Dumb question, but how much of the plumbing do I glue in a drilled tank?

We are putting together our first drilled tank, and I have come across something I didn't expect. In regards to gluing up our plumbing (PVC), do I glue up everything above the bulkheads that was already provided with the tank? I believe the instructions with the tank say to just dry fit everything above the bulkheads (and to the bulkheads themselves) without glue. Will this work?

These would be the overflow/drain pipe as well as the return pipe. Do I glue their individual pieces together and glue those to the bulkheads? Or are those meant to not be glued, and just the PVC plumbing underneath the tank will be glued? Or is it all just personal preference?

Thank you!

 

I would glue the pipes into the bulkhead for safety in case the fit isn't that good dry, the rest above that should be OK to dry fit.

 

I like to dry fit them so they can be removed for cleaning, catching fish out of the overflow or anything else that may come up.

 

+1. I regretted gluing all of the PVC together in a previous tank when a clownfish became trapped in the overflow box. If my PVC was dry-fitted, I would have been able to simply pull the standpipe out and "flush" it into the sump. Unfortunately, the fish perished since I was unable to capture it with a net.

 

So just for clarification, you guys are saying to glue the pipes above the bulkheads into the bulkheads (as well as gluing the pipes below into the bulkheads, which is what I was already planning to do), but then leaving everything above those glue joints as dry fitted?

Let me run another idea across you guys:

How our drains are working is we have PVC under the bulkhead for the drain line, and it is draining into the sump with a T to a fuge/chamber on the other side of the sump. However, our return pump will be clear vinyl tubing, and I have the appropriate PVC fittings to attach the tubing to the bulkhead of the return line. SO, what I was thinking is gluing up everything BELOW the bulkheads (and to the bulkheads below) as needed, and then leaving the drain line ABOVE the bulkheads as only dry fitted, while the PVC area ABOVE the bulkheads will be glued to everything, including the bulkhead itself.

I'm thinking this because the drain line will not be under pressure at all, it's just gravity fed, and there's no chance that water would cause the fittings to separate or anything because of its lack of pressure. However, the return line will be under some sort of pressure with water running through it and back to the tank. The good thing is with that is that even if I glued everything up with the return line, that line and bulkhead is still removable by simply taking the vinyl tubing off of its barb and pulling the assembly out of the overflow box.

Does that make sense? Sound reasonable?

I appreciate the responses.

 

I would not glue the pipes above the bulkheads!!!! I say this because I've had nerite snails climb in and clog the pipe. If I'd glued them together I don't know what I would have done. I had to take the tube off and shop vac it out of my 3/4 adapter at bottom of bulkhead which is glued in place. Just my two cents

 

I have never glued any of the pipes that are in the tank. I like to have them removable for the reasons listed above.

 

Jwinn, thank you for asking this question! It was the next plumbing question on my list.

 

Even with pipes below your tank? Have you had any accidents with just dry fitting everything? Or are you talking about only pipes above the bulkheads? So far my plan involves unions in key spots to allow for easy removal and cleaning.

 

NO NO lol, just the stuff in the tank, I guess that's what you mean by above the bulkhead. Everything below the tank is cleaned (light sanding) and glued.