The basics of plumbing your aquarium
If you have any desire to venture out into the fascinating world of sonar fish and goodies and saltwater reef aquariums, you are going to tackle the basics of plumbing your aquarium. For many invertebrates you work in a reef aquarium, water needs to flow uninterruptedly through the setup. This water circulation is important for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, as well as the removal of waste products produced by living corals and other animals that may be present in your aquarium.
Flexible lines and PVC
When considering the plumbing of your aquarium, you have the option of setting up your system with a flexible line or PVC piping. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
The flexible line contains rubber tubing, which can be bent into the configuration much more easily than the hard plastic of PVC piping. This makes it convenient for small aquarium setups, where you don't have much space to implement the plumbing detail. This ability to bend as you go makes flexible pipes easier and faster to install than PVC piping and makes it easier to replace the pipe if your aquarium system suddenly leaks. To connect the pipe to your plumbing system, you need to buy clamps the same size as the tube.
On the flip side, the flexibility of the pipes makes it more responsive to knots which can limit the flow of water in your aquarium. This forces the return pump to work harder, thus shortening the life of the piece of equipment. Another disadvantage is that the most flexible line is transparent, which can create problems of organic development inside the tube if it is exposed to light for a very long time.
In larger tanks and situations where high pressure is part of the system, PVC pipe is the best choice. PVC is made of hard plastic, which does not give knots and is very unlikely to break. It comes in a variety of sizes, you can buy straight fittings, 45-degree elbows and 90-degree elbows and create a system that can be set up from one drain to the whole setup that includes multiple aquariums connected by plumbing together. Adding more plumbing to your system is a simple process with PVC pipe parts. Also, the PVC pipe is opaque, so you can avoid algae growth in your system.
One disadvantage of plumbing systems based on PVC piping is that the parts are usually glued together. If you do not build the system with a few threaded connections screwed together, you will need to isolate the piping whenever you create a problem with your plumbing. Another disadvantage of PVC pipes is its stiffness. Sometimes the plumbing takes more than flexible tubing, which can embrace the aquarium and get out of the way.
Other plumbing pieces
In addition to the pipes and connectors, you need a few more pieces for aquarium plumbing work. For example, a good ball valve allows you to control the flow of water or temporarily shut off the water. A ball valve opens and closes through the swingarm, which removes the semicircular shaped plastic material inside the valve, increasing or decreasing the amount of fluid that can pass through the valve hole. No PVC ball valve is operated without the use of an O-ring or washer, so it is less likely to wear.
Another simple piece when you are doing your own plumbing is known as union connection. Also referred to as the union valve, it has three sections: the female and male ends, and a large-sized nut that connects the two ends together. Hands are tightened instead of glue at the union connection place. Even better, this attachment gives you easy access to the plumbing parts of your aquarium that need maintenance or cleaning such as the inline heater and the space between the outlet of the chiller, furnace, UV sterilizer and return pump and the remaining plumbing.
Bulkhead slips are one of the necessary tools after drilling a hole in the wall of your aquarium to install more plumbing because it transforms a hole in the glass into a place where you can connect the plumbing with glass. The bulkhead slip consists of two pieces of plastic that are pressed together from each side of the glass. The gaskets in the union prevent the system from leaking. You can choose between three versions of bulkhead slips: slip from the thread, slip thread and slip to slip.
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