Soft or Hard Plumbing?

B

Bryan3536

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I am plumbing a 180g tank to a 75g sump. I am going to have two S1 vectra pumps for my returns, located outside sump (putting bulkheads in). I don't want noise by I do want longevity/reliability. Where would you hard plumb with pvc versus using softer tubes? Was thinking pvc for drain, and tube on the return side to try to minimize pump noise etc. right move?


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Can't they both work? Then again they both can break/fail too though... Definitely do the research and see what people have to say before the water starts running. (odds) It's kind of like Roulette... You just have to pick a number. GL.
 
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I did silicone tubing from return to manifold. Its works very nice, its not cheap but you dont need much.
 
I use regular PVC for everything except a couple of ~12" pieces of vinyl (or silicone) tubing between the pump(s) and the pvc or bulkheads to minimize vibrations. IME, soft tubing has the potential to kink, reducing flow. It will also grow algae on the inside if it is exposed to any lighting, further reducing flow. Another big plus to PVC is that you minimize (or eliminate) the need for barbed fittings which greatly reduce flow. That can be overcome by using oversized fittings but that can become rather cumbersome.
 
billdogg said:
I use regular PVC for everything except a couple of ~12" pieces of vinyl (or silicone) tubing between the pump(s) and the pvc or bulkheads to minimize vibrations. IME, soft tubing has the potential to kink, reducing flow. It will also grow algae on the inside if it is exposed to any lighting, further reducing flow. Another big plus to PVC is that you minimize (or eliminate) the need for barbed fittings which greatly reduce flow. That can be overcome by using oversized fittings but that can become rather cumbersome.
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+1 in the vibrations.

I tried to go fancy and used red PVC for everything I could in my Red See 350 to shortly after remove the return and go back to the flexible tubing that comes with the set. Noise was not laud but steady and incredibly annoying. No big deal, 9/10 people enjoy more looking at my tank that at its underwear.
 
I personally use PVC for everything except feeding reactors. Figure those are the only things that will potentially change due to proper planning of the PVC plumbing. The key is that I plumbed a manifold for system expansion so no need to mess with the PVC again.
 
Vectra is a very quiet pump. I'd be surprised if you have any vibrations problems. I've switched completely over to ultra flex PVC for both drains and returns. Avoids the inconvenience of elbows and barb fittings. Vectra is pressure-impaired, so anything you can do to reduce friction losses would be helpful.
 
I went with all hard plumbing, partly out of necessity - I tried to drill the sump, which the manufacturers website said was not tempered, and guess what? Removed my baffles and went right out and redid the sump, but I wasn't about to risk it again. Pumps went inside the sump and I hard plumbed the returns with lots of unions. Noise is negligible and cannot be heard at all from viewing room. Very happy with pumps. Tank manufacturer, not so much.


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Bryan3536 said:
I went with all hard plumbing, partly out of necessity - I tried to drill the sump, which the manufacturers website said was not tempered, and guess what? Removed my baffles and went right out and redid the sump, but I wasn't about to risk it again. Pumps went inside the sump and I hard plumbed the returns with lots of unions. Noise is negligible and cannot be heard at all from viewing room. Very happy with pumps. Tank manufacturer, not so much.


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Click to expand...



This is exactly why I am nervous about drilling a tank.


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Reef noob_ said:
This is exactly why I am nervous about drilling a tank.


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I blame myself a bit. For my 180g DT (which I also drilled) I did the polarized sunglasses test and called the manufacturer before drilling. For the sump, I looked at the tank manufacturer's table and drilled away. Shame on them, but I should have confirmed with sunglasses.


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Hard plumbing always looks better, but I prefer spaflex and or braided hose myself, usually less unions/elbows needed and the sweeping lines are usually quieter.
 
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