The Plumbing and Water flow Workshop

[mojoreef]

Ok I think we have played around a little bit with flow types and resoning. So lets jump into the tricks we use to get flow, rid ourselves of bubbles and so on. If you have some ideas throw them out so we can all learn from them.


Mike

 

[Scooterman]

On my old Aqua Medic skimmer it had a little box on the end filled with Bio-Balls, worked well for removing Micro-Bubbles but required cleaning every so often, not the easiest task, I'd use vinegar to soak them in, then air compressor to blow them clean.

In the sump I've seen the three piece design that seemed to work well, you make dividers two are the same height & the middle one is lower than the other two, creating a bubble trap. The middle is actually attached to the bottom, the other two are left off the bottom usually an inch or two.

Now when it comes to actual plumbing you can use several methods, hoses are easy to install and you will have less restrictions due to the hoses being curved and no sharp turns great for some application, but it does come with problems that hard PVC overcomes, mainly once you hard PVC glue piping your done with it, personally I prefer the hard PVC and just up-size the pump a little to overcome the head loss due to the 90's &45's & other head losses. PVC takes more planning & design up-front but in the long run IMO once done you can focus on other things & lessen you chances of having flow problems later down the line.

 

[NaH2O]

Locline is not airtight, so having some of it exposed to air, can cause bubbles. Keeping it completely submerged will stop the bubbles.

 

[Jiddy]

Oh man and I have doen such a good job watching that thread grow with out jumping in. I see you are going with a manifold around the top. You might have to get a bigger pump to make those 4 out puts work. Give it a shot and see how it goes first though. As per pointing of the outputs I would say the back one should go straight down, as well as the front one and then have the two side outputs point down to about the center middle of the front of the tank.


hope it helps


Mike

I found some cheap Mag24's, was curious if my manifolds would be able to utilize that large of a pump efficiently (as efficiently as they do the Mag12's i guess) Its a poor design, but it gets the job done, the main problem i could see would be the PVC is only 1" dia, what do you think?

 

[mojoreef]

They should Jiddy, I would give it a run and see how they do



MIke

 

[Jiddy]

How do i attach 3/4 locline nozzle to 3/4 threaded PVC outlet?

 

[NaH2O]

Jiddy - the PVC part should be a threaded female adapter (if you aren't using a bulkhead). The locline will start with the locline threaded Male Adapter, then you attach the rest of your locline segments.

Hope this helps.

 

[mungus]

As per pointing of the outputs I would say the back one should go straight down, as well as the front one and then have the two side outputs point down to about the center middle of the front of the tank.

Mike would you recommend this also for a 75 Gallon. I only have one overflow in the back left corner. I have all the parts to set up a CL simmilar to Jiddys.

 

[mojoreef]

Sure mungus just keep in mind exactly what you are trying to do. Keep the detritus in suspension, so a bit of tweeking and you should find the way you need to accomplish the goal


Mike

 

[Jiddy]

Mike would you recommend this also for a 75 Gallon. I only have one overflow in the back left corner. I have all the parts to set up a CL simmilar to Jiddys.

Just make sure you add the startUp part (where you dump the startup water in) on the pump side and not the intake side with all the holes, kind of defeats the purpose. And if you usin Mag's get some teflon tape

 

[Jiddy]

Can we talk about Penductors and Educators... Are they worth the money and would they work on my CL design? How do they attach to PVC?

 

[mojoreef]

Jid they work OK if you have a pump that has the right amount of PSI, 10 I believe. They are basically designed for mixing components so they take the waer being pumped through it and add more water already in the tank to the overall flow, usually at a rate of 5, so for every gallon in they can give you 5 gallons coming out. They can be useful for areas where you have long distances to cover or for sweeping the bottom of the tank.


Mike

 

[Jiddy]

So for a design like mine with four outlets each one would have to have one then?

 

[Skipper J]

Mike.Remember that AGA you have design for me in this thread well it wasn't challenging enough so I got me an acrylic tank :lol: Well this is another way of saying I need Mojo's touch with this new tank please.I'm thinking of creating a new thread for the help but I figured this is the best place to be.
Ok this is with the same size as the AGA (60"x24"24") except this time it has a 20"x7" center overflow. I made a sketch of the CL and overflow(From Your Other Design) but I need your opinion on this as I cramp up everything in the Overflow. The CL drain is supposed to be on the side of the Overflow it is not depicted on the Pic and the Overflow return should come out in front of the overflow.

Question.
1.What would be the correct placement of this holes in terms of distance from the edges.
2.Do you think there is enough space for all that is in the overflow? I did this because I wanted to minimise plumbing on the backside.You know space limitation I mention to you before.

I'm starting a thread for this tank(Ina's Reef). Many thanks again Mike.

 

[mojoreef]

Skipper I think you have to many outputs coming back into the tank (10) I would go 8 max. and do it a little different in the plumbing across the back. Instead of doing to C formations in the back, just go with a Tee then run one manifold acroos the top with 4 outputs and then one across the bottom the same way. You going to need a decent pump for it.
Where is the water coming from for the closed loop pump??


Mike

 

[Skipper J]

I thought so!I was reading a printed copy of this thread and I came across your 3 to 1 rule.I was also looking at the shopping list of Wayupnorth and there were 8 bulkheads.I'm still trying to digest the T formation for the plumbing.If you could throw some pics I could get it clearly

I can't find the pumps you have there but there is one that is made in SPAIN.
The Brand and Model name is ESPA Piscis 3.They claim it to be quite I have yet to try.Here is the link:

http://www.espa.com/pls/expweg/wftxpdt.psp?pEmp=2&pIdi=22&pOme=7974&pCnt=42607

The pump is supposed to stay inside the cabinet just under the tank above or higher than the sump to minimise head loss. Or the idea of boring a hole at the back for plumbing and put it in the bathroom at tank level is being entertain.There is a tiny space I could squeeze it in.What do you think?I'm worried about the noise though.

Mike please stay with me on this thing as I want to make it right the 1st time. Well at least maximise the effort!

What about the plumbing inside the overflow what do you think?

Tomorrow I'll shop around for bulkheads looks like this is going to be a problem coz so far I can't find the specied BK.Worse comes to worse I'll order to Aquateco.

 

[mojoreef]

I am not going anywhere Skipper! On the pump do you have the GPH on it?? On the closed loop just picture a manifold across the top and a manifold across the bottom. Both manifolds have a tee in the middle, one pointing up and on the top one pointing down. then bring the water from the cl pump to the middle of the tank and connect to either manifold using a tee.
I am not sure on the overflow, thats why I asked about the inputs for the cl.


Mike

 

[Skipper J]

GPH is 4500-4800.Did I get the plumbing right? Looks like a strong pump to me considering the head on the graph which is in meters.I'm talking about the 3-70 Piscis 3.

 

[Skipper J]

Definitely I'll have to order bk and fitting with one of RF's sponsor or Aquaticeco.I spent my afternoon trying to find it here but they just don't have it locally.Any suggestions?

 

[Skipper J]

Mike I've been reading through the bk and manifold assembly and the plumbing dummy in me can't figure out how that 1" closed threaded nipple fit the 3/4 BK or the 3/4FIPT by 1 1/2 slip. I know it's only 1" long but what is this for? Got to be patient with me Mike I never paid attention to this fittings until now that I'm about to assemble them in my tank.