Drain plumbing question

znotch

New member
Hello everyone, I'd like to ask for some input from all the plumbing guru's here on this site:

I have begun plumbing my soon to be 180 gallon tank. The tank was purchased used, and most of the equipment that came with it will be reusable. I am unsure, however, on how to plumb the drain. Please see picture below; the drain is the middle barb.The drain consists of a 1 1/2" barb with was plumbed into the spa flex tubing. I personally do not care much for this type of tubing, it looks too brittle for my liking. I am thinking of picking up some flexible tubing to use instead of the spa flex.

My questions is: could the flexible pvc tubing slide into the barb? Could it be secured with a clamp or would pvc glue be necessary?

The barb is glued into the bulkhead, would it be best for me to just replace this bulkhead altogether with a slip bulkhead? The bulkhead has a beananimal overflow silencer thingy connected to it, if changing the bulkhead, would I be able to just cut this off and reglue it to a new bulkhead?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

<a href="http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/djzevallos/media/IMAG1255_zps46f060df.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj600/djzevallos/IMAG1255_zps46f060df.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMAG1255_zps46f060df.jpg"/></a>
 
I would replace the bulkheads, IMO it's always best to replace a $15 plumbing piece then risk a leak down the road.
 
At a minimum I would remove the bulkheads and inspect the seals. Regardless if you reuse or buy new, make sure you clean the glass well on the sealing side. I would scrape the surface with a new razor blade just to be sure. Bulkheads are cheap...I'd just buy new ones.

Did they glue the spaflex into the barb fitting??

Personally I like the clean look of spaflex and it's stronger than your basic aquarium PVC tubing. You can also glue it to PVC fittings. It's just not as flexible. I think it'll depend on how your sump is setup. Take another pic with the sump.
 
So does the flex PVC glue to the barb with no problems? Barb connections may be fine for the returns but I don't really feel comfortable with them for the drain. Replacements may be needed..

Discotu: I will post some more pics of my setup in the morning!
 
A few things to consider
barb fittings are not designed for anything but soft pipes but we tend to use them on a large range of applications.
I would worry more on the returns on the barbs as there will be some pressure on them and there is usually no pressure on the drain.
Spa flex hoses last for years and years as long as they are not weathered.
but really to give you a much more accurate answer I agree with discoto, take a few pics of how you are setting up your sump and equipment and then we could give you a much more detailed answer.
cheers
 
If you end up getting a new bulkhead just teflon tape a threaded to slip piece on to it and then you can glue the flex pvc or pipe on to the slip. It will make things easier to remove later especially if you incorporate true unions by the equipment.

I agree with the others it's better to check/replace the current drains. I used the flex pvc from marine depot on my tank which worked pretty well but I also used regular pvc pipe for rigidity in straight sections. The flex pvc is meant to be glued like regular pvc pipe and not put on a barb.
 
I may just change the bulkhead for the simple reason that I don't want to plumb the drain with the barb; especially since the replacement cost is relatively low.

As promised, here are additional photos. The first is the external return pump which will run everything. The first picture shows the pvc connection to the pump, and the second shows the manifold connections. The pump splits to two return lines (the smaller barbs from the first photo), and it also runs the chiller (the ball valve connection).





There is not much room for the drain plumbing to fit under the stand which is one of the main reasons why I wanted to use some form of flex tubing.


Here is the connection that came with the tank. I may have misused the term "spa flex" tubing early when I was referencing the tubing below.

 
To me it looks like there are two water check valves on the return lines before the hose barb. If so, they don't work horizontally and should be vertical.

That type of flex hose is still supposed to be glued to the drain area. It doesn't need to be where it connects into the sump though.

If it were me I'd redo everything.
 
That drain hose will work just fine, just need to use a stainless hose clamp over the barb fitting.
The check valves appear to be the spring type...not sure if those are salt water rated? Plus spring check valves restrict flow quite a bit vs the flapper type. What you have is useable...but if you have the budget for all new plumbing that's the way to go.
 
Replacing everything seems to be the consensus among most of you.

What, specifically, would you recommend that I replace or redo? Not much of anything would be salvageable in what I currently have which means that I would have to purchase all new pieces. If I was to redo it all, how would you all suggest that I go about doing it? Should I add a check valve to the union that connects the the pump (first picture on post #8), and then redo the rest of the manifold?

Would anybody mind sharing how they connected the plumbing for their tank?
 
1- Check valves fail, & mostly @ the worst time. I do not use them.
2- Change the bulkheads & clean surfaces before installing new ones.
3- Pictured is pool hose, it comes in a few sizes & I use it on my drains with a good hose clamp. It will fit tight over pvc piping if you get the right combination, mine is 1" on the drains. This eliminates hose barbs. Take a piece & find the right one.
4- use unions & valves on both sides of the pump for easy removal.
 
So does the flex PVC glue to the barb with no problems? Barb connections may be fine for the returns but I don't really feel comfortable with them for the drain. Replacements may be needed..

Discotu: I will post some more pics of my setup in the morning!

Using vinyl tubing on a barb is worse for a return because it's under pressure. Doing it on a drain isn't under as much pressure. That's not to say that both are safe though, just use hose clamp. (Plastic ones for underwater applications)
 
Using a hose clamp with hard plastic on hard plastic is not safe plumbing advice in my opinion. If you use a clamp on that you're liable to crack it and it can also eventually come apart (i.e. earthquake) especially since its vertical and both surfaces are smooth. The only thing a clamp should be used on is the normal ID hosing on a barb.

If you're going to use a check valve make sure it's one that comes apart with a true union like bulk reef supply has so you can clean it. Like Vinny said it makes things better if you have a ball valve and union before all the equipment and tank areas so you can easily take things apart. Just teflon tape all the threads to make sure you don't get leaks.
 
The "cuff" on pool hose is "soft" and uses clamps all the time.
I warm it up in hot water to fit over pvc pipe then clamp it for safety.
 
Buy new bulkheads and make sure the surface is clean. Put all of your return lines in the overflow and your drain pipe . Before you start the actual hoses underneath the tank fill the overflow and check for leaks . Much easier than doing it after everything looks done .
 
What's your budget for your plumbing? U can redo the whole thing for fairly cheap and just hard plum it all and be done with it.
 
Get new bulkheads with slip rather than barbs and use the flex pvc. Like others have said you glue it just like regular pvc pipe. I don't use hard line under the tank so that you can move thing around more easily. have never had any problems.
 
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