# Flexible Hose vs PVC pipe for sump/fuge



## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

I am putting my fuge together this week. I have seen people use pvc and/or flexible hose for the line from the tank and the return. Thoughts?

The flexible hose looks easy to use and I can reduce the 90 degree angles making the retrurn pump more efficient. Anything I am not seeing? 

In the future I may consider an inline skimmer. Is using flexible hose with one of these an issue?

cheers


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I started using the flexible vinyl hose for both the return and the drain but in my opinion i'm not that happy with it since it doesn't flex as much as I want it to. I broke one of my baffles in my sump trying to make it bend into the first baffle. Now i'll be switching the overflow to a rigid setup. 

The return is still a vinyl hose since it's a smaller diameter.


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

Did you heat up the hose first? 

I read on some other forums people would heat them up by laying them in the bathtub full of hot water. 

When I first saw them I was under the impression the hose was somewhat flimsy like a vaccum cleaner hose.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I'm pretty sure I used a 1" hose and it's pretty hard to move around. Hard enough to break glass I guess.


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

ok thx. sounds like pvc may be the way to go


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## CanadaPleco (Sep 7, 2009)

It all depends on the kind of flex hose you get! I have 1" flex hose that is more bendy then the tubing that python uses. I got it from flexpvc.com


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

The hose being talked about is SpaFlex. It can be a bitch Sometimes but very handy other times.

I use it for the Returns on every setup i build, SpaFlex will cut back on the Pump resinating Sound through out the house.


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## mrobson (Mar 5, 2011)

i used spa flex flex for my drain and pvc for my return, the spa flex is nice for a straight shot to the sump and with no elbows if anything takes a ride to the sump it wont be as beat up. For the return i went with pvc b/c it was easier to connect to my return pump, allowed me to keep my lines neat.


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

The spa Flex doesn't quite look like the one I was shown/considering. It was a braided vinyl. The vinyl was clear, the braid was white.

Here it is:

http://www.plumbingsupply.com/cleartubing.html

Top picture

They sell it at Big Als $3.19 per foot. If I remember correctly it was the 1" pipe.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Lowe's sells the braided vinyl line for $1.50 a foot I think. I'll tell you tomorrow since i'm heading there to pick some up


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## mrobson (Mar 5, 2011)

they also sell the spa flex and have lots of pvc fittings, way better selection than depot.


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