MitchM tank build

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

Paul's adaptation of his Revolutions product to an inline solution for you is nothing short of pure genius. His best ideas are inspired from specialized requirements like yours.

Lexan will still warp. I have used lots of these lids over the years.

Remember those are the Seaswirl flow limits, not the limits of the Dart to push water through a Seaswirl.

I did a 600 gallon acrylic tank (96x30x48) a few years ago, using two darts on 2 OM 4ways, with a Blueline 100 return pump. Flow was excellent. Use an online head loss calculator to make sue you are getting the best out of your system.

Use threaded parts where you can so it is easier to adapt to change.

did you have that motorized valve on there

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by Skimmer King

did you have that motorized vlave on there

Huh? I had two Oceans Motion 4-ways. The two Darts worked, but since then I have switched to higher pressure pumps like Iwaki an Abyzz DC brushless if the budget can fit them.

I found that a Blueline 70, rated at 1750 GPH moves more water than a Dart with a potential of 3600 GPH, if you have significant friction loss and 1" PVC.

I also like the idea of a magnet coupled pump. Sequence are the best of the direct drive pumps, but even with silicon carbide seals, they can leak or cavitate after a few years of use.

Here is a picture of the 600 gallon tank showing most of the plumbing. There are two intakes with two strainers on each. Since then I have switched to the same Banjo strainers Mitch is using. The intakes are set up to draw incoming water from the opposing ends of the aquarium, so the left intake returns to the right and vice versa. There are six closed loop returns on the bottom in spiral upwards 45˚ angles. There are four more closed loop returns for a total of ten on the two OM 4-ways (two at the bottom of the end across from the end overflow, and one beside the overflow at the top, and one at the bottom beside the overflow.



There are two closed loop ports to the left of the end overflow (top & bottom).





This is the end without the overflow. The two top ports are for the sump return (Blueline 100) and the two bottom are part of the closed loop. Water exiting here is drawn from the intake at the other end of the tank for additional mixing. The end to end flow across the top assures that there are absolutely no dead spots on the surface. A good test of your system is to add some flake food and see if it either sinks or gets skimmed within 30 seconds. If it gets stuck along the edges, you need to fine tune your plumbing.



My needs were unique with this tank because it is 4' deep/high and as such there is a greater need for moving water to the surface air/water interface for oxygenation.

You learn with every tank. It's one of the rewards of the hobby.

[MitchM]

As I'm not certain as to the success of my proposed setup, I think I'll see how the Dart pumps do before I start saving my pennies for $2000+ pumps.

I realize that the Seaswirl setup is limited by the Seaswirls, not the pump.

My biggest challenge is going to be adequately feeding whatever I keep in the tank for corals. Hopefully I can identify some zones where food will accumulate out of the circulation pattern.

Thanks.

[DiverDude]

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

I like the faux rock ! I would mind doing something like that to the back wall of my next tank. Can anyone tell me what this is called and point me at a DIY thread ???

[MitchM]

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

Sorry, if I'm making an already confusing discussion, even more so, but I have a few questions about your design. There are four holes in the top for the (now two) Seaswirls, but the plumbing is coming up from within the tank?

Hi Mr. Wilson,

Thanks for your input, I've been following your work on RC.
The original design was to have closed loops with two Dart pumps. Each pump would have 2 of the rear intakes and supply 2 of the seaswirls. The pumps were to be mounted on the back of the stand itself just below the level of the tank. This mounting would be similar to the mounting of the closed loop pumps on the Penn State main display tank. As it is a closed loop system, head loss would be minimized and friction would be minimized by keeping the actual plumbing run as short as possible.
When I ordered the tank I had not determined the sump return and had intended on drilling the tank as needed for that.

At this point I am going to be using only the front two seaswirls and dropping two supply pipes from the sump down the two rear holes that were originally going to hold the two rear seaswirls. That means that I will have the 4 rear intakes for 1 Dart pump supplying the two front seaswirls.

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

...That 4300 GPH quickly turns into 2200GPH with 6' of head, a ball valve, check valve, and a few elbows. If the two Seaswirls are on a closed loop they will also have more headloss than your proposed tidal system. How many effluent lines will you have on your closed loop? I assume you are dropping down to 1" at the Seaswirls. You may only have 1500GPH on your closed loop by the time you finish up.

There are no check valves in my design. I have not had good experiences with them in the past.

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

may want to consider a pressure rated sump return pump like a Blueline or Iwaki 100 for the two Seaswirls and use four 1.5" effluent lines (reduced to 1" at the tank) for each of the two Superdart closed loops.

As the system sits now, 1 dart pump will be supplying close to the limit of 2 seaswirls rated GPH.

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

of the benefits of an OM unit over solenoids (other than cost and noise), is that the OM will allow some passive flow through the closed line(s). This is beneficial considering that these lines will be off for 5 hours and will become anaerobic. Also keep in mind that you may have some air in the lines as they fire back up again. The bubbles aren't a big problem for corals or fish, but they do make a mess of your lighting (salt spray). The Om unit will not allow air into the line when it is cycled "off". The OM has a soft on/off cycle so you don't dislodge biofilms from your plumbing every time it changes path/direction, as you would with an abrupt cycle.

The cycle planned is actually 5 hours on, 1 hour off. The outlets for the sump return will be designed to allow for drainback of the water to the sump, so there will be no water remaining in the plumbing lines. There will be air coming back through the lines, but given the closed top of the aquarium, the lights will not be affected. I'm not sure what the effect will be from any biofilm being dislodged on a regular basis from the plumbing.

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

I'm leery of turning pumps on and off on frequent cycles, especially pumps that are not magnetically coupled such as the Sequence line. I find with these pumps, particularly as sump returns, perform and sound differently as the impeller settles in varying positions. If you set it and forget it, these pumps are reliable. Pumps with a soft on/off are another story.

The effect of the on/off cycles are a concern of mine with the Dart pump and I am open to changing to a different pump for that application.

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

Are you using the check valve as an air intake or to physically stop water flow (back siphon)? Is it a swing, ball or wye style check valve?

Again, I will not be using a check valve. The back siphon will be allowed to happen.

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

I'm not sure if you will achieve your tidal sequence if you are just using one pump to go through the cycle.

My original post to Oceans Motions was to see if they could come up with a design that could accomplish just that. Paul at OM thinks he has a non-solenoid controlled design, and I am waiting to hear back on the final results