• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

Please help with plumbing

J

JerseyWendy

Hi everyone,

Before I ask my questions, I'd like to let you know that 2 months ago I had no idea what a "Durso" was, nor what Bulkhead was. :-[

Even though I'm far from adding water to my future tank, I've begun thinking about the plumbing issues.

My tank is a 75 AGA RR (corner overflow), and I would like to build a Durso pipe and a spraybar for return. If I'm not mistaken, I have to use the bigger hole for the overflow and the smaller one for the return. (Oh, I will also modify the overflow slots with a Dremel bit, in hopes of improving flow.)

What size bulkhead do I need for both holes? I've never measured the actual holes on the bottom of the tank, and can't do it right now because it's still nicely tucked away in the garage. Is "bulkhead" something I will be able to purchase at either Home Depot, Lowe's, or Sears Hardware, or is it something I need to special order? I'm familiar with the Durso Webpage, but don't understand a few things. He recommends using an 1 1/4" standpipe (that would be the actual PVC pipe, right), and 1" bulkhead. ??? ??? ???

Are there any places that sell the entire Kit-and-Kaboodle? (<-- That would be awesome because this plumbing thing seems to make my head wanting to explode right now. :-[) I haven't read good things about the AG overflow kit, so I'd prefer not to buy that one.

Thank you all in advance.

---
Wendy
 
JohnS_323

JohnS_323

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I don't really know a whole lot about Durso's, so someone else will have to reply to that. As far as bulkheads, they are pretty much special order. I've never seen then at Depot or Lowes. Some LFS's carry them but they typically have a limited variety of sizes. I know Aquatic Obsessions in Avenel started carrying them but I'm not sure what they have in stock. I normally get them from Premium Aquatics when I need them. Unfortunately, you have to pay shipping that way.

I'm pretty sure my overflow box uses 3/4" bulkheads for the return and 1" bulkheads for the drain. You could probably step up from the 1" bulkhead to 1 1/4" for the stand pipe, but like I said, that's not my strong suit.
 
C

concept3

Guest
here is the "stockman" stand pipe where I borrowed most of the ideas from, but created a little twist of my own:

http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpipe/standpipe-ken_stockman.htm


Here's my stockman version of the standpipe
pipe6.jpg


you can see more of the process here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=535632&perpage=25&pagenumber=19
 
J

JerseyWendy

Thank you both for the quick replies. :)

I am putting together a shopping list for the doctors, and noticed they sell bulkheads. :) Would it be safe to assume that if I bought 1" (for the drain) and 3/4" for the return, that they would fit into my holes?

Also, do I need a valve for my return pump? If so, what type? (I have the Quiet One 4000 return pump).

---
Wendy
 
C

concept3

Guest
a valve helps, but you can find them (or something similar) at your local hardware store. I like using PVC hard pipe, they make their own versions of valves, couplers, etc

the 75 AGA RR is 1 inch and 3/4. they will work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top