A pair of EcoWheel tanks in the making

I've been to Inland Aquatics several times, my mother lives about 10 minutes from them. The last time that I was there they were useing water screws and dump stations. That's where I came up with the idea for a T/T air lift dump station. They also deep sand beds. I'm useing a 4" NNR sand bed.
I just kinda figured that with AEI being made in Indiana that I would at the least received a return to my emails about a dealer. 2 years is a long time to not check their emails. I don't mean to be rude but the customer service needs some form of inprovements made. Unless the cost is high so that they only need to sale a few when ever they need the extra money.
If I had better pictures of the setup and the in/outlet box's I would just make my own, useing my idea's instead of theirs.
I have boughten 3 used water coolers to use the best one as a chiller. I'm cutting them down and removeing the copper feed water line and replaceing it with a SS line. Running the water through it the same as they do the reactor.
I've just never figured out how the control the top off replacement water. It would be a pain to have to shut it down everytime to check and replace the water.
As for coolinig I plan on useing Computer 12v fans and a conputer power supply. You can get some nice SS covers and filters for them cheeper than anyothers out there that I have looked at and priced.
Time really isn't the factor, I hace been colecting parts for over 3 years for my system and have spent 6 months building my stand and hood. Remodled a closet with air and vents for the torer, pump and chiller to control the heat build up.
 
I've been playing with air drive stuff alot lately. I think I have a good solution to the extra water movement plus still using the ecowheel, and still a non traumatic pumping system. Just working out the logistics of it, but I'm trying to run it very efficiently, without a larger pump than the ecowheel already requires.
I'm almost finished building the test tank, I'll let everyone know how it works, or if its a flop.
Chris
 
H20ENG, Look forward to your results.

Brett, Having a fan on the air pump did not alter the tank temp. My heat source is entirely related to the lights. I've got my lumenarc hoods vented now, the challenge is to get air circulating inside them. To vent, I cut 3" holes in two opposite sides of each hood. Then I attached a raised reflector piece on the inside of each hole, and a 4" vent tube on the outsides. I've connected everything together in a chain with aluminum ductwork. Unfortuantely the reflector pieces block the incoming air from my 5" panaflo. I basically put the entrance of the tube right in front of the fan, which almost takes up most of the fan space. However the 1/4 inch gap all the way around has a lot of air moving outside of the tube. I really can't feel much of an air current coming out of the first hood. And just to make me feel even better, my temp got up to 84 degrees (started at 78). My next step is to directly connect the vent to the fan and see what happens. Sure wish time was endless b/c I seem to run out of it way to fast. I found a beautiful blueberry gorgonian at a local store for next to nothing, but I'll just have to pass....

I did finally get a couple pieces of live rock on top of the base rock. Once I get this temp problem solved, I'll get some seed turf algae. Wonder what kind of miracle grow is needed to jump start the filter?

Matt
 
It was worth a shot Matt, at least now you know venting the lights is a must do.
Don't sweat that blueberry gorg as I tried 2 and couldn't keep one w/out some kind of continuous supplemental feed.

Chris, can't wait to see what you come up with on your latest project. On a side note, we lost another one to Atlanta, when I get around to visiting it's going to be one giant reunion.

FWIW, I have one Tunze Stream in (2nd is on backorder) and water is really moving now. It doesn't exactly blend in, but it sure is getting the job done. I'm really liking the controller. The thing has several settings that will do everything from continous slow/fast pulsing up to alternating multiple pumps from side to side at pre-set intervals so you can simulate changing tidal currents. It even has a photocell that turns down the pumps at night and then ramps them back up the following morning.

Beyond that I removed that big rock with the yellow and orange zoos and replaced it with a really tall rock that I mounted a bunch of acros to. Still trying to eradicate the star polyps though - stubborn little buggers. Tank still looks good in spite of losing the airpump for half a week.

Brett
 
I am planning to do a major cleanup of the eco-wheel tank. Over the years quite a bit stuff (for want of a better word) as collected in the bio balls and the base of the tank. Approximately 2 thirds of the bio balls have sunk to the bottom, being weighed down by organisms growing on them.
I am unsure whther to just clean the bio balls and put them back or remove them all together.
 
If you have any detectable levels of Nitrate then I say pull them.

Actually, I'm starting to think about the bioballs inside the wheel itself. I'm not registering any Nitrates but I'm wondering if the balls were gone would my surges be larger?
 
change of subject here.....

Anyone have any suggestions for running carbon on an EcoWheel. A cannister filter is kind a pain to be doing all the time so I'm trying to think of a way that I can run carbon in the least labor intensive way.

About the only thing I can come up with is just hanging a bag in one of the influent boxes and going the passive flow-by route. But what I'd really like is some way to get the water to flow thru the carbon rather than around a suspended bag.

Brett
 
Putawaywet said:
If you have any detectable levels of Nitrate then I say pull them.

Actually, I'm starting to think about the bioballs inside the wheel itself. I'm not registering any Nitrates but I'm wondering if the balls were gone would my surges be larger?
Click to expand...

Did you get an increase in bubbles in the tank when you removed them.
 
Caevan,
Why not put live rock rubble in your eco-wheel rather than the bioballs? I'm not using the bioballs, and I do have microbubbles in the tank.

Matt
 
caevan said:
Did you get an increase in bubbles in the tank when you removed them.
Click to expand...

Yes, there was an increase. It doesn't bother me all that much, but I could see it bothering someone else.

Brett
 
Brett,
I could see a home built canister plumbed inline with the airlift, with bypass valves and unions to disassemble for cleaning / carbon replacement. It could be made of 4" pipe, with 2" plumbing to maintain the flow you have with the airlift piping.
Otherwise, maybe some sort of tray to hold it in one of the boxes?
 
Brett,
What if you had a tray that fits on the tank outflow box that runs the length of the weir? Perhaps the entire outflow could be sent through carbon before it drains back to the eco-wheel. Wouldn't you think if you had carbon inline that ultimately that would impede airlift flow?

I suppose you could also T off the eco-wheel outflow, similar to feeding a calcium reactor, but utilize it for a fluidized carbon chamber instead (or in addition to calcium reactor)?


I'm still tinkering with airflow in the lights. Just broke a glass cover to the light hood, off the glass shop tomorrow. I did solve my problem with the fan blowing around the duct work. I took a PVC reducer 4" to 3". The outside diameter was just larger than 5" and the 3" section was 4" outside diameter. I shortened the entire piece by cutting off all but 1/2 inch on each side, then routed a 1/8" rabbit on the outside edge so it slid in tight on the 5" hole in my hood. The 4" dryer duct fits snug on the outside of the smaller side. Got lucky on that part, now quite enough to make up for the glass breaking everywhere, but lucky none the less.

Matt
 
On the subject of carbon, if someone with the system wanted to try here's an idea. Take it for what it's worth it's just a thought.
I see that the reactor is hooked to a "T" on the return line just under the filter. Install a larger "T" there and run a hose to a carbon reactor. The flow should be the same because the water is still going to the return chamber along with the surge water. It might slow it down a little because of the carbon restricting some flow but the carbon doesn't need to be in there 24/7, just long enough to do it's job.
 
I had read somewhere in here that someone had a question about the make up of the wheel. I did a lot of reading when it was first made about it.
The first wheels had a slot in them to pick up the water and dump it when the wheel turned. So not only was the filter full of water but the wheel would pick up about 3 to 4 gallons as it turned. When the wheel flipped it would dump the water back into the filter and make a larger wave, then pick up more and so forth. The wheel had a chamber the you could put Aragonite in. As the wheel turned the Aragonite would dissolve and help the system.
The wheels now, to my understanding have some form of sand in them. It being Aragonite or Oolitic or just common sand, I'm not sure of.
The wheel has a slot in it to pick up some water; the bio balls are in there to help it in two ways. ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œ1ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ to defuse air bubbles and ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œ2ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ because they float. The sand is opposite of the slot and the bio balls so that when it crosses a point at the top the weight rolls the wheel over because the slot is opposite of it. With out the sand changing the weight of the wheel at the top, the air form the airlift might just go into the open slot as it passes and the wheel could become stuck at that point every now and then. The sand is kind of like a flywheel on an engine of a car, it keeps the thing spinning. With the Bio Balls floating and the sand shifting there weight when the slot breaks the surface everything works. I not sure of all of this but just what Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve come across over the years and it all makes sense.
Rick
 
It is actually designed like a water wheel and works much like one. the main difference being it is weighted like a fly wheel, which serves two purposes, one to slow down the rpm to between 1 and 4 rpm and the other to create the periodic wave from the influent box.
 
tysfamily,

Your description is about 99% dead on..... my only disagreement is on the issue of the bioballs inside the wheel being some form of flotation. If that's the case then color me confused because they are barely a couple notches above neutral boyancy. At the time I removed the ones in the lower portion of the filter box they were no longer floating at all. I would think if they were looking for something to give the wheel an upward boost there are way better options out there. Heck, even ping-pong balls seem like they would have been a better choice.

Otherwise you are spot on. I've often wondered what is inside the sealed portion of the wheel, and sand (type really doesn't matter) seems to be the most obvious answer.

Brett
 
Hi all,
I am very interested in this thread.
I love the idea of this complete eco friendly filter.
If I was to add up all I have spent on current filters/ pumps etc I am sure it would equal the cost of an Eco-wheel.

I was wondering what happened to all the pictures from the first few pages of the tank setup.

I would love to learn more about this filter system and how it works. Unfortunately I have not been able to see one local / close up.
and the Aquatic Engineers site did not have much to say about it.

I would love to see some setup pics if anybody could post / email them to me that would be great.

Thanks
D.
 
The way I understand it, the powers that be discovered that pics that were being directly uploaded to threads without actually being hosted somewhere were causing technical problems with the site. So the decision was made to no longer allow it. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter large amounts of pics that were already there suddenly vanished.

I can certainly email you some if you send me a PM with your adress.

Brett
 
DOH!..
Cool deal I thought I read that in this thread someplace as well.
ok so I am not a math wizard!
Pm incoming.
Thanks again
D.
 
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