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PVC and Saltwater

FreeFall

Seedling
Joined
4 Mar 2016
Messages
11
Location
Troon
I know this might be a little off topic however i cant find any information on the internet about this.... Im making a sump for my new set up which is going to be an aquascape at the moment and possibly a marine tank in the future .... so here in lies the question i was at my LFS and he said the PVC has to be a specific type for marine because the normal goes brittle after a while and he pointed me to a specific web site (http://www.coralculture.co.uk/shop/index.php?cPath=157) where to get this type of PVC however everything i read and look up nothing mentions marine setups needing a specific type of PVC so I guess Im wondering if this is true or not?
 
Most marine shops that stock pipework use PVC-U Pressure pipe it comes in either 10 bar or 16 bar pressure versions. I've just setup a sump on my freshwater tank my return pipe is 25mm PN16 pressure pipe my tank overflow drains use a mixture of 40mm PN10 pressure pipe and standard 1.5 inch solvent weld waste pipe. Wile I was doing my research on sump pipework I didn't read anything saying normal pvc waste pipe would become brittle in salt water and there seem to be lots of people on the marine forums using standard waste pipe for the sump pipework. The only reason I didn't use normal waste pipe for my overflows was down to the tank connectors. The pressure pipe tank connectors look much sturdier than the standard waste pipe ones I could find also it difficult to find non return valves, ball valves etc that fit standard waste pipe without a reducer of some sort. If you do decide to use PVC-U pressure pipe go Imperial for some reason the imperial ball valves are about half the price of metric versions.

I used a few online companies to purchase pipe parts from. One of the best I used was fastlight.
 
what kind of pump do you have ? i fear i may have bitten off more than i can chew with this ... cost wise

the tank im doing is a 70cm x 30cm x 30cm
 
I've got a jecod dts3000 you can pick them up for about £55. It's a good pump and has the benefit of having an external speed controller.
 
As far is i know the only thing what makes PVC brittle when it ages is UV light and constant temp changes will make it loose the plasticisers faster. The normal PVC drain pipe is from a lesser qaulity production proces thats why it has rather larger wall thickness and still not presure or shock resistant. Especialy when it's very cold it brakes very easy. Never kick a PVC rain gutter when it freezes..

I do not know about UK but i guess it kinda works the same everywhere.. And you'll probably also have a National certified Quality Mark for PVC suitable for drinkingwater installation. That's the one you want, usualy the regular pressure PVC has that.. In our region it should have a KIWA certify stamp.
 
i fear i may have bitten off more than i can chew with this ... cost wise
To keep the cost down you could just use the pvc pressure pipe and fittings in the tank and then use flexible pipe and fittings going down to the sump this will reduce the cost significantly.
 
Anyone know off a return pump that does around 400-800? The smallest DTS pump I can see is a 1000 lph

And thanks for all the help guys
 
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