Reefer 350 Hard Plumbing

[RaymondsWorlddd]

Hi all,

I have a Red Sea Reefer 350 coming and I’m trying to get an idea of hard plumbing the tank with a manifold. I’ve sketched out an idea, nothing is to scale and my idea may not even fit. I’m wanting a manifold with three outlets for a UV sterilizer, a reactor, and an algae scrubber. I’ve neverplumbed before so any advice is appreciated.
The red pieces are the reducers. Circle/square are gate valves. I forgot to add a ball valve before the manifold. The UV fits a 3/4”, reactor and scrubber are 1/2”. The VarioS 6 or 8 are 1 1/4”. Which pump would be best too?

 

[R.Weller]

I have never used a manifold, so while I cannot help you there, I have done a decent amount of hard plumbing on my own system, & there are some things that I think are worth sharing. First, it's great that you have a draft plan. All of my builds have been DIY, so much will depend on what you get out of the Box from Red Sea. A good pair of PVC cutters are essential. As PVC is cheap, it's good to practice ahead of your actual build. After measuring & cutting, dry fit all the pieces together & use a sharpy to mark on both the fittings & the piping a small line so you can see the alignment when you are gluing. Using a purple primer & clear glue, you can visually inspect as you make progress to know which pieces have been glued & which remain to be glued. The cement will bond quickly, & you will need to apply pressure for 15-20 sec as the pipe/fitting will tend to push out when gluing.

For pumps, you have plenty to select from. Whatever brand you select, I would buy two so you have a replacement on hand in the event that the return pump fails. With all the life support in the sump, the display will not last long without that circulation.

Enjoy the new system.

 

[RaymondsWorlddd]

All very good tips! Thank you for that!
Other questions I have..I’m thinking schedule 40 is good enough? Or should I go for schedule 80?
And are my pipe sizes okay? 1” for the return with the manifold being 3/4”. I’m planning for the drains to be 1”. Does that all sound good?

 

[R.Weller]

S40 is great & you should not have any issue with 1" drains. I'm using dual 1" returns on a 300 gal display that come over the top & are hidden by the canopy. In our system, the dual corner overflows have holes drilled for 1" & 1 1/2" bulkheads, both of which I'm using for drains in a configuration known as 'herbie' style. When your system arrives, I expect it will already have the plumbing for the drains & returns. I don't have experience with the Red Sea kits, but I expect it's everything you need for reefkeeping.