Stolireef
Active member
Quick disclaimer: I'm not a plumber nor a particularly skilled amateur. What follows are my humble opinions based upon both long term and recent experience with a major new build. Other than the first point, these are in no particular order.
1. Good plumbing starts with good planning. Think through how to reduce the number of elbows in your lines, access to pumps, etc.
2. Rough fit all of your plumbing before cementing it together (nearly every time I've skipped this rule, it has ended badly).
3. In most reef tanks with sumps, your return pump should NOT be your primary method for in-tank circulation. In fact, slower return flow will allow your filtration to do a better job and will go quite far in keeping your tank quiet. If you hear a flushing noise coming from your drain, your return flow is too high.
4. Prime all of your PVC joints before cementing.
5. Install cutoff valves at all key points. In my setup, there are ball valves before and after the return pump, at the drain, before the fuge feed and before the Ca Reactor feed. The valves also make adjusting the flow very easy.
6. If feasible, dry plumb your return pump. It reduces heat transferred to your water, makes pump maintenance a breeze, and allows for much more variety in positioning and use. It also leaves more space in your sump.
7. Install true unions before and after your pump to make removal easy and fast.
8. The rubber gasket on your bulkhead goes on the wet side between the tank and the flange.
9. Cemented fittings are more reliable and less likely to leak than threaded fittings. That said, they can't be removed so remember rule number one.
10. If you feel the need to use a hammer when plumbing something, stop, have a beer (or something stronger) and then figure out another way to do whatever it was that you were about to do with the hammer.
11. Teflon tape will probably not fix a lead in a threaded fitting. In most cases, neither will salt creep. Neither plumbers putty nor silicone seals leaks for the long term. Leaks very rarely fix themselves.
12. In new setups, do a fresh water water test before adding salt. First, if there is a leak and you have to drain the tank, you haven't blown money on salt. Second, saltwater does much more damage to things like wood floors, carpeting, metal stands, etc.
13. A medium coarse hacksaw blade cuts PVC like butter. A worn out blade causes significant shoulder discomfort. A curved metal rasp works great for cleaning the burs off fresh cuts.
14. Clear vinyl tubing, when exposed to light, will grow algae inside the tube. Wrapping such tubes with black eletrical tape really cuts down on this problem. Using opaque tubing works even better.
Feel free to add to this thread. I'm sure many of us would love to hear your plumbing tips and tricks.
1. Good plumbing starts with good planning. Think through how to reduce the number of elbows in your lines, access to pumps, etc.
2. Rough fit all of your plumbing before cementing it together (nearly every time I've skipped this rule, it has ended badly).
3. In most reef tanks with sumps, your return pump should NOT be your primary method for in-tank circulation. In fact, slower return flow will allow your filtration to do a better job and will go quite far in keeping your tank quiet. If you hear a flushing noise coming from your drain, your return flow is too high.
4. Prime all of your PVC joints before cementing.
5. Install cutoff valves at all key points. In my setup, there are ball valves before and after the return pump, at the drain, before the fuge feed and before the Ca Reactor feed. The valves also make adjusting the flow very easy.
6. If feasible, dry plumb your return pump. It reduces heat transferred to your water, makes pump maintenance a breeze, and allows for much more variety in positioning and use. It also leaves more space in your sump.
7. Install true unions before and after your pump to make removal easy and fast.
8. The rubber gasket on your bulkhead goes on the wet side between the tank and the flange.
9. Cemented fittings are more reliable and less likely to leak than threaded fittings. That said, they can't be removed so remember rule number one.
10. If you feel the need to use a hammer when plumbing something, stop, have a beer (or something stronger) and then figure out another way to do whatever it was that you were about to do with the hammer.
11. Teflon tape will probably not fix a lead in a threaded fitting. In most cases, neither will salt creep. Neither plumbers putty nor silicone seals leaks for the long term. Leaks very rarely fix themselves.
12. In new setups, do a fresh water water test before adding salt. First, if there is a leak and you have to drain the tank, you haven't blown money on salt. Second, saltwater does much more damage to things like wood floors, carpeting, metal stands, etc.
13. A medium coarse hacksaw blade cuts PVC like butter. A worn out blade causes significant shoulder discomfort. A curved metal rasp works great for cleaning the burs off fresh cuts.
14. Clear vinyl tubing, when exposed to light, will grow algae inside the tube. Wrapping such tubes with black eletrical tape really cuts down on this problem. Using opaque tubing works even better.
Feel free to add to this thread. I'm sure many of us would love to hear your plumbing tips and tricks.
