Tank Plumbing, Help me decide...

[Meric]

I need a little help in finishing my tank plumbing. I plumb the return with 1.25" Pipe, since it would cause the least amount of head loss on my Mag 18. However the piping is rather large and stands out quite a bit in the tank. My thought is that Coraline Algea and some creative decorating will help hide the piping, but most likely will not eliminate it.

I cannot decide whether I should have 3 water exits across the bulk of the tank, see Plumbing Option 1 for a reference, or if I should have as little pipe as possible in the tank and set it up like plumbing Option 2 picture. Any suggestion on which would be a better long term solution. I really do not want to take this apart any time soon. Option 1 has about 4.5' of pipe and option 2 has about 20" of pipe.

The other option I was thinking of doing was to buy 4' of 1.25" Clear or Black Acryllic piping and drilling lots of little holes (7/32") the length of it creating a very large spray bar.

Let me know what you think I should do.

Thanks
Andy

[Airmotive]

Faced with a similar delima, I ran 1" pipe across the top of the tank brace (the center glass cross member). This kept the pipe out of the water (and out of sight). I then ran 5 "T" fittings down from the main pipe, with nozzles on the end of each T. This gave me 10 adjustable nozzles into the tank with almost nothing visible inside the tank.

For what it's worth....
JJ

I need a little help in finishing my tank plumbing. I plumb the return with 1.25" Pipe, since it would cause the least amount of head loss on my Mag 18. However the piping is rather large and stands out quite a bit in the tank. My thought is that Coraline Algea and some creative decorating will help hide the piping, but most likely will not eliminate it.

I cannot decide whether I should have 3 water exits across the bulk of the tank, see Plumbing Option 1 for a reference, or if I should have as little pipe as possible in the tank and set it up like plumbing Option 2 picture. Any suggestion on which would be a better long term solution. I really do not want to take this apart any time soon. Option 1 has about 4.5' of pipe and option 2 has about 20" of pipe.

The other option I was thinking of doing was to buy 4' of 1.25" Clear or Black Acryllic piping and drilling lots of little holes (7/32") the length of it creating a very large spray bar.

Let me know what you think I should do.

Thanks
Andy

[Meric]

Made the changes and it looks much better. I will use reducer Tees to reduce it from 1.25" to 1" and have about 4 returns. I can't put a lot in there because if you notice the Oceanic tank has a 2' wide glass center support on it. I have no idea why they did this but it sucks. I do not think it is a tank support since it is simply siliconed into place on the tank.

Thanks for the idea.

[nasek718]

Hey I had/have the same problem with my tank and am using a MAG 36 What I did was t'ed the 1.25 pvc at the top of the stand then ran two returns to each corner then reduced the pipes to 1 inch for 4 45 degree angle exits. Maybe later I'll limit it to two exits and run it into my pvc supports for the live rock and make it a maze of sprinkler hose.

[RobinsonFam1]

why not turn it into loc-line? it is black and adjustable. i have the same prob on my 135 but then i just drilled more holes rather than more interior piping. there is black pvc that is safe and you can also use spacial paints and dyes to color it as well. Krylon makes a special spray paint for plastic that is outdoor approved and i have heard good thigs about it.