Bulkhead application

[knobhill]

I am going to plumb my 350g in the coming month and debating between which type of bulkheads I want to use. The tank is 1.25" acrylic on the sides, 3/4" on the top, and 1/2" on the bottom. Dimensions are 80"long x 24"wide x 42"tall. There are currently 2 holes drilled in the bottom of the tank which I am going to plug the bulkheads.

I plan to drill 7 holes into one of the 24" x 42" sides of the tank to connect two FX-5's and my wet/dry sump. 4 holes will be for drains, 3 will be for returns.

I also plan on adding an overflow to accommodate 1800gph of flow to the sump and have surface skimming.

To make it simple (well sort of) I have settled on 1.5" bulkheads (the returns will have the benthic "eyeball" jet which actually makes them 1" bulkheads.)

My question is regarding the type of bulkhead used for this application. Should I go with PVC, Polypropylene, or ABS bulkheads? I have used the usual black ABS bulkheads for years with no problems on many of my tanks but I am wondering if there is anything stronger or if the ABS bulkheads are appropriate for my application.

Has anyone used these?
http://www.aquaart.com/bhv.html

Any help or a point in the right direction would be much appreciated

here are some rough sketches

 

[MyGiants]

Myself I never give it much thought on the materials there made of. Just finding the size and the type I want is sometimes hard enough. I do prefer softer type gaskets rubber vs hard rubber. Whether your looking for slip fit or threaded depending on what you need. As far as size that depends if the water passing is going move by gravity or under pressure. Putting lots of bulkhead pluming through the tank may look cleaner but the more holes with bulkheads increases chances of leaks. I don't like to put bulkhead to low near the bottom more chance of leaks and if you there is your in a lot of trouble. I like to keep the holes higher up then bring the pipe inside the tank down lower in the tank. So if there is a leak its not going to drain the whole tank.

 

[jcardona1]

For holes that are high up on the back wall of the tank, I use economy bulkheads becaues they're a lot cheaper
http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/2985/Bulkhead-Fittings-Economy/bulkhead/0

If the hole is on the bottom pane, I'd go with heavy duty bulkheads. Last thing you want to do is drain the tank to fix a leaky bulkhead. They cost a lot more and require bigger holes, so they might not work if the holes are already drilled
http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/1624/Bulkhead-Fittings-Top-Quality/bulkhead/0

 

[knobhill]

I looked up pressure in a water column and basically, a 6ft high water column will exert a pressure of 2.89 psi. I am well below that height and 2.89 psi is very low compared to ABS/PVC schedule 40--which is rated to 140psi! The "economy" fittings should be just fine. I will keep you posted upon my build.