# PLUMBING DIY, and fun projects!



## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Ok so after winning the last DIY competition i was told to do a plumbing write up... so here goes nothing!!

First off, with any plumbing project (manifold, drains, returns, etc...) its a really GOOD idea to draw a diagram of what you want to achieve... even a simple sketch makes it easy to count your plumbing parts, and take a list to the store instead of "trying to imagine" it standing in the plumbing isle... Once you can see it on paper you can also work out the kinks, before you get into the middle of your project. When making a manifold, It also helps to measure the area you can fill, and mark it out on a piece of spare cardboard to make sure you dont go outside your designated area.










Once you have your drawing, count your plumbing parts and make a list. Count the 90s (or 2 45s if you have room) 45s, Ts, Reducers (bell or slip?) Ball Valves (or gate valves), atleast one back-flow preventer, and any threaded fittings you may need to attach your pump, and a TRUE UNION in case you need to remove your pump for cleaning, replacement or repair!

GO TO the store, Lowes Home depot wherever.... and get all your parts on the list! It never hurts to get a few extras, because returning them is possible if you never glue or prime them, and it sucks to be right in the middle and run out of 90s.... get one extra of everything you need to make things easier! (and a SPARKS!)










*MANIFOLD*

Now, as you can see, a simple way to make a manifold is using a T and daisy chaining them together with a small piece of pipe...You should find a slip reducer to fit after the T, where you attach the ball valve. Feeding 6 or 7 lines is high demand, so i used 1" after the 1 1/2 T to feed individual lines. 








And then use a 90 to end...









When you made your drawing, you should have an idea how many returns you want going into the tank... I had 5, plus i added 2 extra to feed something in the future need be (chiller, CA reactor, OceansMotions wavemaker)

ALWAYS THINK OF THE FUTURE... its easier to add them now and have the ball valve shut off, then have to cut the whole manifold apart, and wait for the glue to dry. When gluing, use LOTS of GLUE AND PRIMER... dont want this to blow up in the middle of the night!

On a FLAT TABLE, start chaining your Ts together, make sure they are all in line (by pressing them all onto the table) and add your 90 at the end... *Leave enough pipe between the Ts so that the handle of your ball valve doesnt hit the one beside it!*
About an 1 3/4 of pipe worked for me, with a 1/2" gap between the Ts. Glue in your reducers, and cut some more stubs of pipe to go to your ball valves. in my opinion you should always leave enough room between fittings so if you have a change, or need a repair you can glue a new fitting on... if you look at my diagram i could cut between any fitting and make a change or repair.









Like i had to today... one of my DIY sprinkler head current directors crapped out after 8 or 9 months (and it was only 1 of 3)
So I just marked where i was cutting, and changed things around quite easily...










When making cuts, keep in mind that about 3/4" of pipe slips inside each fitting, so overlap when planning your cuts! sometimes i get lazy and cut something an 1" short









Once you have the main body, and all the ball valves in place... start planning your returns!









I started at each side, and worked towards the center, keeping things as tight as possible (and neat!) with the least amount of bends possible... You can dry fit everything before gluing, just mark your fittings with a sharpie (dont wipe it off with the solvent when you glue!) and just slip them back to the sharpie line...

Connect it to your pump! Notice the repair coupler (which has blown out on my skimmer, so i advise not using them, and using TRUE unions) and backflow preventer...

When you are done, let everything dry for at least 24 hours to cure! I Like to not glue maybe one or two fittings if necessary, so you can remove the entire thing and rinse it out with the garden hose before you run tank water through it... if you are just setting up the tank and can test run it and replace the water, dont worry!

Once its dry, you can turn your pump on and check for leaks...









MORE TO COME!


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## maknwar (Jul 16, 2007)

ddddddaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg. Thats some plumbing. Very nice.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Now we get onto the *DIY SPRINKLER-HEAD* project
I dont have pics from the beginning of assembly, so i will do my best to tell you and cut things apart for pictures!!

So you want to go buy the "pop up" sprinkler heads from home depot or lowes... They look large, but you will throw lots of that into the spare parts bin for future projects... 
This is the top, it uses a key to adjust the pattern of the sprinkler (we get to that later)









Basically you unscrew the ring around the top, remove the metal spring, the outer bell that "hides" the sprinkler itself and you have something that looks like this... (without the white 90 on the bottom)









Remove the metal screw that adjusts the colored "spray" adjuster on the nozzle, and the colored piece of plastic (it just restricts flow) you could try drilling one out, but i didnt get that far i just went wide open!










You will need to remove the screen out of the bottom, and any loose parts you can... Then start playing with the adjustment key, you can only expand the pattern in one direction...you need to find the one return point that doesnt move when you turn the key and plan where you want that... for the left or right side of your tank you would want it pointing forward, or just onto the side glass, and opened to just over 90 deg to hit the back wall.... and in the center you would want it pointing on the glass on one side, and onto the glass on the other (mine was set at almost 270 deg) but over 180 for sure...

Hold your sprinkler head in the position it goes, and mark where your plumbing is coming from, you will notice a 1" 90 (outside) fits nearly perfect into the bottom of the sprinkler, so apply lots of primer, and glue to fill the gap *BUT BE SURE TO HOLD THE SPRINKLER VERTICAL SO GLUE DRAINS DOWN INTO THE FITTING! NOT INTO THE SPRINKLER ITSELF* enough glue will screw it up... I added a bead of silicone, because if a leak happened it was above the rim of my tank... not really necessary









Attach it to your manifold as described above!

Then plan on how you are going to support it above your tank, because my tank is in wall i chose to raise them as high as possible... so i used a 90 to hold it on the lip of the tank, and a 45 to go up









These worked for me for 8 solid months at least, and worked great for alternating flow in my tank... it takes about 40 seconds to go from left to right on the 90s and about a minute for the 180 so its not rapidly changing flow... i just had to cut them out because i need more flow... so i am going to add to more eductors like i have already










if anybody has any plumbing questions, feel free to post them here!


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## khmerboiRED (Jul 15, 2008)

very nice!


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

maknwar said:


> very nice!


Thanks man! hopefully it inspires people to tackle a project or 2 for the better of their fish!


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

This is a video i just made to help another member... but its relevant so i thought it might help people tackling plumbing projects.


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## xeloR (Jan 2, 2009)

your the man Skunk- its great to have informative threads like this!









I would love to hard plumb my tank, i was just in too much of a rush when I set it up.


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

Great info!! 
I'm feeling an itch to do a wet/dry on my 180.
Thanks for doing this up.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Winkyee said:


> Great info!!
> I'm feeling an itch to do a wet/dry on my 180.
> Thanks for doing this up.


Thanks man, i am walking Dmackey through one right now... 2 5 gal bucket drip towers, 75 gal sump. Going to be kickass once its done, and you could just look at the pics and copy it.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

xeloR said:


> your the man Skunk- its great to have informative threads like this!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, i love PVC because its set and forget... it doenst decay or corrode like plastic tubing, you dont have to worry about it once its done (properly) and it looks great. I could have painted all this black with Krylon fusion but... i was in a rush.

I have learned some lessons, like dont use repair couplers (the threaded ones with a rubber gasket) ALWAYS USE TRUE UNIONS because the repair coupler will explode under pressure (like between my skimmer and pump?) and when you think about a 1900GPH pressure rated pump, pointing at a wall of outlets and surge protectors.... you figure out quick


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

very weel done skunk. nicely explained.


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