Durso

It was pointed out to me recently, by a guy (Tangster1) on About.com's Saltwater forum, that the "Durso" stand-pipe is the same, in concept, as the plumbing vent used in nearly all our homes. You know those little chimney-like pipes that stick out of the top of your roof? Those are the vents for the drains in your house.

Even though it has been stated that such stand pipes were used before Durso's name became associated with it, I continue to credit Richard Durso with this device because he popularized the use of this plumbing principle, in regards to stand pipes, on his web site. Sorry, Tangster1. You can see the many forms this design has taken on at Richard Durso's Website.

Building a Durso stand pipe is quite simple and inexpensive. Assuming that your tank or overflow is already designed with a stand-pipe you will only need seven additional parts to make this a "Durso". Because a stand-pipe must be large enough to accommodate YOUR tank size, no sizes are provided in the description below.

Part # (1) and (2) you should already have: (1) Slip to threaded adaptor that you screw into your threaded bulkhead. (2) a piece of PVC pipe cut to the length necessary for the water to be at the correct level in you corner overflow box, center overflow box, HOT overflow pre-filter box, or wherever.

You may have to cut it down some after attaching the rest of the parts. So, keep in mind: as long as the "Durso" assembly is inside a body of water you do not need to use any glue or silicone. The pipe fittings fit snug enough to be fairly water-tight. If this makes you nervous, you can always go back and glue the parts together after running it for a couple of days--to make sure it is the way you want it.

The "Durso" consists of parts (3) through (9):

(3) slip "T" -size appropriate to your stand-pipe.
(4) pvc pipe - just long enough to join the "T" to the elbow
(5) slip elbow
(6) Reducer - reduction size appropriate to work with (7) &(8).
(7) Threaded 2 inch long pipe.
(8) Theaded to ribbed hose connector elbow
(9) flexible hose (or air line hose)

The "Durso" silent stand pipe has been one of the most valuable D.I.Y. equipment discoveries I have ever made on the internet.

When I first set-up my reef tank I cringed at the sound of the gurggling stand-pipe. My worries were confirmed one day when my wife asked,
"Is that thing always going to make that NOISE?"

I tried every suggestion the LFSs gave me. Finally, I came across a site where the guy was thanking Richard Durso for saving his marrage. I followed the link provided and found ReefLand, Durso's site.

I followed the directions and built my own silent stand-pipe, with one modification to Durso's: A larger air inlet and hose (to carry the noise somewhere else) to make the whole device screw and slip together. This design change makes the divice less likely to get clogged with salt creep.