Plumbing advice

[awesomefrog]

Ok, so this will be my first shot at starting a thread on RC. I’ve been keeping freshwater fish for over a decade and currently have a 75 gallon planted tank that’s been running great for the past several years. So after reading some articles about reefkeeping a year or so ago, I thought starting a reef tank would be a very enjoyable (and addicting from the sound of it) challenge.

For awhile now, I’ve been reading posts and books. (Thanks Mike for letting me borrow your Corals book.) I really enjoyed meeting some of you in the club at the past couple meetings at Mike’s and Tom’s homes, and I’ve already gleaned some great info from the group. So thanks for all the friendliness and helpful attitudes.

Anyway, I’m getting ready to start an SPS reef tank. For the past few months I’ve been collecting parts for the system. The stand is in the works and hopefully I’ll have it finished in the next couple weeks. (Summer is always a busy time for me, so that’s a best guess.) The tank I have for it is a 180 gallon with 2 built in overflows. I’ve got a sump, skimmer, and pump ready to go. So now I just need to get the plumbing planned out, and I’m looking for any advice or opinions you might have before I start buying PVC and fittings and tubing etc. If you were starting all over again from scratch, what do you wish somebody had told you?

Also, I’m hopeful that things will be up and running soon enough that I’d like to start curing some live rock soon. Does anybody have good connections for that? Is there a local source that's best, or would it be better to get it shipped in. I haven’t had a chance to visit any of the Chicago area stores that I’ve heard of through the group. I definitely want to check out Dark Lord Corals at our next meeting. I did go meet Rod at Rod's Reef and picked his brain for lots of information. He was very helpful. If going in on a group order somewhere would be a possibility, that would be cool. But I'd be glad to hear any good ideas that people have.

Thanks again everybody!

By the way, all my friends call me Bullfrog.

 

[BenjieC]

Wow that's not an easy question to answer. It would take alot of typing to say how I would set up a 180. Can we get a little more specific information on your set up.

 

[awesomefrog]

I know what you mean. I thought about trying to make the questions more specific, but I figured that would be pretty wordy too. But here are some better specs on what I have already:

The tank is an AGA with dual Megaflows with the standard kits that come with those. (the drain bulkheads are MPT that morph into 1.25" barb fittings and the return bulkheads are MPT that morph into .75" barb fittings). My Sump is a 40 breeder with dividers for a skimmer and fuge area. It has two 1.25" bulkheads for the tank to drain into it and one 1.25" bulkheads for the external pump. The in and out ports on the pump are both 1" MPT. My pump is pressure rated, and is supposed to be able to push 1740 gph max flow at 0 head. (The skimmer is an in sump kind, so it doesn't need any plumbing.) I'd like to have a few lines tee off from the return line--one to feed back into the sump, one to possibly go to a chiller, and maybe one extra for future equipment.

So what I'm trying to figure out is what should be plumbed with PVC or vinyl tube or that pool type tubing, what kind of unions and valves to add into the mix, how can I keep it cheap but not skimp on value, etc. Also, this will all have to fit under the stand, so I'd like to keep it neat and clean.

Hopefully that helps with trying to figure out where to start.

 

[awesomefrog]

Just in case anybody else gets into the same question...I decided to go with PVC for most of it. I'm connecting the PVC piping to the Megaflows with soft tubing. I'm also running soft tubing to the chiller--just because it's easier. But everything else is 1.25" PVC.

 

[cp3823]

make sure you take alot of pics

 

[awesomefrog]

Will do. I just have to learn how to post them. Is there a picture tutorial on Reefcentral.