plumbing idiot

toddpolish

toddpolish

Member
planning on doing a Rubbermaid Sump and refugium. My question is what materials I need to cut and then seal the holes. I have no idea how to do this stuff cause I've never done it. Can anyone walk me through it, please?
thx
 
benihuma

benihuma

Member
You'll need bulkheads, and the size is up to you. On the ones I purchased it stated exactly what size hole to drill. You can pick up inserts for your cordless drill at any hardware store.
ben
 
benihuma

benihuma

Member
Also, if you are going to use pvc piping instead of flexible tubing, I prefer using slip connections instead of threaded connections. In my experience the threaded connections weren't as secure and were more prone to leaking. With the slip connections, you use pvc cement to fuse the two pieces together, therefore no leaks and the strongest bond possible. Good luck on the construction. I hope you live close to a home depot, lowes, or other hardware store. Trust me, no matter how well you plan it out, you'll make at least 4 trips.
ben
 
toddpolish

toddpolish

Member
yup, Home Depot 3 miles away. very sweet.
I bought the pvc primer and cement already
so you have to cement the pvc to the bulkhead? what happens if you need to switch things around down the road? do you just have to cut the pvc...and start over?
 
benihuma

benihuma

Member
Remember, these are only my opinions, which will differ from others on this board. You can use threaded bulkheads if you like, but I personally used slip bulkheads and cemented them to the pvc. If I ever want to change the setup I will have to either do some pvc cutting or simply purchase a new bulkhead fitting. I also used a lot of unions is my setup, which are the only form of threaded attachments that I fully trust. I haven't had a union leak on me yet. If you have any more questions let me know.
ben
 
scotts

scotts

Active Member
I second Ben, use unions. Or even union ball valves, if ya got the money. Having been in the maintenance field I can tell you you can never have enough valves. Well yes you can, but you get the point.
Scott
 
P

pirate_bob

Guest
yes you could use a ball valve but save your money and drill a hole on the pvc right at the water line where it is just covered up.... when power goes out yes you will have alittle less than a gallon syphon back in but that whole will break the syphon when the water drops below it and it sucks in air.....
Just my opinion but it saves you a couple of bucks in the long run.. just make sure your sump can handle an extra gallon and your fine you'll never have to wurry about it.
 
marinerock

marinerock

Member
HEY TODD....
YOU CAN ALSO USE A THREADED BULKHEAD TO ATTACH
TO THE RUBBERMAID CONTAINER WITH A SLIP END
AND ATTACH THE FIRST PIECE OF PVC WITH SILICONE
INSTEAD OF PVC GLUE AND THAT WAY IF YOU NEED
TO REMOVE IT FOR ANY REASON,YOU CAN....
IT WILL STILL BE LEAKPROOF IF YOU PUT A GOOD AMOUNT
OF SILICONE ON THE SLIP END....BUT ALL THE PIECES
OF PVC AFTER THAT ONE SHOULD BE PVC GLUED....
YOU COULD ALSO WRAP SOME ELECTRICAL TAPE ON THE
FIRST PIECE OF PVC AND THEN ONTO THE BULKHEAD JUST
TO GIVE IT A LITTLE MORE INSURANCE THAT IT WILL NOT
SEPARATE OR LEAK...
I NEVER HAD A PROBLEM AND THAT IS THE WAY I PLUMBED
MY OVERFLOWS ON MY 125....
REGARDS...
MARINEROCK
 
toddpolish

toddpolish

Member
why is it that I went to 2 Home Depot's, a Loew's and a Sears Hardware store and none of them have the bulkhead fittings that I need. A couple of them sent me in the aisle direction of bulkheads for a House....they had no clue.
Guess I'll buy the bulkheads online...I know where I can get em...
So, I sketched out my PVC plan this weekend and started with the hardware...will post a pic shortly...
 
toddpolish

toddpolish

Member
...so, on my reef ready tank, I got the slip bulkheads that came with it...but...now...should I cement the pvc directly to the bulkhead or silicone it??? hmmm????
 
toddpolish

toddpolish

Member
My 3/4" return can handle 500 gph, so I figure the T's and the length of the piping will cut down on the Mag 9 (950gph) to about that....
I dunno....
 
marinerock

marinerock

Member
HEY TODD....
DO NOT CEMENT THE BULKHEADS AND
DO NOT CEMENT THE FIRST PIECE OF PVC TO THE
BULKHEAD...ALSO, ONLY HAND TIGHEN THE BULKHEADS
CAUSE IF YOU TIGHEN TOO MUCH YOU WILL SQUASH
THE RUBBER GASKET AND YOU WILL GET A LEAK...
IF YOU CEMENT BULKHEAD OR FIRST PIECE OF PVC
YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO REMOVE IT
READ MY ABOVE POST FOR A SUGGESTION...
REGARDS...
MARINEROCK
 
toddpolish

toddpolish

Member
ok, great. just the info I needed.
I bought the aquarium-silicone.
so you advize that the first piece of pvc to the bulkhead, use silicone?
 
marinerock

marinerock

Member
HEY TODD....
YES, THAT IS MY SUGGESTION...
LIKE I SAID IN THE ABOVE POST...AFTER YOU SILICONE
THE FIRST PIECE OF THE PVC...WAIT A FEW HOURS UNTIL
IT DRIES AND THEN JUST WRAP SOME BLACK
ELECTRICAL TAPE ON THE PVC PIPE THEN TO THE
BULKHEAD FITTING TIGHTLY AS TO LIKE JOIN THE TWO
PIECES FOR EXTRA INSURANCE SO THEY WONT
SEPARATE....
ON ONE OF MY BULKHEADS I ONLY USED THE SILICONE AND
NEVER A PROBLEM...YOU DONT NEED IT BUT IF IT
MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER THEN JUST WRAP THE TAPE A FEW
TIMES TO HOLD IT TOGETHER BETTER
REGARDS...
MARINEROCK
 
toddpolish

toddpolish

Member
should I just Silicone glue the Flexi Tube to the ball valve or is it possible to PVC cement the flexi tubes? which is better?
 
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