Air in the fish room

Decided to bite the bullet and get a real Linear Piston Air pump and go with a whole basement pipe loop, after considering it for forever, and then talking about it last weekend at the workshop. I've decided to go with 3/4 inch pipe, but my basement ceiling is such a hodge podge of pipes and furnace air returns and ducts, that I'm thinking that flexible vinyl tubing would be simpler for most of the traveling parts of the loop, and hard PVC for the manifold like sections.  Has anyone here done this, and can give me some tips?  Ted Judy says on one of his videos that one can use threaded PVC fittings and hose clamps to join the flexible to the hard.  Has anyone else had luck with this method, or do you have a different one that works for you? If so I would love to hear it.

check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website:
http://kathysclowns.com
Captive bred clownfish and more
(Wholesale to the trade.)

If you used "flex" pvc, instead of vinyl, you can use standard fittings all around and avoid any special connections. I also 'think' half inch would be plenty large enough. Air is far less resistant to movement than water.

- Brandon AKA Jedi Knight

You are doing the right thing with a loop around the room.  That way you will have equal pressure on the whole system.  I'd also recommend that you put a bleeder valve on the lowest part of the system to get rid of moisture.  I'd strongly recommend getting with the greenhouse supply companies regarding plastic or brass fittings and tapping versus threading versus glue versus teflon tape.   There are a lot of ways to go that will work.  I've always had good service from Dripworks in California.  I think their website is dripworks.com.  But I'm not positive.
 
How are you going to filter your air?  If you have finicky phyto cultures like Rhodomonas or Pavlova this becomes more important than if you have Nanno.  Did you discuss air filtering with Dr. Rhyne at the workshop?  I would be curious to know what they do in the lab.
 
Oh, one more thing.  Both 1/2" and 3/4" hard PVC pipe are still very flexible.  You could almost bend them in circles with radii of 4 or 5 feet, although you wouldn't want to put that kind of pressure on a pipe.  The point is that in between joist spaces of 16" or 24" you could move a pipe probably 6" from the previous hole.  Also, fittings are so cheap and easy to install that you can work hard PVC pipe all around your existing encumbrances without too much trouble.  Flex pipe is certainly easier, but more expensive.   I'd strongly recommend pvc over vinyl for durability.  I think PVC is ten times the more durable product.

Ted Judy says that you don't have to glue the hard PVC to the fittings, but i wonder if just press fitting is air tight enough.  Surely, going all hard PVC would be cheaper, but you would not believe the cutting and fitting I would have to do to accomplish that in the space I have.  I think they make flexible PVC tubing (they have PVC airline tubing for instance).  I'll have to see what they have at the hardware store.
 
For filtering, jeez, I haven't filtered yet. I could install a removable piece and fill with cotton wool, or carbon, or both. i could put one on both ends of the phyto part of the loop.
 
Good idea about the drain spot. Thanks. Also, thanks for the link.

check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website:
http://kathysclowns.com
Captive bred clownfish and more
(Wholesale to the trade.)

Ted??  I must have made quite an impression on you at the workshop!  You only need the air filter before the air enters the pump and put a 2 micron filter on the outflow after the phyto culture.  Think of setting the pump in a box and using home air filters of successive smaller sizes, $2 cheapo, then $4 nice filter, then HEPA, then an activated carbon.  These filters are often 16x20" or so in size.  They should last quite a while.
 
Dave (Ted).

Also, I definitely recommend gluing the PVC fittings.  Otherwise you'd lose a lot of air pressure, and the cans of primer and glue to bond the joints will only set you back a few dollars.  You will end up using them in a lot of other places.  For instance, the inevitable glue on your hands makes a great skin shedding costume for Halloween if you like leper imitations.

"Ted Judy" is a different person.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Whew!  That's a relief.  I was starting to feel a little insecure.  I thought she had just forgotten a comma between Ted and Judy.
 
Kind of like the joke in the New Yorker when reviewing the manuscript of Mel Gibson's "Last Temptation of Chr*st".   Page 13, line 24, please insert a space between the words jew and boy.  
 
Oh, I can guarantee that one is going to get edited.  Or flamed.  It's just a joke.

Yeah, Ted Judy is a freshwater guy who makes informative videos.  Many of us have benefitted from one he posted on his website about making aquarium stands.
 
Dave, I forget many things because I am old and sleep deprived, but in your case, I remember. :-)

check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website:
http://kathysclowns.com
Captive bred clownfish and more
(Wholesale to the trade.)

Brandon, I am thinking that flex PVC may be the best thing for the traveling portions of the loop.  I can get 50 feet for about 55 bucks, and I think that will suffice. Fewer things to glue is a good thing, and ease of setup is important to me.

check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website:
http://kathysclowns.com
Captive bred clownfish and more
(Wholesale to the trade.)