Anyone use quick disconnects?

[MatAndPatti]

I'm not talking about unions. What I want to do is run a couple of 3/4" lines from our downstairs to our upstairs right behind the tank stand. They would be used for water changes, one being for a drain, and the other would be for filling. The disconnects would be downstairs, so that I can easily disconnect a length of tubing going into/out of whichever container and roll them back to the utility room (which, of course, is at the opposite end of the house... :headwally

I would prefer to not use unions because this is the kind of thing that will need to be connected/disconnected on a fairly regular basis, and the quick disconnects seem to be better suited to that. Plus, some of these things are advertised as having shutoffs when they're disconnected, which would be nice to avoid dripping (the room below the tank is finished with carpeting, of course! :headwalls

I was thinking about something like this, a Colder Products quick coupling:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=28353&catid=743

Has anyone here used these, or anything like them? I'd like to hear other's experiences before I shell out $20+ for a set of these.

Thanks!

 

[asudavew]

I haven't tried those. But I really like the 2 sets I have left from my Magnum 350 filter. The filter was terrible, but the disconnects are excellent.

http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Aquaria-AMLPA0586-Aquarium-Disconnect/dp/B0002APYNQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1393133446&sr=1-5&keywords=Marineland+quick

I wish I could find quick disconnects for 3/8 tubing.

 

[namester]

I've never used them for my aquarium, though I have used those exact fittings on my home brew rig. They work pretty well, other than a few minor things:

1) The male connector has a "crosshairs" in it for actuating the shut off poppet. This was often the cause of clogs because various things would get hung up on the obstruction.

2) The O-Ring that seals the thing tends to get chewed up when you're connecting it. This is a little better if you wet the fitting first. I ended up buying a 100 pack of the o-rings from McMaster-Carr and replaced them every so often.

Both of these issues are fairly minor, but annoying. That said I ended up replacing all my brewing fittings with cam-lock style. You might want to give those a look: http://www.camlock-fittings.com/polypropylene-camlock-couplings.html

 

[GOT_REEF]

On my magnum 350 the disconnects would leak when the valves were closed. You might be able to find quick disconnects in the lawn/garden center at your local hardware store. You can also look into 1/2in lock line with ball valves.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/mur-lok-ro-straight-union-push-connect.html

 

[MatAndPatti]

I've never used them for my aquarium, though I have used those exact fittings on my home brew rig. They work pretty well, other than a few minor things:

1) The male connector has a "crosshairs" in it for actuating the shut off poppet. This was often the cause of clogs because various things would get hung up on the obstruction.

2) The O-Ring that seals the thing tends to get chewed up when you're connecting it. This is a little better if you wet the fitting first. I ended up buying a 100 pack of the o-rings from McMaster-Carr and replaced them every so often.

Both of these issues are fairly minor, but annoying. That said I ended up replacing all my brewing fittings with cam-lock style. You might want to give those a look: http://www.camlock-fittings.com/polypropylene-camlock-couplings.html

Thanks for the info about the cam-lock fittings. Does the fluid come into contact with any of the metal parts? Just wondering, since I'd rather not have to worry about corrosion with the saltwater.

Also, do you have any idea what kind of pressure these things can handle and still remain water-tight? I'll be pumping water up about 10 ft from the 1st floor to the tank, and the fitting will be somewhere in the middle of that run.

I'll probably give those a try, since they seem to be relatively inexpensive. Thanks again!

 

[MatAndPatti]

On my magnum 350 the disconnects would leak when the valves were closed. You might be able to find quick disconnects in the lawn/garden center at your local hardware store. You can also look into 1/2in lock line with ball valves.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/mur-lok-ro-straight-union-push-connect.html

All of the plastic garden hose disconnects I've ever used eventually leaked horribly, so I've switched to the brass ones... Of course, those wouldn't be good for saltwater. I'll check again, maybe our local plumbing supplier has something that would work better.

Thanks for the thought about the mur-loks. I will definitely check these out. I guess I was stuck on 3/4" because that's what the outlet is from my pump, but there's no reason I couldn't neck it down to 1/2".

 

[MatAndPatti]

I haven't tried those. But I really like the 2 sets I have left from my Magnum 350 filter. The filter was terrible, but the disconnects are excellent.

http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Aquaria-AMLPA0586-Aquarium-Disconnect/dp/B0002APYNQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1393133446&sr=1-5&keywords=Marineland+quick

I wish I could find quick disconnects for 3/8 tubing.

Thanks for the info. I'll check these out!