Hi Jonathan,
I had a couple quick question on your plumbing since it's been about 6 months...How do you like the setup of the manifold and it's location on the return line? I am planning my plumbing and I like the simplicity of your manifold. Anything you would change?
I think the manifold has worked as it should and I have been more than happy with it. I really like how easy it is to just connect a reactor without the use of additional pumps. I'm glad I don't have to use a Maxijet to power my reactors because those things are loud! I have one circulating my pre-made saltwater in the garage and I can hear the vibrations every time I open the garage. If I could do it over, I would use threaded gate valves for each manifold outlet. I realized that because I used slip gate valves, I can't change out to a different reactor without replacing the whole manifold. I wanted to upgrade my BRS reactors to the vertex but my manifold is pretty much permanent. Also, I would add unions on each end of the manifold to easily remove it.
Also, I had a question about using all rigid PVC. Would you do it again? I like the clean look but wonder about vibration noise from the pumps and the ease of moving things around in the stand.
It definitely does look cleaner. But in my setup, my sump is pretty much stuck at where I place it. I can't move it to another spot in my stand without redoing my drains. Vibrations aren't bad with rigid pipes because my skimmer and pumps in the display make more noise. I can definitely hear the vibrations with my head underneath the stand but with the skins attached, I barely notice it. Again, if I could do it over, I would probably use about 6 inches of flex pvc that directly connects to the return pump. All else would still be rigid.
I'm thinking of going all SCH 80 but I have to admit that I love the red painted PVC! It just POPS with the red SCH 80 Valves and the red skimmer which I also have!!!
All SCH 80 plumbing would look awesome! But to be honest, using all SCH 80 pipes is unnecessary. A home aquarium does not have enough pressure to need it. SCH 40 pipes are more than enough for our hobby. I went with SCH 80 valves because I've always felt that they tend to turn/twist better. I've used SCH 40 valves in the past and over time, it gets stuck and hard to turn.
I really hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions or if I left out any details.
