500G (84X48X30)- NOW REAL !
- Thread starter Sanjay
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Sanjay
Premium Member
Check valves ? Necessary or just another costly hassle ?
I will drill the returns close to the water line to break the siphon. But stuff can grow and clog the hole over time if not kept open. But as a back up, I was thinking of using the Wye Check valves (ones that can be cleaned).
But this creates, a farily long connection with the union ball valve, check valve, a tee that I was planning on using to divert some water to the carbon and phosphate reactors. I know this will not fit under the tank in the vertical position. I do not know what size the Wye valve will take up. Any suggestions ?
I could bag the check valve and use one of the outlets from the tee as a siphon break, as long as it stays out of the water at the highest water level in the sump.
Any comments ?
sanjay.
I will drill the returns close to the water line to break the siphon. But stuff can grow and clog the hole over time if not kept open. But as a back up, I was thinking of using the Wye Check valves (ones that can be cleaned).
But this creates, a farily long connection with the union ball valve, check valve, a tee that I was planning on using to divert some water to the carbon and phosphate reactors. I know this will not fit under the tank in the vertical position. I do not know what size the Wye valve will take up. Any suggestions ?
I could bag the check valve and use one of the outlets from the tee as a siphon break, as long as it stays out of the water at the highest water level in the sump.
Any comments ?
sanjay.
I'm in agreement. I've never met a check valve that was reliable over time, including the better Wye check valves. I stripped them out of my system a long time ago. In addition, regardless of the design, they all reduce the flow rate to some extent.
Siphon break holes work well; just be sure to clean them every few months. I use a round file on mine. Also, position them so that you can determine by eye that they're open and flowing water. This also makes them easier to clean.
Greg
Siphon break holes work well; just be sure to clean them every few months. I use a round file on mine. Also, position them so that you can determine by eye that they're open and flowing water. This also makes them easier to clean.
Greg
Travis
10 and over club
I will go against the grain and cast my vote for the check valve. I use the clear true union ones and have never had a problem with reliability. Just get 2 so when it is time to clean the one you can just swap it out with one that is already clean with minimal down time on the return loop.
jnarowe
New member
I use a clear one too, but for a different purpose. I have it inline just after my return pump and I use it to gauge flow by eye. I have it on 2 unions so it can be removed easily and yes it has some brown algae in it. I just like to be able to see what is going on inside the line.
just dave
11th in '11
You can place an over sized flapper type of check valve on the suction side of your return pump inside the sump. By oversizing you reduce much of the restriction that one causes and by not gluing it in place you can service it easily without any trouble. I would never use a check valve to prevent any flooding problems caused by back siphoning but I do use them to stop excessive back siphoning and eliminate the subsequent splashing that occurs when the system restarts.
Sanjay
Premium Member
Ok.. I am back from my trip to China and India and trying to get over the jet lag quickly so I can get back to this tank.
Time to start thinking about filling the tank with water. What would be cheaper and faster, using RO or running tap water through a DI filter. ? Big tanks make you think even about the smallest things.
sanjay.
Time to start thinking about filling the tank with water. What would be cheaper and faster, using RO or running tap water through a DI filter. ? Big tanks make you think even about the smallest things.
sanjay.
jacob30
Member
I would invest in an RO/DI pump (not necessarily cheap). It significantly increases water production.
Here is one on E-bay not too expensive.
http://item.express.ebay.com/__Pet-...8272037QQptdnZPetQ20SuppliesQQcmdZExpressItem
Here is one on E-bay not too expensive.
http://item.express.ebay.com/__Pet-...8272037QQptdnZPetQ20SuppliesQQcmdZExpressItem
Sanjay
Premium Member
Well, between travel, work, geting the basement work finished, delays due to missing parts, wrong parts delivered etc.... things got really bogged down there for a while.
But, a lot of progress has been made this week, and things are moving along again.
Tank is basically full with water now... no water in the sump yet. Holding off on that till I get the circulation pumps. I got the closed loops almost plumbed. Fired the first one last night.. and ofcourse there was a slow leak at the pump. Took it all apart and found that the pump had basically shredded the teflon tape. redid it with the thicker pink tape and that seems to be fine now. this closed loop return is split into a sea swirl and a fixed return. The pump does hold quite a bit of water after the ball valves are closed off.. have to get better at catching the spill.
As you can see I also put in a tee with a ball valve to allow me do do the water change and send the water directly into the drain that is near by via a tube that will be attached with a quick disconned when needed.
The second closed loop, is almost ready to get fired up. But I wanted to fire them up one at a time.. so I can debug each one separately. The second closed loop returns are 2 sea swirls.
As, you can see the lights are also, up and running. I post some more pics of that soon.
sanjay.
But, a lot of progress has been made this week, and things are moving along again.
Tank is basically full with water now... no water in the sump yet. Holding off on that till I get the circulation pumps. I got the closed loops almost plumbed. Fired the first one last night.. and ofcourse there was a slow leak at the pump. Took it all apart and found that the pump had basically shredded the teflon tape. redid it with the thicker pink tape and that seems to be fine now. this closed loop return is split into a sea swirl and a fixed return. The pump does hold quite a bit of water after the ball valves are closed off.. have to get better at catching the spill.
As you can see I also put in a tee with a ball valve to allow me do do the water change and send the water directly into the drain that is near by via a tube that will be attached with a quick disconned when needed.
The second closed loop, is almost ready to get fired up. But I wanted to fire them up one at a time.. so I can debug each one separately. The second closed loop returns are 2 sea swirls.
As, you can see the lights are also, up and running. I post some more pics of that soon.
sanjay.
Sanjay
Premium Member
Here is the lighting setup. i wanted something that would allow the lights to be easily rolled out of the way.
Using the light rail, and auxilliary trolley from Sunlight Supply. I used 2 6ft light rails giving me a 12 foot track to allow all the lights to be rolled out from over the tank. The diamond light lumen arcs were directly attached to the trolley. With the limited height available above the tank.. I wanted the lights to be as high as possible. The cords of the reflectors were cut and the quick disconnect adaptor that came with the ICECAP electronic ballasts were attached.
Here are the pics.
It seems to giving very good coverage on the bottom of the tank with this setup. I need to get the PAR meter to see what reading I am getting. But right now there are some really old lamps in there.
sanjay.
Using the light rail, and auxilliary trolley from Sunlight Supply. I used 2 6ft light rails giving me a 12 foot track to allow all the lights to be rolled out from over the tank. The diamond light lumen arcs were directly attached to the trolley. With the limited height available above the tank.. I wanted the lights to be as high as possible. The cords of the reflectors were cut and the quick disconnect adaptor that came with the ICECAP electronic ballasts were attached.
Here are the pics.
It seems to giving very good coverage on the bottom of the tank with this setup. I need to get the PAR meter to see what reading I am getting. But right now there are some really old lamps in there.
sanjay.
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