Plumbing - How to Do It

[cdelucia]

Well, just got an Aqua Medic 1000 CO2 reactor and a Quiet One 1200 (296 gph) water pump (of which I have sitting outside the tank). I've used 1/2" ID clear tubing and worm-drive clamps I got from the hardware store to hook everything up. I'm fine tuning the bubble rate and general operation of the C02 but my setup has about as few kinks as a strip club on a Saturday night A couple questions:

1. How do you guys manuever the tubing without it kinking? When I have the intake line coming out of the tanking and heading down toward the pump on the ground it kinks. The return line from the reactor to the tank kinks. How do you work without this stuff kinking?

2. What attachments do you use for the end of each of the lines (intake and return) in the tank? Right now I a nylon mesh made from an old dress sock (don't worry - I washed it!) rubberbanded around the intake to keep things from getting sucked in, and nothing on the end of the return line. Because the tubing is so hard to get it to stay where you want it pointed (tends to want to spring back), it would be nice to get some advice on fittings people use at the end of the return line.

 

[inkslinger]

I run a AM1000 CO2 Reactor With a Eheim Hose 16/22mm it is softer than the clear hose, My pump is a Mag 5 500gph I have a elbow with a valve on the intake with hose barb pointing up and on the outlet I have another valve ,pvc nipple 18inches ,elbow,2inch nipple and another elbow going down with a hose barb, { my pvc sits above the co2 reactor all I need is 1inch of hose to connect the reactor to the hose barb} The hose at the bottom of the reactor slopes up to my Hydro Heater an on to the tank.
For my intake and outlet return I also use Eheim kits 594 from Big Al's

Eheim Spray Bar Set 594 at Big Al's Online

They also sold the matching intake kit 594 when I place my order.

 

[cdelucia]

Thanks for the pointers.

 

[Darkstar]

I use Braided pvc hose I get from Lowes, its a bit stiff to work with but no chance of it kinking.. I use black zip ties for hose clamps for a cleaner look but the fit is so tight you really dont need them.

I run magnum 350's so i use 5/8 ID hose. I think most everything else uses 1/2 ID and im not sure if they carry 1/2" in that hose but it would be worth checking into.. Another option i use sometimes especially with wet dry systems is to hard pvc pipe everything. 1/2" or 3/4" works well.. You can transition from the hard pipe to the inlet/outlet by using threaded hose barbs into a short length of hose.. I also use true union ball valves on both lines so i can easily disconnect any equipment for maintenance without a watery mess...

You can buy the magnum 350 inlet/outlet J tube kits from most aquarium supply stores. I like them alot.