Back plumbing - Stress on glass?

[Armando]

Nate, instead of an elbow, how about using an union, if space permits, or a simple "dummy coupling fitting"? These things would create a "bulge" that would allow the pipe to be "anchored" into the bracket. Good idea?

 

[Yaktop]

nice pics. quite the maze. what brand of ball valves does everyone recommend? and, if you dont mind, are you picking up your spaflex. I gotta get busy soon.

 

[Piscevore]

those true union ball valves are from savko.com, where we are all also getting our spaflex. When are you ordering? I want more Also, if you ask, they'll sell you black or white. I would go for 30 feet of black if you are ordering anytime soon...

 

[Scuba_Dave]

I'm a little curious as to why people buy/prefer true unions? I buy ball valves & unions separate for about 1/2 the price at HD. Plus I leave enough spare between them that if either fails I can easily cut it out & put a new one in.
Just wondering......

 

[Armando]

probably because they use less space and it's less cut-and-glueing

 

[Scuba_Dave]

I like the smell of the drying glue!!

 

[Armando]

yeah but cutting pipes is a pain

 

[dedfish]

Less space mostly. Smoother action too. Those HD ones are tough to turn. A ball valve and union from HD probably cost $8-$10 total, the svako true unions are only like $2-$4 more.

 

[Armando]

yes. someone said on the other forum that the savko valves turn like butter. the ones from HD you need to step on them and use two hands

 

[dedfish]

Yes the action on the svako ones is very smooth. No effort required and that means less chance of accidently putting undue stress on the plumbing.

 

[nunofs]

Another advantage of a true union ball-valve is that it can be disconnected from either side of the valve... depending on where a plumbing failure happens, this can come in handy... to replicate that, you'd need to buy a ball valve and two unions, one for each side, adding to the cost.

Nuno

 

[Piscevore]

I like the true unions because there is less gluing or threading required, one less part. And they are very smooth ball valves.

 

[Matt L.]

True Union versus Threaded Ball Valves

S-Dave,

First, ditch the HD ball valves on your new system -- go with these higher quality ball valves from Aquatic Ecosystems. There is no comparison in quality and they are worth the extra price. There is none of that sticking or difficulty in turning the handle.

Second, a true union ball valve is often redundant. Valve replacement is rare, and if you go with a threaded ball valve (with MPT threaded fittings on either end) and place a union somewhere in the line near the suction or discharge, chances are you would be able to dissassemble the line to get at the valve and replace it if necessary. You must of course place threaded fittings, and/or other unions in the line to permit disassembly.

Matt

 

[dedfish]

I'm sure those are great valves but they are more expensive than the a true union from svako. More options at a lesser price.

 

[Matt L.]

I'm sure those are great valves but they are more expensive than the a true union from svako....

Yes, the same manufacturer (I believe) of the high quality ball valves that I recommend also makes a true union style, although the true union is more expensive.

For a given quality, true union would be more expensive, and I personally am a bit hesitant from my engineering past to employ more unions than necessary as they can be a source for leakage.

I am not sure how the quality of these valves compares to Svako.

All I know is that compared to a HD ball valve, the ball valves that I use are much nicer and worth the few extra $. Be sure to check out all the interesting valves sold by Aquatic Ecosystems. In the end, though, True Union or Threaded, you should be just fine for a given quality.

Matt

 

[~Flighty~]

yes. someone said on the other forum that the savko valves turn like butter. the ones from HD you need to step on them and use two hands

Don't get easy turnable ones if you have kids. Evan goes under the tank and plays "tune off da fishy wader" Thank goodness we got the hd ones that he can't move .

 

[dedfish]

Matt, you make very good points about the engineering aspect and adding more complexity and more places for leaks to come from. I hadn't quite looked at it from that perspective before.

We definetaly agree on the fact that the HD valves and unions are garbage though.

 

[nunofs]

Don't get easy turnable ones if you have kids. Evan goes under the tank and plays "tune off da fishy wader" Thank goodness we got the hd ones that he can't move .

Best solution to that is locking the stand or somehow blocking access... the exact reason why I installed locks on the doors of my stand. I trust my son to not touch anything fish-related, but kids will be kids so better safe than sorry.

Nuno

 

[~Flighty~]

A locking cabnet doesn't help if the valves are on the back of the tank. All of the pics here would be accessable to kids.

 

[nunofs]

Cindy: true, but you said "under the tank"... but there are solutions to the "behind the tank" issue as well, the one I'm going to use (it's planned, just haven't had the time to do it yet) consists of "extending" the stand towards the wall (with matching-color wood panels) so that a child can't reach anything back there. If you make those panels removable (by an adult) or hinged, the back will still be easily serviced.

Btw, I think this is a relevant issue not only for the safety of the children but, since we're talking about stress on the back glass, also for the safety of the tank itself (I don't want to think what a child hanging on to the closed-loop piping could do).

Nuno