Sump Baffles

[Krish]

8th item down is the ribbed hose I used. This company (Global Pets) is the distributor for Proclearaquatics who made the wet/dry I had on my first setup. They turned me on to these guys to buy the replacement parts.
http://www.globalpets.com/CategoryProductList.jsp?cat=Fish:Wet+Dry+Filter+Parts

 

[ronj]

what do you mean,"already made up"....isn't it just flex pipe?

 

[ronj]

somebody here just got a tank...can't remember who..i thought i remembered them saying that the flex hose came w/ their tank, although i could be wrong.

 

[Krish]

Yeah, you can buy the flex tubing like I had, but it doesn't come off of the roll with the ends on it like mine has (the white part that threads on and can slip over pvc without needing to use clamps). Know what I mean now? If not, I can look for a pic to show you what I mean...

 

[ronj]

yeah, i got it now...thanks for the link.. i may try this so that i don't have to use all pvc.. it will cut down on work time

 

[Krish]

Definately! On my new cube I used flex pvc because I sold the flex hose with the 75gal. Just as good IMO and is glued so it will never just pull off. I just popped a union in line just incase I ever have to seperate the sump from the tank

 

[ronj]

now that i think about it, i may have to put ball valves on the drains, just in case i need to slow the drain some....i am actually planning on doing my plumbing like mavgi has his...i want unions right above my sump on every pipe , just in case i need to disconnect the pipes and remove the sump

 

[Krish]

now that i think about it, i may have to put ball valves on the drains, just in case i need to slow the drain some....i am actually planning on doing my plumbing like mavgi has his...i want unions right above my sump on every pipe , just in case i need to disconnect the pipes and remove the sump

Be careful with that though. Remember, the overflow will drain what is put into the tank so if the flow is too strong for your liking coming in from the overflows and you close the valves a bit to slow the drains down, you will dry out your sump because you will be returning water to the tank too quickly and the overflows won't be able to keep up. An example would be like putting a 2000 gph pump on that tank with overflows that can only handle 1200. Sump will go dry, water will spill over the top of the tank and the pump will burn up.

 

[ronj]

i am going to try my mag12-1200gph minus head loss ..i think mine is about 900gph..i may have to try the mag18...i agree w/ you though. i will add them anyway just in case i go with the mag12 and need to slow the flow....it will not be my main flow device...just filtration and return...i am going to build a closed loop

 

[Krish]

i will add them anyway just in case i go with the mag12 and need to slow the flow

Cool, but it will have to be put on the pump and not the drain lines to control the flow by slowing it down.

 

[esears]

Its up to you how much you push through your tank. But on the same setup I'm running a Mag24 with zero problems. I think I could even push up to a Mag36 before I'd have to throttle the return pump down some. I'm only running about 4 feet of head on it too as my stand sits very low. My two overflow drains fall directly down into the sump underneath.

The way my return is plumbed is just a "T" connector with flex pvc on both sides and going straight up the pump. So I doubt I'm losing very much from the pump other than the head side.

Before I moved I originally had a Mag12 on the same tank (a 125) and it would barely push the water out at about 6-7 feet of head. I had a lot of stagnation in the tank and thats one of the reasons I upgraded to a larger pump. But I also had a few more 90 bends in there so I know that was a contributing factor.

 

[ronj]

my sump is just for filtration..the ruturn is not for water movement in my tank...i will add a closed loop and/or powerheads for flow

 

[ronj]

i might just build hard pvc's with all my valves and unions at the sump and the flex pipe coming down into them...i haven't mapped it all out yet..we will see

 

[james734]

Flex Pipe is the way to go IMO.. I had my all plumbed with rigid PVC but just switched ot all out to Flex. Stuff is called Ka-flex or Spa-Flex. You can PVC glue on all the fittings just like rigid PVC but a lot easier to bend and get where you need it to go..

 

[ronj]

esears, if your overflows only drain 1200gph, and you have a mag24 pushing 2400gph, that would run your sump dry and overflow the tank , wouldn't it??

 

[esears]

esears, if your overflows only drain 1200gph, and you have a mag24 pushing 2400gph, that would run your sump dry and overflow the tank , wouldn't it??

Thats what I would have thought. But with the 4 feet of head I believe a Mag24 is only pushing around 1800-1900 gph and I think that the 600 gph for each overflow is underrated as I have no problem with the tank and sump level staying level.

 

[james734]

i agree I think the AGA megaflows are underrated. I have a single and I'm pushing approx: 800 GPH through with out nay problems.

 

[mavgi]

at the begin i thught to go with mag18 as a return pump and i ask marc from melves about that here ronj i copy for you some info that marc give me and you can see why i decide to stay with the mag12


1. All you need for a 120g tank is a pump the moves 3x (360gph) to 5x (600gph) for the return pump. This gives the skimmer more contact time, and you won't have microbubble issues.

2.The Mag 18 is overkill for that tank. All you need is a Mag 12. You don't want a pump that is so close to overpowering the overflows, because #1) the overflows will be extremely noisy, and #2) they may not keep up one day (temporary stoppage) and the tnak will overflow. The Mag 18 will put out a lot of heat in the water 24 hours a day, and consume a lot of electricity.


3.If you want more flow, install a closed loop, add more powerheads or the Tunze Streams or VorTech pump perhaps.

the truth is that we need more circulation in the tank then the flow because good circulation will move all the detritus from point's that the flow from the return pipe can't reach up to the drain area and will help to keep the tank more clean.

i don't have a place to build a close loop so i go with 3 seio and 1 vortec pump the total heat from the seio and the return pump + the pumps for the uv , pump for the phosban reactor , pump for the calc reactor get high and i run 10" fan inside the sump area and 20" fan top of the tank to reduce the heat , i didn't said that the mag 18 can't run good on this size of tank but because of the risk of to much heat and noise i decide to go with the mag12.

 

[ronj]

i just got my baffles cut today...they look like they will need to be shaved a little for them to fit with the weather seal stripping....what could i use to trim them a little???? Lowes cut them for me,but the amount that i will need to take will be too much with a saw....will sandpaper wear down acrylic????

 

[Krish]

will sandpaper wear down acrylic????

I don't see why not...Just try and get it done evenly across.