connecting herbie plumbing to drain

[hoooop54]

I was reading in an old forum about connecting the two drains on a herbie overflow systems and was a little confused. The conversation was about the pipe that was connected to the drain and the message was not to glue the pipe, because you would want to be able to remove it and clean it. They also mentioned that it would probably leak. That seemed odd to me. Does anyone have any advice on how the pipe connects to the drain?

 

[sirreal63]

Use a union to connect so you can take it apart.

 

[motojoe1988]

Why do you want to connect the 2? Whats the purpose? You have 1 full siphon and 1 Emergency for back up incase the siphon breaks.

 

[hoooop54]

Let me add a few more details, the tank is on the way and it is reef ready. I currently have a tank with overflows on the back. My assumption is I have to have PVC pipes in the overflow box that connects to the bulkhead on the base of the aquarium. Then a pipe below running to the sump. Am I missing something? If not, my question is about the pipe connecting to the bulkhead of the base of the aquarium.

 

[sleepydoc]

A properly glued pipe will not leak. If you improperly glue it (or improperly do anything, for that matter) all bets are off.

 

[sirreal63]

You want threaded bulkheads, no glue and when properly tightened no leaks. Do not use slip bulkheads without gluing them in.

 

[hoooop54]

Thanks everyone!

 

[hogfanreefer]

That joint is always under water. I'm confused, why would it matter if it's glued or not?

 

[sleepydoc]

You can just push the pipe in a slip-fit bulkhead on the inside, but any external connections should be cemented.

 

[hoooop54]

Hogfanreefer, I was confused as well, that is why I was asking. I wasn't sure if I was missing something.

 

[sirreal63]

Sometimes we forget that what we think should be common sense isn't always. Plumbing out of the tank, glue or thread, plumbing in tank no glue or use threaded. I made the leap that since we were talking about connecting two drains outside of the tank that is was outside of the tank since you cannot connect two drains in the tank.