Ever have one of those days?

[fishgate]

I measured for my over the top return for my 125g tank. Cut the pipe, got the elbows, got the loc-line adapters, then proceeded to glue them on backwards! Argh... oh well, 5 fittings and some pipe in the garbage. Worst part is I need to make trip 6 back to Home Depot.

Ever have one of those days?

[sleepydoc]

Sounds like most plumbing projects I do! Thank God PVC is cheap!

[LXXero]

i always buy like, 3-4 of everything, when the fittings are like $1-2 a piece, it's just worth it to not have to make so many trips

but yeah, this might also be a case to pre-fit and mark all the fittings. Just draw a line across where they're supposed to be joining so you know which way to put them back together when gluing....

heh, it could be worse though. my buddy just had the bottom blow out on his 75G tank, now that's a bad day.

[Edz2891]

I swear I thought I was the only person that went to the hardware store 6 times for each project I do!

[itz frank]

I swear I thought I was the only person that went to the hardware store 6 times for each project I do!

You should see me try to fix my broken sprinkler pipes.

[fishgate]

Last night I finally completed the return but I almost did it backwards AGAIN! I think the issue was my back was to the tank so I was looking at it reversed from how it would go. I should have just turned around to face the tank and all would have been clear. But it is done and works great!

[sleepydoc]

:beer:

[jpatton]

I keep a stack of spare PVC pieces. I made some PVC overflows for a couple QT tanks and glued them wrong a time or two or three. I just blame the kids for being a distraction while I was trying to put them together.

[TheFishGuy31]

PVC mistakes make good hiding places in a QT tank.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fredfish]

I swear I thought I was the only person that went to the hardware store 6 times for each project I do!
The first time you DIY something you have not done before, it will cost too much and take even more time.

[Fredfish]

Last night I finally completed the return but I almost did it backwards AGAIN! I think the issue was my back was to the tank so I was looking at it reversed from how it would go. I should have just turned around to face the tank and all would have been clear. But it is done and works great!
Mark your parts when you dry fit them and, yes, turn around and compare with the location the part is going into before gluing. :)

[LXXero]

PVC is like my new adult version of legos. I feel like i can't ever have too many spare pieces laying around, lol.

I actually spilled out a bunch of media into my sump one time. I built a custom vacuum out of spare PVC parts laying around to actually capture the media. It was basically 1" pvc reduced down to 1/2" on both ends, with a mesh screen on the one end. All the media would get trapped in the 1" pipe and then i could just pull it apart and dump the media out....never woulda been possible if not for my big 'ol 5 gal bucket full of PVC fittings, lol.

[rocsec1]

I've got a 5 gallon bucket of spare fittings because I belong to the school of thought that says get an extra so you can avoid the trip back to HD when I make a mistake, problem is I also belong to the school of thought that forgets to take them back. Oh well sooner or later I will use them for something

[LXXero]

I've got a 5 gallon bucket of spare fittings because I belong to the school of thought that says get an extra so you can avoid the trip back to HD when I make a mistake, problem is I also belong to the school of thought that forgets to take them back. Oh well sooner or later I will use them for something

lolol yes i never take them back. well, they're just too cheap to care. i just spent $60 on some bulbs i don't like for my bathroom, yeah, those are going back....but spare pvc? naw, i could USE that! lol.

my biggest problem is using too much glue and ruining parts from that. Like, dripping glue into threads, or into unions. I've gotten used to stuffing towels and etc, into fittings before i glue them so i don't make a mess. Maybe i should just use less glue huh? lol.

[BlackTip]

People in HD got to know me very well, when I was building my tank. They even know my name...lol

[fishgate]

Ha ha! So the entire thing I made is going in the trash. My gf does not like seeing the return pipe along the back of the tank so I have been ordered to redesign it. Instead, I'll run the pipe along the front of the tank about 6" above it (it is inwall so you wouldn't see it) and then have the loc-lines facing towards the back of the tank just barely in the water.

There are 3 studs just above the tank that I can connect it to. The REAL funny thing is I ran the local Home Depot out of 1slipx1slipx3/4threaded fittings with the 8 that I bought. They had just 2 left. Instead I opted for a 1x1x1 (slip) and will use a short length of 1" PVC to connect to a 1slipx3/4threaded adapter for the loc-line. I'll post up pics when it is done. GRRRRRRR!

[LXXero]

did you not put a background on the tank?

before background:
http://www.xero.cc/fish/120_returns.jpg

after background (ignore the eggcrate and rock, lol):
http://www.xero.cc/fish/rock.jpg

black felt + velcro. that's all it is. I just cut a big hole around the overflow. It's very hard to tell that it's even fabric at all once installed. Tied it to a rope and pulled it across the back, was a royal pain but the results speak for themselves.

[fishgate]

2 feet plus of 1" PVC was in the water in the top of the back of the tank due to how I designed it to hang over the tank plastic edge. I thought of painting it black but it was still very visible.

[LXXero]

ah okay! yeah no choice but to redo it then if the GF won't allow it...

[davehead86]

did you not put a background on the tank?

before background:
http://www.xero.cc/fish/120_returns.jpg

after background (ignore the eggcrate and rock, lol):
http://www.xero.cc/fish/rock.jpg

black felt + velcro. that's all it is. I just cut a big hole around the overflow. It's very hard to tell that it's even fabric at all once installed. Tied it to a rope and pulled it across the back, was a royal pain but the results speak for themselves.

When you have it this way (the return lock lines) will the top line break the siphon on the bottom line so that much water isnt sucked up? Id like to have my return like that too but dont have that much extra room in the sump.

[BigDave]

You mean like this?

http://reefcdn.wallings.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/0814160809-1024x576.jpg

I try to buy spares too, but the unions and ball valves for 2" pipe gets quite expensive to do that. A few weeks ago I took back over $100 worth of spares and extras that I bought prior to doing the plumbing on the new tank. It was like winning the Lowe's Lotto.

[fishgate]

When you have it this way (the return lock lines) will the top line break the siphon on the bottom line so that much water isnt sucked up? Id like to have my return like that too but dont have that much extra room in the sump.

Generally, yes, it will. On the setup shown, it should be fine. Usually any air break in the chain will stop the siphon anywhere past the break.

[LXXero]

When you have it this way (the return lock lines) will the top line break the siphon on the bottom line so that much water isnt sucked up? Id like to have my return like that too but dont have that much extra room in the sump.

haha, good question! it actually did used to have trouble with this. So basically, it would want to drain to the Y, and not the top of the nozzles. It would keep the siphon going for longer than you'd want, but it would stop eventually. Usually after my sump is flooding, though, haha.

I have a three-fold fix to this.

I drilled vacuum break holes, plus have a check valve, plus i am buying locline 90 to help get the lines to sit more "horizontal". That last bit, the 90s, i decided after doing similar on my 60 cube and was debating how to make it better. So basically after the loc-line 90 the locline will come out in such a way to make it much, much easier to break the siphon without drilling a vacuum breaker hole. I still suggest putting a hole anyway. You can't be "too safe"

[LXXero]

You mean like this?

I try to buy spares too, but the unions and ball valves for 2" pipe gets quite expensive to do that. A few weeks ago I took back over $100 worth of spares and extras that I bought prior to doing the plumbing on the new tank. It was like winning the Lowe's Lotto.

LOL. Have a story about this from gluing up the 60cube plumbing the other day.

So i did union + 45. And the spinny threaded ring part was like, able to fit over the 45, right? So I wanted to do another one that way, and i leave off the spinny ring part thinking oh, i'll stick it over the top afterwards since that worked so well on the other one.

Yeah. The 45 was a different brand. The ring wouldn't fit over top anymore. Didn't realize it til after I glued it. Oooops.