180g reef - flow - input needed

[Gooli]

I'm planning the flow for my 180g in the works and it will have 3 components, two of which I already figured out - around 580gph from a eheim 1260 to a seaswirl as the return and a 1262 on a closed loop with a seaswirl.

the third component which is the majority of the flow is still undecided, mostly because it's hard to swallow the costs of the OM 4 Way or 1" seaswirls.

Option # 1
Reeflo Dart to a Oceansmotions 4 way to 4 corners of the tank (90 degree elbows of course)

Option # 2
Reeflo Dart split 3 or 4 ways to 1" seaswirls in the 4 corners of the tank.

I like option# 2 right now because the flow is more distributed AND i can initially have it go to pvc elbows and upgrade to seaswirls later - more dollars friendly with the upfront cost.

 

[DRC69]

I like option #1.
But why not use your return as part of your flow???
I don't really like seaswirls very much.
I would drill the back and set it up for bulkheads and build a manifold.
JMO - Have fun with it.

 

[dattack]

Tunzes with the eheim 1260 for return only.

 

[marcrothschild]

Tunzes will be cheaper in the long run...plus you will save yourself many hours of plumbing (your wife will appreciate this) I would just do the 1262 and Sea Swirl as a return, get some Tunzes with a multi controller and take the money saved and get a new sump.
You saw my CL, and thats without an OM....I spent like 30hrs plumbing my tank. The cost of bulkheads, ball valves, unions, and various other fittings really adds up. I would not use anything less than a Dart on a CL for 100g or larger. That 1262 as a CL will be a waste of time IMO. If you do a CL, get a Dart. I have seen them for sale used for 160.00 shipped here on RC.
Whatever you do, try and keep it simple as possible...2 closed loops sounds too complicated

 

[Gooli]

hey marc...the CL with the eheim 1262 will be a 2nd closed loop..since i already own it. the main closed loop will be with the dart.

Here's the thing about the tunzes...they gotta sit IN the aquarium!

 

[marcrothschild]

true dat...Thats why I wanted a CL. But a pair of tunzes wont be so obvious in a 180...I only have 100g.
Why not use the 1262 as the return, and go with 1 CL with 6 nozzles. Also take a look at the wavy seas, my buddy has one, and its much nicer than the SS that he replaced.

 

[Gooli]

i dont want to pass water that fast through the sump\refuge AND i dont want a loud tank so i think a 1260 would do fine - just around 600 or so + 800 from 1262 closed loop and lets say another 2800 from the dart...that's over 4000gph. throw in the sweeping motions of the seaswirls and i think i got all the tank flow covered.
i will check out the wavyseas..sounds cool (and expensive)

what can u tell me about the zeovit...are u happy? is it expensive? what are some other alternatives for exporting nutrients on a large scale?

 

[marcrothschild]

well asking about zeo will open a can of worms. A large skimmer and good flow are critical for nutrient export. Zeo is just an additional means of nutrient reduction. It uses a bacterial driven process in addition to the media to reduce phosphate and nitrates. It also produces a bacterial planctonic(is that a word?)food source for the corals. I need to update my pics, but you have seen my tank, and my SPS are looking pretty good. Its not the only way, its not the best way, but it is a way to increase bioload capacity and improve coloration in SPS. Like anything good in this hobby, it aint cheap, but they have reduced their prices by about 20% in the past couple of weeks. I would say its about 300.00 to get started and then mabey 20.00 per month to maintain(if you average the cost out over 12 mos)
If you are thinking of doing zeo, Make sure you leave enough room in the sump for a reactor. I would wait a while, you will be supprised what that ASM G4X will do for yor corals coloration

 

[Gooli]

i am defintely getting the g4x..here's exactly what i am gonna do with the closed loop...i love this setup..simple and effective.

 

[marcrothschild]

Nice!!!

 

[yuhsuen]

Golan, my $0.02...

Unless you're willing to look at the 2 SS in the fornt corners of the tank, I'd leave them on the back like the setup you posted. 1" SS are worth the money as it distributes a wider flow versus the smaller 1/2" or 3/4" models. At almost $100 more, wavy sea units are a bit much for me...although if I can I'd buy those instead. It's got a cleaner look and slimmer and also is adjustable in terms of the arc/sweep angle.

Tunzes to me are very expensive, brand new is over $1K for a controllable setup and even used can be quite pricy. And I'm with you...no matter how big a tank is...having huge powerheads inside is just too much of an eye sore. If you're gonna go money bags on this setup, check these out
http://www.ecotechmarine.com/products/vortech.htm
much smaller and killer flow...but also only one direction, can't mount them like a powerhead and point them in different directions.

Now if it was me setting up a stand alone tank...for CL I'd drill the tank and have the intake on the back glass hidden by the rockwork. And run a dart with the output going through some sort of oscillating device be it SS or wavy sea (3 to 4 of them) all placed on the back ledge. Yes...plumbing will definitely give you a high with this setup.

And if it's an inwall 180g system, I'd drill both the back glass for the intake and the 2 holes in each of the side panels for the output. This CL will be run by a dart going to a OM 4way with the drum that'll allow for flow to come out of 2 ports at a time so there'll always be water movement coming form each side panel to creat the random current you'll be looking for in a sps tank

btw, the pic you posted, those white single union ball valves coming off the 3 way split will not hold water if you undo the union. I know since I used them before and had a big spill

 

[Gooli]

"btw, the pic you posted, those white single union ball valves coming off the 3 way split will not hold water if you undo the union. I know since I used them before and had a big spill "

ok...so what would you recommend instead?

 

[yuhsuen]

the way that setup is plumbed will work just fine since there's a schedule 80 ballvalve with 2 true unions underneath it. So those while ones only serve to stop the flow to the SS. If you don't planning on plumbing it like that, then you'd be safer going with the ballvalves with true unions on there. Go to Lowes, they have it both in schedule 80 and 40. Homedepot by my house doesn't carry those.

 

[Yinger]

Golan, you should ask Loc, he's using a dart in his 150 and i believe he's getting quite a bit of circulation in his tank. As for zeo, i just started up on it and its been one week. Water is definitely much clearer.

 

[CW from the OC]

Golan,

I use 2 SS's run by a 1262, and it runs nicely. I added 2 Vortecs, and that is enough in my 120. Probably going to do the same thing in my new 210. Take a look at the Vortecs in person, you may be surprised at how small they are.

 

[Gooli]

thanks everyone...yinger...who's "Loc" - couldn't find that here.