Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

[Peace River]

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

A key part of most reef tanks and the accompanying life support system is the plumbing that connects the display tank to the sump as well as connects other types of filtration and equipment to the aquarium. As an integral part of the plumbing, valves allow the flow to be slowed or even stopped depending on the needs of the system and the aquarist. The most common types of valves used with aquarium systems are ball valves, gate valves, and check valves. What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing? Feel free to share pictures and any tips/recommendations about best practices for valve installation and operation. Additionally, please let us know if you use any other types of valves.

Photo by @Pongo


This QOTD is sponsored by: www.tckcorals.com

 

[KrisReef]

I’m not a huge fan of valves except for places where I need to shut off the water flow, typically from siphon points when I need to remove a pump for maintenance. More important than valves are the union fittings that allow me to remove the pump after I shut the valves so water doesn’t siphon from the pipes and flood the floor or overflow the sump, etc.

I occasionally use a valve to quiet down a drain pipe but prefer to keep drain lines wide open to minimize the risk of overflow from the tank.

Ask me about union fittings! Love them for maintenance access.

 

[SPS2020]

Good quality ball valves and gate valves for me. The ball valves are essential for chiller and UV maintenance. Gate valves to tweak the overflow and control flow to the chiller and UV.

 

[Reefer Matt]

I can’t find gate valves for the sizes I need, so I use ball valves. They work fine for my application on the drains.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ive had ball valves all along and within the hour will be placing a check valve in the plumbing which just arrived from BRS
Two power outages in 5 weeks prompted me to order this

 

[VintageReefer]

Ive had ball valves all along and within the hour will be placing a check valve in the plumbing which just arrived from BRS
Two power outages in 5 weeks prompted me to order this

I didn’t know this existed, thank you for sharing. I think I’ll put this on my return lines

 

[ReeferHD]

My tank doesn't have plumbing at all

 

[Ashish Patel]

I Used them Ball Valves all over the place.
14 Ball Valves and 1 gate valve on drain and of course 2 Gates on the Skimmers

 

[rhitee93]

I went a little overboard. Many will say you should not put a valve on the emergency drain as it is just another potential point of failure, but I wanted to be able to completely shut the tank off from the sump "Just in case". It is a $75 valve that I may never actually close, but it's there is I need it.

 

[lapin]

Lots of valves. Don’t like carrying water. Here’s a few.

 

[vlangel]

My tank has no valves but I do have a variable speed return pump.

 

[Dburr1014]

Balls and gates, that's it.

All check valves will eventually fail so make sure you are prepared for that.

 

[rc8t6353]

Just one ball valve for now. But I have a box full of fittings and valves for when I stop being lazy and build a manifold lol

 

[RocketEngineer]

Ive had ball valves all along and within the hour will be placing a check valve in the plumbing which just arrived from BRS
Two power outages in 5 weeks prompted me to order this

That won’t save you from poor plumbing design and the wrong fill amount.

 

[vetteguy53081]

That won’t save you from poor plumbing design and the wrong fill amount.

I installed valve and it stopped the flow. Not sure where you are getting poor plumbing design. With a siphon break, the overflow stop but the return from the pump allows water to run back until return line WAS below water line. The valve stop that upon shutting the pump off today

 

[55NEVER]

 

[Bruttall]

I can’t find gate valves for the sizes I need, so I use ball valves. They work fine for my application on the drains.

search Spears Gate Valve, I have a 1 1/2 gate valve on my primary drain, either got it from BRS or Amazon. I'd be a little surprised if you needed them that big, you can buy the 1 inch double slip pvc spears gate valve off amazon for about $85.

 

[Bruttall]

I installed valve and it stopped the flow. Not sure where you are getting poor plumbing design. With a siphon break, the overflow stop but the return from the pump allows water to run back until return line WAS below water line. The valve stop that upon shutting the pump off today

I run a back flow stop (flapper gate) on my return line to my tank also Vette, it prevents the tank from back flowing thru water inlet into sump. In fact I have never built a system with out a flapper in the return, they only cost about $15 at any menards. Can find them in the sump pump/plumbing section.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I run a back flow stop (flapper gate) on my return line to my tank also Vette, it prevents the tank from back flowing thru water inlet into sump. In fact I have never built a system with out a flapper in the return, they only cost about $15 at any menards. Can find them in the sump pump/plumbing section.

I know many with flapper and some ten years and it’s never failed them
When I did a test after installing yesterday- it completely stopped the flow

 

[Dburr1014]

I installed valve and it stopped the flow. Not sure where you are getting poor plumbing design. With a siphon break, the overflow stop but the return from the pump allows water to run back until return line WAS below water line. The valve stop that upon shutting the pump off today

They will fail.
They all get stuff growing in them and will not shut completly when that happens. The work around is to clean them once a month.
If you plan the sump for the extra water, they are not needed.