True that. I'm sure I've repeated myself also... Sorry 'bout that :wink: But things are moving along!

On that note...
http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/u...icoplan1-1.jpg

There's a basic idea of what this project is. Now it's bed time... been a long night figuring out Sketchup, but worth watching the tutorials :biggrin:

The comment wasn't directed at you, I have built many machines and know that 98% is pretty straightforward, it's the last 2% or the kink that causes you the grief.

In your pic are you planning on dumping into a chamber along side the tank on the right?

I thought you couldn't copyright IDEAS ahah

Wow I've never seen a tank like this. How do you clean the sump below the display? Looks interesting can't wait for build pictures.

Here as another option for you, sort of complicated but a true dual surge without any tank level changes. notice the lower surge tanks have sealed tops to them, they are not open to the air.

I wasn't sure what you meant :twised: Yeah the bugs are tough sometimes... in the end it always works out. This idea went through about 3 different iterations before the one you see now. :wink:

As far as dumping into a chamber on the right, do you mean overflow-wise or surge-wise? If you mean overflow-wise, yes. Surge-wise... I considered that, and it's still an option. Originally my plan was to have surge from both ends and overflow backwards coast-to-coast style... but I think I may set up a 'closed loop' style return from the sump, so that the prevailing water currents are flowing away from the overflow. This should do 2 things... eliminate dead spots at night when the surge system is in 'night mode' and set up water flow that flows slowly in one direction and quickly in the opposite. I want to approximate the look of surges on the reef, and I think this may do it. I may get 2 extra pieces of glass cut just in case I change my mind :idea:

So did PFO :wink:

I'll employ the help of snails or hermits... and a cleaning magnet and siphon :biggrin:. Though neither of these will do the job entirely because of the obstructions down there... a lot of piping, the pumps, heater, etc. I want to maintain a clean look, so I don't really want to be able to see all of these utilities. I plan to skin the tank and surge tanks leaving the 'pico' area open for viewing, with a removable front panel so I can see what I'm doing when I clean... BUT this won't happen for a while, or at least until I'm happy with the actual build part :mrgreen:

OMG I think that may solve my problem with fluctuating sump levels :idea: I like this drawing! I need to figure out a way to make an area that doesn't fluctuate with surge but still lets me know when I need to top off... not sure if this would do that, though the water level in the lower chambers should never change which in itself could be useful. I like the concept though, and will likely apply something like this in my seagrass build :wink:

Have you considered using the flow from the pump to do the switching?

Yes I've considered a number of options... some are good, some only decent...

Wavemakers seem great off the start, and are relatively simple... all you really need is a pair of powerheads or pumps with the outputs at either end of the tank, and a short-cycle timer. PROS: reasonably priced, no moving parts (depending on the timer). CONS: Boring. LOL.

Sinusoidal valves are really cool in terms of 'geek' factor, work very well, and can produce some interesting flow patterns... more interesting (IMO) than wavemakers. This is still a semi-viable option for me, since I can DIY the heck out of it. PROS: interesting flow patterns, reasonably priced. CONS: requires seals and has moving parts.

Both of these have one problem in common: the fact that they rely on the flow from the pump to move the water. To move the amount of water in 2 seconds that I would need the pump to move would require a pump way larger than I'm willing to hook up in this system. I'm not sure that what I have planned can even do what I want it to :lol: What I want to do is dump 1l of water in less than 2 seconds... every 4 seconds.

The solenoid is looking better and better now that I'm looking into an Arduino microcontroller to control my lighting...

Solenoid valves work awesome and would be perfect for my application... PROS: little in the way of extraneous junk hanging around, easily DIYed CONS: moving parts, notorious for sticking.

So I'm sticking with my modified CSD. Until I prove whether it will work or not. And whether the baffle chamber will break the bubbles that seem inevitable, though I wonder if the bubbles aren't associated with the design of the siphon? I guess I won't know until I try my siphon design. I will be trying my siphon design first to see if I am satisfied with it before I finalize my design and order the glass that I'll be needing. I may still end up doing a backwards overflow and having surge from opposite ends, though I worry that this setup would be too turbulent.

Which pump would you like to use? .


I am not yet sure how your baffles are going to work but gut instinct says that the chamber is simply going to fill and only slowly release into the tank, should the surge not enter directly into the tank to get you the momentum you are looking for?