Are SCH80 fittings just to look cool?

[SteveG_inDC]

I mean, we hardly ever need the pressure rating, but I'm feeling the peer pressure to be one of the cool kids with grey fittings to go on my colored furniture grade pipe.

Someone please tell me it's ok to use white schedule 40 fittings everywhere. They are cheaper and much more available in terms of finding the right thread/slip combos I need. It's just that every large tank I look at has "the look" which is grey on color.

Also, I bought all this cool purple pipe but I also have a large spool of black spa flex and I think that could help with complicated runs through the sump area. but then I could have a mishmash of colors and pipe/fitting types.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Stronger

 

[Reef Tripp]

Ok,

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Like it. looks great.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Stronger

Yes higher pressure rating but does it make a difference in our systems?

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Yes higher pressure rating but does it make a difference in our systems?

I don't think so. I like the extra thickness in the corners of my plumbing but I have not had any issues with either one.

 

[JoshH]

I mean, we hardly ever need the pressure rating, but I'm feeling the peer pressure to be one of the cool kids with grey fittings to go on my colored furniture grade pipe.

Someone please tell me it's ok to use white schedule 40 fittings everywhere. They are cheaper and much more available in terms of finding the right thread/slip combos I need. It's just that every large tank I look at has "the look" which is grey on color.

Also, I bought all this cool purple pipe but I also have a large spool of black spa flex and I think that could help with complicated runs through the sump area. but then I could have a mishmash of colors and pipe/fitting types.

In our application even schedule 20 or "Thin wall" PVC is overkill when it comes to the pressures we work with. Where schedule 80 PVC is best used are in threaded fittings and bulkheads. Because they are thicker they can withstand the extra turn or two that a novice plumber will subject them to when installing where a schedule 40 fitting might not. Also in bulkheads they have a larger seal and flange on them and once again can be cranked on relatively hard to create a seal as opposed to schedule 40 bulkheads which need a bit of a finer touch to install. Not to say that you can't use schedule 40 bulkheads, my tank has 5 of them, in the bottom pane of glass. They were however a bit of a pain to install and leaked a few times before I got them just right.

 

[Tono]

Schedule 80 is completely unnecessary. Actually, even sch40 can withstand 100x more the pressures that we see in our aquariums. You could get away with spa-flex or vinyl tubing but I think most prefer the looks of rigid piping systems.