240 Inwall Construction (Image Intense)
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bheron
Active member
Wait, this has gotta be a dumb question but I have to ask it. If youre getting water from the bottom hole in the overflow, why have a utube at all? aside from more outflow, whats the benefit?
If my sump can handle the entire volume of the overflow, why cant I just let the water drain from the holes in the bottom of the tank?
(I CANT WAIT TO SEE HOW DUMB I AM AFTER THAT ONE)
If my sump can handle the entire volume of the overflow, why cant I just let the water drain from the holes in the bottom of the tank?
(I CANT WAIT TO SEE HOW DUMB I AM AFTER THAT ONE)
LittleBlueGT
New member
I don't think you guys understand my concept of a U-tube. This is not a Durso, it is to be used in conjunction with one.
The tube starts off at the bottom of the overflow, goes up to within 1 inch of the water line and then back down. This tube has a ball valve on it to control the amount of flow that goes through it. NO AIR goes through this line. It is 100% silent. The reason it goes to almost the top of the overflow before going back down is to have a couple of anti-siphon holes built in at the top. This way when the return pumps are turned off the whole overflow does not drain, just 1 inch of it does. This pipe handles the bulk of the water. The Durso beside it handles as small amount of water as possible to minimize micro-bubbles.
The tube starts off at the bottom of the overflow, goes up to within 1 inch of the water line and then back down. This tube has a ball valve on it to control the amount of flow that goes through it. NO AIR goes through this line. It is 100% silent. The reason it goes to almost the top of the overflow before going back down is to have a couple of anti-siphon holes built in at the top. This way when the return pumps are turned off the whole overflow does not drain, just 1 inch of it does. This pipe handles the bulk of the water. The Durso beside it handles as small amount of water as possible to minimize micro-bubbles.
weatherson
Premium Member
bheron: I suppose that a small crack in the plastic could lead to a massive leak. I'm not to worried now with the new style containers as they are considerably thicker than the previous units. Also, consider that the mixing container is filled only once every two weeks and then is full only over night.
littlesilvermax: If I am understanding your reasoning here, it is so you are pulling water from the bottom. If so, then it makes sense. But... why not just extend the downspout of the Durso to the bottom? Essentially, this sounds like what you have already, I guess. Sort of.
Personally, I prefer to pull the top water as there is plenty of current in the prefilter boxes to keep any particulate matter in suspension and the stuff my skimmer needs is up there too, at the surface. 
Marc: He resurfaced a few weeks back but I wasn't able to get any photos. It literally goes months without being seen and then reappears. I'm definitely going to do my best to get some new shots when it decides to strike a pose.
Speaking of photos... Here's some nighttime shots I took last night. First, a shot of the serpent with those odd spots it get's periodically;
littlesilvermax: If I am understanding your reasoning here, it is so you are pulling water from the bottom. If so, then it makes sense. But... why not just extend the downspout of the Durso to the bottom? Essentially, this sounds like what you have already, I guess. Sort of.
Personally, I prefer to pull the top water as there is plenty of current in the prefilter boxes to keep any particulate matter in suspension and the stuff my skimmer needs is up there too, at the surface. Marc: He resurfaced a few weeks back but I wasn't able to get any photos. It literally goes months without being seen and then reappears. I'm definitely going to do my best to get some new shots when it decides to strike a pose.
Speaking of photos...
Here's some nighttime shots I took last night. First, a shot of the serpent with those odd spots it get's periodically;
weatherson
Premium Member
A couple of an Emerald hanging out in an acropora. He better be Red Bug eating. 
And his underside;
And his underside;
weatherson
Premium Member
Next, a not so great photo (again, these are night shots) but I'm including it for the cute little star. Well, maybe not so little. These guys keep getting bigger and bigger as time goes on.
A Cat's Paw fully extended;
These guys keep getting bigger and bigger as time goes on.
A Cat's Paw fully extended;
weatherson
Premium Member
And the last shots which I might add were not color altered. Most of these shots I took with an LED flashlight as the source. They may not be the brightest of photos but the colors just seem to please me.
Joseph
Joseph
I can't believe I finished the whole thread...nothing short of amazing Weatherson.....spent a few days reading this thread..I think I need councelling now so says my wife.
Will be setting up my in wall 120 in the basement this fall and you definetly will be an inspiration to this......Thanks
Mike
Will be setting up my in wall 120 in the basement this fall and you definetly will be an inspiration to this......Thanks
Mike
weatherson
Premium Member
Mike: Thanks for the kind words and I'm pleased you enjoyed your marathon read. Best of luck with the upcoming tank endeavor.
Knyght: You like that one too, huh?
This is a little late in posting but better than never. We headed north for the holiday weekend (4th of July) and a fellow club member/friend was kind enough to visit the tank to verify all was well. But, in fact, all was not. On Sunday, he and his Mrs. came in to find a "slight" sand storm in the tank. The culprit turned out to be slightly amazing and yet completely unexpected, at least to me.
The typical sand depth is around 2 to 3 inches toward the tank front. Here's a couple shots where the sand had been shifted about a bit:
Yes, that is the bottom pane of glass seen there. :eek2: So you ask, where did all that sand get displaced to? Here's a graphical representation to answer your question:
So now you're thinking that there must have been a return line that came lose and aimed directly at the sand bed, right? Umm... not exactly. Here's a shot of the little culprit:
Yep, that's right, a little snail decided to make its way to the Penductor and probably was happily sitting there until the closed loop came on. Unfortunately, he lost his life for the sheer force of the water which must have been the equivalent of a fire hose at full pressure blasting a person out of a cardboard box. Unfortunately, times two, the remaining shell was lodged in place just in front of the nozzle in a position that was enough to disrupt the water flow and send it in a not-so advantageous to the tank direction. It now looks like I will be creating some anti-snail guards for the Penductors in an attempt to prevent this from happening again. So what's the moral here you ask? Don't think the simplest of small events can't have huge ramifications. So what's the irony here, you ask? This little event just had to happen when I was away for a few days. What are the odds? The good news is all is back to normal without any casualties... umm, except for the snail, that is.
Joseph
Knyght: You like that one too, huh?
This is a little late in posting but better than never. We headed north for the holiday weekend (4th of July) and a fellow club member/friend was kind enough to visit the tank to verify all was well. But, in fact, all was not. On Sunday, he and his Mrs. came in to find a "slight" sand storm in the tank. The culprit turned out to be slightly amazing and yet completely unexpected, at least to me.
The typical sand depth is around 2 to 3 inches toward the tank front. Here's a couple shots where the sand had been shifted about a bit:
Yes, that is the bottom pane of glass seen there. :eek2: So you ask, where did all that sand get displaced to? Here's a graphical representation to answer your question:
So now you're thinking that there must have been a return line that came lose and aimed directly at the sand bed, right? Umm... not exactly.
Here's a shot of the little culprit:
Yep, that's right, a little snail decided to make its way to the Penductor and probably was happily sitting there until the closed loop came on. Unfortunately, he lost his life for the sheer force of the water which must have been the equivalent of a fire hose at full pressure blasting a person out of a cardboard box.
Unfortunately, times two, the remaining shell was lodged in place just in front of the nozzle in a position that was enough to disrupt the water flow and send it in a not-so advantageous to the tank direction. It now looks like I will be creating some anti-snail guards for the Penductors in an attempt to prevent this from happening again. So what's the moral here you ask? Don't think the simplest of small events can't have huge ramifications. So what's the irony here, you ask? This little event just had to happen when I was away for a few days. What are the odds? The good news is all is back to normal without any casualties... umm, except for the snail, that is.Joseph
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Briankook
New member
Joseph, wow. Anything that can go wrong, does go wrong.
I noticed that you said the "closed loop came on." Do you have your closed loop pump on a timer? I'm trying to find ways to have intermittent flow with mine. I have 2 closed loops, one with 2 penductors & one with an eductor & a penductor & it is constant "blasting", but I have them aimed away from direct blasting of corals .
Thanks
I noticed that you said the "closed loop came on." Do you have your closed loop pump on a timer? I'm trying to find ways to have intermittent flow with mine. I have 2 closed loops, one with 2 penductors & one with an eductor & a penductor & it is constant "blasting", but I have them aimed away from direct blasting of corals .
Thanks
original-reefland
Reefer
weatherson said:Yep, that's right, a little snail decided to make its way to the Penductor and probably was happily sitting there until the closed loop came on. Unfortunately, he lost his life for the sheer force of the water which must have been the equivalent of a fire hose at full pressure blasting a person out of a cardboard box.
Whoa.. that snail got one heck on an enema.
If the snail would have lodged himself downwards instead of upwards you think water would have went outside of the tank?
DerekW
Member
weatherson said:Yep, that's right, a little snail decided to make its way to the Penductor ...
So what's the moral here you ask? Don't think the simplest of small events can't have huge ramifications. So what's the irony here, you ask? This little event just had to happen when I was away for a few days. What are the odds?
Joseph
What's the odds it would happen while your away? From my experience, about 100%
Now, on the positive side, there might have been a possibility that if the snail was situated differently, the water may have went up instead of down, possiblt spalashing the lights or causing a wave or flow to go up over the edge of the tank and caused water loss or salinity change.
The poor guy maybe lost his life, but it might have been for the greater good of the tank.
Besides, we all love another weatherson diy project
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