Hidden Closed Loop Intake

[mark]

My tank is two sides viewable as well, with the overflows on both ends.

My CL intake is midway up the side of one of my OF chambers, plumbed straight through to my CL pump (does not draw from the OF chmber). As you're trying to avoid, is covered with LR but seems to work.

[banditpowdercoat]

Originally Posted by Dez

Yes, however it's not so closed anymore once there is a drain in the overflow. Take a look at this diagram that I quickly mocked up (white box is the pump) If you have a power outage, the whole tank is going to drain to the level of the standpipe (standpipe drains to sump - I didn't continue it in the diagram). The water is going to go through the return at the bottom of the tank, into the overflow, and drain down the standpipe in the overflow box. Meaning in the case of this diagram, almost half of the tank would be drained to the sump. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I think that I've thought it through alright in my head. Mr. Alberta said that this exact thing happened to him so he doesn't run the inlet of the closed loop in the overflow box anymore.

If the white Box is a closed PUMP, not a SUMP, then No water will drain. Only will it drain if there is a leak in the plumbing. Then no matter what design you have. In a power outage with this design, the level in the Overflow will ballance the level in the tank. Nothing will over flow. It can't.


Now, when you ADD a sump. You need to make sure the sump can handle the extra water in a power outage, because it WILL drain from tank to SUMP, because the sump is open. It will drain the tank and overflow to the sump drain pipe level, thats all. Mine does this JUST FINE.

You will need to use a Durso style drain for sump in the overflow though. Thats the only caveat

[Dez]

Originally Posted by banditpowdercoat

If the white Box is a closed PUMP, not a SUMP, then No water will drain. Only will it drain if there is a leak in the plumbing. Then no matter what design you have. In a power outage with this design, the level in the Overflow will ballance the level in the tank. Nothing will over flow. It can't.


Now, when you ADD a sump. You need to make sure the sump can handle the extra water in a power outage, because it WILL drain from tank to SUMP, because the sump is open. It will drain the tank and overflow to the sump drain pipe level, thats all. Mine does this JUST FINE.

You will need to use a Durso style drain for sump in the overflow though. Thats the only caveat

I don't think you get the point though, it isn't a closed loop anymore once you have the inlet in your overflow box. Since you have a durso to your sump, I'm guessing that your standpipe is pretty high, so it will drain to the level of your standpipe. The durso makes it not closed anymore. If you had no standpipe, your sump might not handle the flow. Anyway, we're off topic because we've established that I can't have my inlet in the overflow box due to Herbie style drain.

[banditpowdercoat]

Originally Posted by Dez

I don't think you get the point though, it isn't a closed loop anymore once you have the inlet in your overflow box. Since you have a durso to your sump, I'm guessing that your standpipe is pretty high, so it will drain to the level of your standpipe. The durso makes it not closed anymore. If you had no standpipe, your sump might not handle the flow. Anyway, we're off topic because we've established that I can't have my inlet in the overflow box due to Herbie style drain.

Closed loop is just that, CLOSED. from tank, back to tank. And yes, with my Durso, the standpipes are high. no reason why Herbie standpipes couldnt be high too. In fact. Most people I know put the Standpipes No Lower than they want the water to ever drain. An extra safeguard. They do NOT need to be at the bottom of the overflow.

[golf nut]

Originally Posted by banditpowdercoat

My closed loop uses the overflow. Acctually, the CL pump is IN the overflow.

I imagine you have done pretend power outage to see what would happen.

[banditpowdercoat]

Originally Posted by Mr OM

I imagine you have done pretend power outage to see what would happen.

Acctually, we have a outage atleast once a month. AND, I shut my pump off completely every water change.

My closed loop intake is at the bottom of the overflow. And the drain into the sump is a Durso style. There is No reason why you cant have a Closed loop intake in an overflow

[golf nut]

Originally Posted by banditpowdercoat

Acctually, we have a outage atleast once a month. AND, I shut my pump off completely every water change.

My closed loop intake is at the bottom of the overflow. And the drain into the sump is a Durso style. There is No reason why you cant have a Closed loop intake in an overflow

Which pump?

[banditpowdercoat]

Originally Posted by Mr OM

Which pump?

Pentair Quiet one 3000 for my closed loop, and a MAG 3.5 for my sump return.

Why would it make a difference what pump I used? they have an intake and outlet, which you attach pipes to

[saltynuts]

i had mr albertas old cube.
i had the closed loop in take in the overflow(coast to coast).mag 24
and a durso intake for the sump.mag 18 return
when the power went out water only went down to the durso level.
the closed loop had no effect on the level in the sump.

[golf nut]

typically a closed loop is used to get flow into the tank without power heads, if you used a large pump on your closed loop there simply isn't enough water going through the teeth on the overflow box to keep the pump functioning, you might be getting away with this with a medium sized pump, but to recommend this to the average reefer is asking for trouble.

Dursos will control the height of the overflow box but returns from the sump into the tank will also cause back flow, as can be seen from Des pic his system will fail, as will any other
system that isnt don exactly correctly, why ask for trouble.

not only that, the correct way to use a feed to a closed loop pump is the get the goodness out of the rock and into the water column, you use the pump feed to enhance movement in the tank, doing this from the overflow box means you are losing the flow you could have used to your advantage, your teeth in the overflow box need to be low enough for the CL to get enough water, if this is the case then you are not surface skimming which is the whole point of the overflow box.