Ok, so I think i've found a good way to make one of my 33 gallon tanks a well designed tank without investing a lot of $$.
I had previously taken a 33 gallon and divided it in half to make it half sump space, half display space. Nice idea in theory, but it felt that the sump space was a real waste and was hard to decorate. Just didn't like it.
Now I've thought of making a nano-gyre tank. If you'd like a little background to gyre tanks, here's a good link:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/1/aafeature
The general idea is to have a circular water flow, letting the water build momentum. You can do that the best with a divider in the tank, either horizontal, or verticle. The horizontal design is a good one because it keeps your lower region flow ballanced with your upper region flow. Upper regions of the tanks are usually the fastest moving because there's nothing at the water's surface to give resistance to the water movement while the lower regions have all the rock and substrate, etc etc.
Here's an example of a horizontal gyre tank.
This one functions well, but not very aesthetic as display tank. The author uses that tank mainly for growing SPS's. I've decided to take the general theory, and apply it to stuff I mostly have kicking around already and make a small 33 gallon gyre tank with a 15 gallon display area that's still visually pleasing when it's finished.
I've been itching to turn my 33 gallon long (36Lx12Wx18H) into a saltwater, but I've been trying to think of a good efficient design for it. After reading about these gyre tanks, I'm liking the idea. Might be something a little unique. I already have the one saltwater, so my next one needs to be different.
Here's my design:
The "platform" would be 6" off the bottom of the tank, giving 12" of display height. There would be 6" of open space on the left and right. The idea is to have two pumps, alternating on aproximately 8 minute timers. They need enough running time each to give it a chance to build a momentum of flow. It gives a display space of 24x12x12 which is just perfect for the 150 HQI i have kicking around yet to use. I'll section off the left and right sides of the display area using egg crate, to prevent rockwork from falling into the gyre regions.
I think when it's done, it would be a great looking nano display. I could paint the regions of the gyre, so there'd be strong water flow, and almost no visible plumbing. Actually no plumbing period, cuz it'd just be two powerheads
So here are my questions:
What does everyone think of the idea?
And does anyone know the time frame for switching seio/tunze style pumps on and off using a simple wave timer? Heard it's 15 minutes, heard it's 30 minutes, heard not at all. The author of the above article switches his seio "for 5 to 15 minutes to each side." Seio's sound a little risky cuz I know from experience with mine they sometimes don't start back up when turned on the first try.
I thought of maxijets, but to get the proper water flow, but I would need so many that they would obstruct the corners. The corners need to be open as possible to promote a circular water movement.