MitchM tank build

MitchM · #1 12-02-2010, 12:43 AM

Thanks!
Actually all 4 holes along the back are the intakes and the four holes in the top bracing are for 1" Seaswirls. I'll have 2 Reeflo Superdart gold pumps each having 2 intakes and supplying two seaswirls. I've had seaswirls before and I liked them.
I also like the seaswirls in that they will keep mainly the top level water moving. I'll get maybe a Vortech or two for the mid water movement.
I would like just a slow but constant movement across the sand bed.

Mitch

MitchM · #2 12-31-2010, 02:11 PM

...continued from the
Bidirectional flow thread

(****Post from Kevin at Red Coral)

There are 4 holes drilled in the top brace to accommodate 4 seaswirls,

****1.5" bulkheads

which were to be fed by the 4 holes drilled in the lower bottom back of the tank.

**** I can't tell the size of these holes I would hope they are for 2" Bulkheads

My original sump return was to be determined and because the tank is acrylic I have the ability to reasonable modify it.

**** You can modify as acrylic is easy to drill but with such an incredible tank (do you want to?)

What I would like to do is use only the front two top holes for the seaswirls and drop a couple supply pipes originating from the sump down the back two top holes.

**** seaswirls are an option.

The two supply pipes would alternate the flow, clockwise or counter clockwise in 5 hours one direction with a 1 hour rest followed by 5 hours in the opposite direction, 1 hour rest. Repeat.

**** I personally do not recommend creating the directional flow from your supply lines from your sump..This is where your heaters, filtering etc. are located and do you want to shut that down for an hour every 5 hours. Your directional flow pattern is also where it could become problematic. Do you really want or need to create this flow supply from the sump?

The top zone would be kept moving through the closed loop full time.
I have 1 reeflo dart supergold for the closed loop and 1 reeflo dart supergold for the sump return.

Depending on the results of the final setup, I was leaving open the option of adding the MP60's. The price of them is giving me a lot of incentive to minimize how many (if any) I put in there.

**** If the 4 closed loop holes in the lower back are 2" bulkheads you could then add another dart gold and use 2 of these each to supply a pump and each return would be to one side of the tank. You could pipe in whatever flow and to what areas you wanted. Then with timers you could create your directional flow at the 5/ 1/ 5 timing.

****Kevin

MitchM · #3 12-31-2010, 02:42 PM

Hi Kevin,

The holes in the top are 2 1/4", the holes in the back are 2 1/2".

That's a good point about the heaters. I wonder how much heat the tank would lose? I heard that acrylic had some insulating properties, plus I'll also be using lids on the tank.
I'm not too concerned about the temporary loss of filtering at this point. I don't want a heavily stocked tank. The tank feedings could occur near the end of the rest cycle.

If I went with your last setup suggestion, I would still need to drill a couple of holes for the sump return, wouldn't I?

Skimmerking · #4 12-31-2010, 03:28 PM

Hey Mitch you should get the ECO Reef Rock and do the dry structures that is what Im doing with my 96footer too. i love the rock easy to work with and alot better and then you can take your time with it...

MitchM · #5 01-01-2011, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skimmer King

Hey Mitch you should get the ECO Reef Rock and do the dry structures that is what Im doing with my 96footer too. i love the rock easy to work with and alot better and then you can take your time with it...

Hi Mike,

That's what I was going to be doing with the base layer - then I was going to drill and peg my existing LR onto that.

If I need more after that, I'll most likely get more Eco Reef Rock.

MitchM · #6 01-01-2011, 02:15 PM

Red Coral Aquariums · #7 01-03-2011, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MitchM

Hi Kevin,

The holes in the top are 2 1/4", the holes in the back are 2 1/2".

That's a good point about the heaters. I wonder how much heat the tank would lose? I heard that acrylic had some insulating properties, plus I'll also be using lids on the tank.
I'm not too concerned about the temporary loss of filtering at this point. I don't want a heavily stocked tank. The tank feedings could occur near the end of the rest cycle.

If I went with your last setup suggestion, I would still need to drill a couple of holes for the sump return, wouldn't I?

As stated before the reeflo dart golds are great pumps (from customer and my personal viewpoint) but I have never had any experience with starting and stopping them on a daily or hourly basis (really not recommended) . I would though recommend your return from your sump to be a constant. You should not need any more holes drilled to accomplish your required tasks. Mitch it looks like you have some options on your 5/1/5 flow pattern which is great.

Kevin

mr.wilson · #8 01-03-2011, 11:14 PM

The Profilux can control a wide variety of pumps including the Abyzz. The Abyzz controller has pump temp, RPM, water sensor, and wattage draw which you can't get with aquarium controllers. Whether you need these features or not is another matter

Make sure if you have a variable water level in your sump that your skimmer isn't adversely affected. You can have it shut off on the same timer, if you go that route.

lastlight · #9 01-03-2011, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

The Profilux can control a wide variety of pumps including the Abyzz.

Oh I didn't know that. So you can buy these pumps without controllers. Also nice to know.

mr.wilson · #10 01-04-2011, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lastlight

Oh I didn't know that. So you can buy these pumps without controllers. Also nice to know.

The pump comes with a power supply with alarms for power or water shortage. There is a rheostat to manually set the pump output/RPM.

The cool thing about brushless DC pumps is they use less energy at lower RPMs. When you turn the 420 watt pump down to 65% capacity, it only uses 94 watts. A cycle of 35% for 10 seconds and a pulse of 65% for 2 seconds uses much less energy and gives the same net flow (without waves).

I tested a DC pump out of The Netherlands recently. It;s half the price and almost half the electricity, but the magnet on the pump stated to show rust pitting after three months use.

There are a few companies working on brushless DC pumps. Wait 6-12 months and you will see them replacing Iwaki and Sequence etc. For now, the price puts them out of reach for most.