Help with new Dragonette

[method0075]

This may be a dumb question but how do you get the water from below back into the tank?

 

[wrightme43]

A pump, the overflow can only flow out whats pumped in.

 

[liveforphysics]

If you put the suction end of your fluval in the fuge, and the outlet end in the tank, that would do it.

Strong powerhead in the fuge with a tube running into the main tank works fine too.

 

[wrightme43]

I really believe more people could mandirin gobies to eat prepared food if they tried. Another guy puts his in with a single clown fish that is eating prepared food, and they learn by example. He is also using pellet food that rolls around on the bottom. If you watch them there little eyes focus on movement, just like any other predator. If you can stimulate the prey response with something they will at least mouth it, once they do that, it is a short hop to eating it. Mine still tries to sneak up on the pellets just so they dont get away.

 

[method0075]

I would love to train this guy, but in reality I should have a fuge and I need to build one.

My next question. Does the piping need to have those bends in it on both sides. I`m not a plumber so this is all new to me and how would I charge something like this?

 

[method0075]

how did you charge your pipes I couldn`t get mine to start the sucking process, as gravity did not seem to be on my side

 

[NaH2O]

I had my fuge above the sump, with a powerhead that pumped water up to it, then gravity fed it back to a different compartment in the sump.

 

[method0075]

Do the bends in the pipe have to be parralell with each other or does it really matter? do you need those elbows on the outside or can you just have the internal ones and then a pipe that goes straight down. I`m trying to understand the phisics of this....

 

[NaH2O]

I just came over the top of the fuge with the "water-in" plumbing, and not too far down into the box, as I needed a siphon break if the power ever went out....I didn't want to overwhelm my sump. The hole for the drain line, I just placed where I wanted the water level. There was an angle from the fuge to the straight piece into the sump. I no longer have mine set-up, otherwise I'd post a picture of the plumbing for it. This thread has some diagrams of set-ups: Let's Talk About ~Refugiums~

 

[liveforphysics]

To answer your questions about the bends in the tubes, yes, every bend MUST be there for it to function as something more than a siphon.

No, they arent required to be all parallel, however, the idea with the depth of the first and last tubes is to prevent bubbles from filling the trapped water pillar that has to be balenced inside for the operation to work.

To initially start the system, you need to rotate the device underwater in a tank, (or clean tub/sink, whatever) untill all the air trapped inside hits the road. Then orient the device upright, place in the tank, and as soon as the water level spills into the mouth of the inlet, water will be pouring out the exit to balence the height of the captured water pillar.

If you need a drawing or something, I can sketch one out.

Appearently people call this a "stand pipe" or "contained siphon drain", but Im not sure i have the names correct.

 

[Rock-N-Ruin]

I had a fuge above my 55 a year ago, all I did was use a maxijet 900 (use any small powerhead) with a few feet of vinyl hose from the tank to the fuge, with the fuge above the tank (that's where you have to get creative).

I used an acrylic 10gal. tank and just used a hole saw, put a bulkhead in it and plumbed it so it gravity fed back into the main tank. it worked great.

Currently I have a 30gal. fuge that is about 1 foot off the floor on a bakers rack that is fed the same way, accept the powerhead is in the sump and the fuge feeds back into the sump. That's not the best way, but it was the easiest at the time..

Soon I plan on redesigning it so one of the tank overflows runs to the fuge and reroute the plumbing so the fuge drains closer to the return pump, right now it drains in before the baffles where I have some grey foam pads to reduce microbubbles. So I really don't think many pods make it back to the display. The main purpose at the time was to reduce nitrates with macro and that has worked flawlessly. Just some info from what I have done.

I wouldn't use the fluval for a refugium since they are enclosed, I have known people to use a large HOB filter like a Emperor 400 and fill it with caulerpa and put a light over it!

I just wonder if pods can survive a 1325gph pump ride back to the tank???? anyone have input on that??

 

[method0075]

Thanks for all the info! From what I can gather the Pods do make it back to the Tank because of their macro size. I can only imagine how fun that ride must be!