant tell if it has a tube inside a tube, if so then simply getting the correct size female thread to correct size male barb to eliminate that. if redoing it completely is the option you want to go then you could use pvc fittings.

i would not do a thing really, unless you just wanted it to look nicer. my plumbing on my 90 is set up identical to this now and has worked fine for years. would i like it to be better, yes, but do i believe it to be perfectly safe and working fine, yes. PVC is how i did my new tank and that is how i would redo it if forced.

if you want a larger pump than that mag, then you may need this other bulkhead for a second drain. i would guess your drain can only do 600 gph so if you pump more than that you obviously need more than that. 2x600=1200gph so you could bump up the pump if need be. not required as you can get more flow in tank with powerheads.

thats all?! man, wish i could buy a tank with those goodies. looks nice! btw, ill redo your plumbing for the red one or the farthest right one j/k

 

[Guest]

there are pics from the original owner on his old for sale thread...this is where garvin bought it from....maybe you can pm the original owner for what the other bulkhead was used for...or tell from the pics what he used it for

http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=47772&highlight=lagoon

 

[Hoss]

*Edit*

Sorry, quotes got all crazy. See below.

Hoss

 

[Hoss]

Thanks everyone.

kthomas -

I guess I do not see how zip ties would help as the flex hose is wedged inside the rigid bulkhead. Now, if the flex hose were over the bulkhead, I would agree that would be a good idea. Better yet, can I buy an adapter that connects to the spa hose and then screws into the bulkhead? Lots of teflon tape of course. I do not mind using glue either as this system works pretty good. I do not need to complety redesign, just make it so that the chance of flooding is minimal.

Wes -

Yes, there is a smaller hose going from the barb on the mag 7 to a larger hose that then goes up to the bulkhead. Can I buy a new barb connection that goes straight from the mag 7 to the larger diamater hose? Do you know if this would help or hurt the backpressure and improve or worsen the return flow? Should I shorten the length of the larger diameter return line? could that improve the flow at all? Thanks for all the other advise. I will probably end up selling some of these corals to offset the cost of the tank. Check the for sale forum in the next week or two.

kuyatwo -

Good eye. I was wondering if anyone would notice and remember this tank. I'll definately PM the previous owner and see if I can get some specifics from him. Thanks.

Thanks again everyone, I'd appreciate any other opinions.

Hoss

 

[Wes]

you should be able to find a new bard fitting and i would expect it to help flow a little, not a lot though.

 

[Drew]

pm sent

 

[kthomas]

@Hoss wrote:

Good luck

 

[Hoss]

I understand now. I'll put a zip tie on it for now, but a suggestion was made to use those metal bands that cinch with a screwdriver. I like those as they are a bit wider and cover more area with pressure.

Any immediate suggestions for the return hose? I'll be out of town for 2 days coming up and I would really like something a little more permanent. I'll do some digging around at Home Depot to see what I can find.

Thanks again.

Hoss

 

[Ashlar]

I'd put some silicone between the bulkhead and the spa flex.. it'll "hold" but not be permanent.

Rather than using metal hose clamps, find some of the plastic hose clamps- better than zip ties, but won't rust like the metal ones

 

[DU]

The metal clamps are called "worm clamps" if I am not mistaken. They work very well as you can get more coverage and a tighter clamp down. I personally have set my new 120g with these on the returns and it has worked out just fine. The rust will become an issue down the road but if you are sure to buy the stainless steel ones they will last a bit longer.

DU

 

[dixonallred]

Looking at the pics and the sell thread I would guess you have around 7’ of head loss which will put your flow at around 350 gph. To increase this I would change the 90 degree barb connection at the pump with a straight barb connection and then shorten the return hose getting rid of that entire loop. This will give you at least three feet of head loss back and around 130 gph increase (up to 480 gph). The Mag 7 has an outlet size of 1/2”. I would also say that the vinyl tubing looks to be 3/4” or maybe even 5/8”. If you are going to keep the vinyl tubing for now you might look at getting a 1/2” pvc coupling and a poly insert barb fitting. This will give you the ability to get rid of the small section of 1/2" vinyl tubing. I don’t recall seeing a 1/2“ FPT (female) barb fitting that that increases to 5/8” or 3/4" however if you can find one you could eliminate the coupling.

½” FPT to ½” FPT coupling (this would fit onto the pump)
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~action~view~idProduct~FT4533~idCategory~FIFTFICO~category~Couplings-Fittings-Plumbing_Parts-Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies~vendor~.html

A Poly insert MPT (male) barb fitting, either a 1/2" MPT * 3/4" INS or 1/2" MPT * 5/8"INS depending on the size of the tubing (this would screw into the coupling)
http://www.savko.com/partlist.asp?pgid=3&ptid=12

Plastic hose clamps
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~plumbing_parts_fittings_hose_clamps_flexible_vinyl_tubing.html

 

[zaphod1]

I would take the spa hose and find an end that screws into the fitting you have at the bottom of the tank. When you do that you can then take that new fitting glue it to the spa hose and screw it to the bottom of the tank. Thus making disassembly and replacement a lot easier. The other fitting could have been for an external skimmer or a mud refugium. I have seen setups where they use both a regular filter box and a mud refugium for more filtration and faster clean up of the water that is in the tank. The only reason I can think of for wanting that elaborate of a system is if you have a large amount of fish/creatures or you have some creature that is very messy as far as waste and need it to be removed quickly. I would question the size of the tank at that point but, that is for debate and opinion of people who have that situation and what they are doing and have done. Its all a learning process and I am still learning every time I read the forum.