New tank plumbing!

[justanotherfishhead]

I'm upgrading to a 125 and hopefully getting the tank delivered in about a week. :mrgreen: My current tank has no sump so I have zero experience with this. The new tank has built in overflows (two). I already have the 45 gal sump/refugium in the stand (it's a pre-built one with the bulkheads and everything in place already). I've been reading about how to set up the plumbing and I'm getting kinda nervous.

I ordered this tank from fishtanksdirect.com and John the owner makes it sound so easy, like you just go to Home Depot, get the pipes/tubing that fit, connect two pipes from the overflows down to the sump, then connect a pipe to the return pump, split into two pipes going back into the tank. I read about testing for the correct water level in the sump and don't overfill that that in case of power outage. Is it really that easy? My bf will help me with it, he's pretty handy but doesn't have a ton of plumbing experience. When I told my LFS guy about it he said "be careful, that's a lot of water!" which has me a little worried.

Opinions on which is better/easier to use - PVC or the flexible tubing?

 

[bjohanson1234]

PVC is cheaper. But requires more skill to install.

Flex tubing is easier to install.

And yes it is that easy.

Here is how you make sure you sump doesn't flood if there is a power outage.

1) Fill tank up until it starts to over flow into the sump
2) Fill sump up to about 1 inch from the top
3) Turn on the return pump
4) Let it run for a few hours to get the sir out of the plumbing
5) Mark the sump where the water line is
6) Keep the water level in the sump at that level and no worries about flooding from a power outage.

Can't guarantee about flooding due to clogged overflows, but you can add a float switch to turn off the pump it starts to go faster than the drain from the main tank.

 

[justanotherfishhead]

Also I was wondering how can you take apart the pipes if you need to for a clog or something? Once tank is full and you can't get behind it? I was going to leave just a few inches between the pipes and the wall, since I don't really have more room or it will block a doorway.

 

[bjohanson1234]

You can use valves and parts called unions. This allows you to take apart the plumbing if needed.

 

[bjohanson1234]

Usually overflows clog because a snail crawled in it or stuff is clogging the screens. Not usually because of stuff actually clogging the pipes.

 

[Bifferwine]

I would advise to go with the rigid PVC instead of flexible vinyl tubing. In my experience, PVC is easier to work with. And it's soooo much cheaper. If you are like me, it takes me three or four times of trying something "handy" before I get it right. :) That's a lot of wasted vinyl tubing, and that stuff isn't cheap! PVC is very cheap and easy to use.

 

[justanotherfishhead]

I would advise to go with the rigid PVC instead of flexible vinyl tubing. In my experience, PVC is easier to work with. And it's soooo much cheaper. If you are like me, it takes me three or four times of trying something "handy" before I get it right. :) That's a lot of wasted vinyl tubing, and that stuff isn't cheap! PVC is very cheap and easy to use.

That's interesting, I would have thought that flexible tubing was easier because you don't have to worry about getting the angles right. I would think as long as you don't cut the tubing too short, you can always cut shorter and wouldn't waste much? But with flexible tubing you have to use the clamps instead of screwing it together which sounds more prone to leaks to me.

I'm not worried about the price, I just want to go with whatever is more fool-proof and less likely to leak.