is a PVC to PVC connection water tight or do i have to cement the pieces together? id rather not cement them together in case i have to move the tank in the future…
could i just tape the ends of the pvc?
i have a small piece that comes out on the tank, then it 90’s down…and 90’s back into a small piece that goes to the sump…
If it is your return there isn’t much pressure and it will want to follow the pipe into the sump, you MIGHT be able to get away with a tight slip fit and some tape. I wouldn’t do it though. You can get spendy and get some unions or suck it up and glue it. Either way PVC is cheap man, just glue it up and be done with it.
i like ian’s dismissed idea of a union. if it’s a tough spot to deal with, do the union, but otherwise, glue.
yea about to glue right now…if i move, ill just have to cut them
Just be careful with those glue fumes around your tank, I always setup a fan and get real paranoid
my tank has been exposed to wood finish, and varnish for the past 2 weeks as our house is getting all new hardwood floors, and they have to sand and stain and sand and varnish over and over and over… mine havebeen fine
If you used threaded connections you can use teflon tape. It will seal the connection just fine.
well i just glued it, everything went fine, im adding water now and making some more…this is going to be my 40 gal. long planted tank, so not too worried about the fumes, nothings in there right now, hopefully i can put some plants in there later once i get the temp. up…
i took some water from my 55 too to put in there, so hopefully that helps…the bottom layer is mineral mud in certain spots, then i put about 25 lbs of ‘dead sand’ and added another 10 lbs of live sand, then ill be adding a couple scoops of sand from the fuge on the 55…
for right now ill have my old PC light on it, but once i pick which ballast to buy, ill be putting t-5’s over this…
Shame you didn’t come to the meeting last night. We were plumbing and gluing and sniffing fumes the whole meeting, lol.
Rather safe then sorry. I would glue it.
In this particular situation I don’t think a union is very helpful. If you put a union on a pipe coming out of a bulk head then instead of having a 12†pipe dangling from the tank as you move it you have a 4†pipe with a fitting on it dangling from the tank. Walk through a door way and forget the pipe is hanging out and the tank is done for… ask me how I know, lol.
If you don’t put a fitting right up against the bulk head and have just straight pipe coming out for a little bit then it is easy to cut the pipe half way and glue in a union or just a coupling when you get settled again. Then you can completely remove the pipes from the tank and don’t have to worry about snagging it on something ask you carry it or setting it down on the bulk head accidently. You can also reuse the bulk head. Would have been a lot easier to demonstrate this last night vs trying to type through it. Hope it was clear.
I personally think you did the right thing gluing it.
Planted tank seems like a fun project. Going to take snap shots of the build and post when you have some cool stuff in it?
just a little advise from a plumber…use primer, then glue. if you do not use primer you will eventually have leaks. and always glue joints. as mentioned pvc is cheap.
1 inch coupling= $1
3 feet of 1 inch pipe =$2
explanation of replacing a perfectly good water heater= priceless lOl
yes i will be posting some pics…i need to post new pics of the 55…
i need to get more sand for the planted tank before i put things in there. got any macros for me jon?? right now i have chaeto, halimeda, and some form of caulerpa…
i think ima make a post here looking for macro algaes i dont have…
Pretty much all I have that I can think of currently is halimeda and chaeto so I’m no help. Marchingband John had some cool little macro, but he promised me first dibs. 
Try asking Ken what he has and making a WTB/WTT in the market place.
i have some what i call stick algae. It grows pretty big from pics i have seen, i have around 12 stalks growing on a rock right now. Once they get big enough i could cut some for you guys… i cut it once and glued it to a frag plug but that didnt work lol… Its cool because it tells you what your nutrient load is. If its high it will be a florescent green, and when its lower it will lighten up… Pretty cool, ill get some pics…
Sorry I am late on this but have been super busy.
I also did not want to glue PVC as I tend to move things around a bit so I tried to go slip to slip. The problem is it creates a slow leak that may or may not stop do to salt creep. I did find another alternative to a low pressure connection; silicone. It keeps the drips at bay and holds the connection tight till you turn the pipe to break the seal.
I used it on my over flow and return pump PVC lines but not on the closed loop. I think it would work on the closed loop also but was not brave enough to chance it.