I get a little bit in the tanks when I harvest the wheel, but it clears up after a half hour or so. Anything of any real size gets picked off by my 2 tangs almost immediately.
Brett
Brett
A pair of EcoWheel tanks in the making
- Thread starter Putawaywet
- Start date
piercho
New member
Are you are asking if algae fragments from the scrubber can act to "seed" the main display so that it is actually a cause of algae problems? I don't percieve that as a risk with my scrubber. I'm presently getting about 4 ounces of wet algae volume from the scrubber every week or two. That much filamentous algae growth in the display would choke out branching corals in short order, but it does not happen. Basically, the system should be set up so that the algae growing in the scrubber enjoys optimal conditions for growth, so it outcompetes algae in the tank. What algae tries to grow in the tank gets grazed. Some graze-resistant algae like valonia may make slow progress in the tank, but the scrubber grabs and fixes the nutrients becoming avilable faster than the most tank algae can.
Hey Howard,
Change of subject here... I reviewed some pics taken after my innintial setup and it's looking like my flow is down a bit. I suspect the ring injector holes are finally starting to plug with calcium buildup. Either that, or the air pump is losing it's kick.
Since I can't get the airlift assembly out for maintenance I think I'm just going to shut it down, drain the pipes and drill right down the center of the 1/2" hosebarb until I punch thru the interior wall of the injector housing. So, basically I'll be back to the original design from A.E.
Otherwise, for the rest of you folks that haven't grown bored and jumped ship yet, I'll start in with more updates sometime next week. I still have more work ahead of me. Like a good cleaning of the reef tank, possibly even removal of the sandbed. I also acquired a couple more IceCap mini LED units so I'll be pulling those cold cathode tubes out and putting the LEDs in. I really want to try and get some nighttime pics of those - they're pretty slick.
I picked up some more gorgs (although they're being a bit difficult at the moment) and I did a bit of SPS fragging so I've spread some stuff around here and there. The tank has pretty much evolved into a SPS/Gorg biotope. So there goes the neighborhood
Be back soon.
Brett
Change of subject here... I reviewed some pics taken after my innintial setup and it's looking like my flow is down a bit. I suspect the ring injector holes are finally starting to plug with calcium buildup. Either that, or the air pump is losing it's kick.
Since I can't get the airlift assembly out for maintenance I think I'm just going to shut it down, drain the pipes and drill right down the center of the 1/2" hosebarb until I punch thru the interior wall of the injector housing. So, basically I'll be back to the original design from A.E.
Otherwise, for the rest of you folks that haven't grown bored and jumped ship yet, I'll start in with more updates sometime next week. I still have more work ahead of me. Like a good cleaning of the reef tank, possibly even removal of the sandbed. I also acquired a couple more IceCap mini LED units so I'll be pulling those cold cathode tubes out and putting the LEDs in. I really want to try and get some nighttime pics of those - they're pretty slick.
I picked up some more gorgs (although they're being a bit difficult at the moment) and I did a bit of SPS fragging so I've spread some stuff around here and there. The tank has pretty much evolved into a SPS/Gorg biotope. So there goes the neighborhood
Be back soon.
Brett
Brett,
I am curious about why you are contemplating removing the sand bed. I remember you saying before that you were not a DSB fan but did not want to go into it. Part of the same reason?
Also wondering about the reduction in flow. Is this a maintenance issue? Obviously the air pump is an easy fix (well maybe not in that I bet they are not cheap) but the plumbing issue concerns me. Could the EW be assembled so that this sort of cleaning could be accomplished more easily - perhaps some ball valves and disconnects around the injector assembly?
And if you are taking more pics and cleaning the tank(s) I would still love to see some of your cleaning setup. I have several ideas about what I would do but your's have been so impressive I'll bet I could get more than a couple of good ideas.
Thanks
Charles
I am curious about why you are contemplating removing the sand bed. I remember you saying before that you were not a DSB fan but did not want to go into it. Part of the same reason?
Also wondering about the reduction in flow. Is this a maintenance issue? Obviously the air pump is an easy fix (well maybe not in that I bet they are not cheap) but the plumbing issue concerns me. Could the EW be assembled so that this sort of cleaning could be accomplished more easily - perhaps some ball valves and disconnects around the injector assembly?
And if you are taking more pics and cleaning the tank(s) I would still love to see some of your cleaning setup. I have several ideas about what I would do but your's have been so impressive I'll bet I could get more than a couple of good ideas.
Thanks
Charles
The sandbed removal, if it happens, will be a swap not complete removal. Current sand is Tahitian Black Moon sugar sized. Proposed replacement is a larger sized aragonite that should be easier to hydrovac.
The perceived reduced flow issue is from a design alteration I made during construction. It has nothing to do with A.E.'s design of the EcoWheel.
Pics will be a mix of stuff. Pics of the wheel/algae, LED install, growth/size comparisons, as well as the new cleaning station. Also, anything else that looks interesting.
Brett
The perceived reduced flow issue is from a design alteration I made during construction. It has nothing to do with A.E.'s design of the EcoWheel.
Pics will be a mix of stuff. Pics of the wheel/algae, LED install, growth/size comparisons, as well as the new cleaning station. Also, anything else that looks interesting.
Brett
Brett,
I remember (without going back to get the particulars) your mention of some modifications to the air nozzle with the hope of increasing the flow rate of the air pump. I assume that this is what you are referring to. I thought it a good idea. Were the holes too small and thus more prone to clogging? I guess I am heading towards a thousand (well not literally but a bunch of) questions that perhaps could best be asked by saying was it worth it and would you do it again, perhaps with mods to make servicing easier?
Looking forward to your pics. I sort of got started on RC following your thread. Learned a lot from it (others' too). Really look forward to more on your setup.
Thanks
Charles
I remember (without going back to get the particulars) your mention of some modifications to the air nozzle with the hope of increasing the flow rate of the air pump. I assume that this is what you are referring to. I thought it a good idea. Were the holes too small and thus more prone to clogging? I guess I am heading towards a thousand (well not literally but a bunch of) questions that perhaps could best be asked by saying was it worth it and would you do it again, perhaps with mods to make servicing easier?
Looking forward to your pics. I sort of got started on RC following your thread. Learned a lot from it (others' too). Really look forward to more on your setup.
Thanks
Charles
Brett,
When did you put in the top off reservoir? How do you have it hooked up? I guess there must a sensor and reservoir pump, just wondering how you have it hooked up and if the surge from the eco wheel has an effect on it. Hope to be getting my tank (350 bow front) soon, by the way where did you get the black pvc piping?
Thanks,
Tim
When did you put in the top off reservoir? How do you have it hooked up? I guess there must a sensor and reservoir pump, just wondering how you have it hooked up and if the surge from the eco wheel has an effect on it. Hope to be getting my tank (350 bow front) soon, by the way where did you get the black pvc piping?
Thanks,
Tim
matt & pam
Member
Charles,
Maybe this response to a question I asked Piercho will help.
Re: ring injector
"There is no perfect number of a certain size hole for every application. Lift system performance is strongly effected by many factors, with air bubble size only being one factor. Air bubble size will also be dependant on the air volume injected and the injection differential pressure.
My injector is made with dozens of very small holes drilled into a matrix pattern. I inject over 1.5 CFM into a 54" tall, 1.5" diameter lift pipe and I get quite a fine foam at the top. I don't think that this is what you want. From what I remember that putawaywet told me about his sytem, the pump provided with the EcoWheel has a lot of output, much more than mine. Also, you have to overcome some vertical head in the weirs and backpressure from quite a few bends. For more vertical lift you want fewer holes and larger bubbles. I would speculate that 8 evenly spaced holes of 1/8" size would give you good results, but I'm just guessing.
Let's think this through. The EcoWheel air injector fitting into the lift pipe is a 1/2" diameter fitting, right? The area at the injection point is then (pi)*r^2 = pi*(1/4)^2=pi/16. Split among 8 holes that is pi/16 * 1/8 = pi/128. Setting pi/128 = pi*r^2, then r=(1/128)^1/2 = 0.088. The diameter is 0.177. The next sized down common drill bits are
11/64 = 0.171 -> 95%
5/32 = 0.15625 -> 78%
9/64 = 0.140625 -> 63%
1/8 = 0.125 -> 50%
So yeah, 1/8" looks like a reasonable size to me. Half the total injection area than a single 1/2" fitting, but I still think that it would be OK. I would not make an 8-point injector for this application with holes smaller than 1/8", or larger than 11/64". If there looks like there is any science to this, there is not. I'm just trying to get a feel if 1/8" is in the ballpark. The best way to optimize an air system is to set it up and run tests with different configurations of injectors. Or, you can just take the speculations of someone like me and hope for the best!
The big killer in air-lift systems is vertical head and plumbing drag. Sweep elbows and as large as possible of pipe (except the lift pipe) will cut down your drag and increase your total flow. Both putawaywet and I used ABS drain pipe for our plumbing because sweep elbows in large diameters are easy to get. Flex PVC would also be a good option and could reduce the 90 degree bends to slow curves with less resistance than sweeps."
Of course, someone else talked about that the eco-wheel was designed to work with the single injector, and changing (increasing) the dynamics could impact planktonic life, perhaps negatively. This is theoretic though. Now that I found out the ports would probably clog, perhaps I'll just stick with the original design on my eco-wheel.
HTH.
Matt
Maybe this response to a question I asked Piercho will help.
Re: ring injector
"There is no perfect number of a certain size hole for every application. Lift system performance is strongly effected by many factors, with air bubble size only being one factor. Air bubble size will also be dependant on the air volume injected and the injection differential pressure.
My injector is made with dozens of very small holes drilled into a matrix pattern. I inject over 1.5 CFM into a 54" tall, 1.5" diameter lift pipe and I get quite a fine foam at the top. I don't think that this is what you want. From what I remember that putawaywet told me about his sytem, the pump provided with the EcoWheel has a lot of output, much more than mine. Also, you have to overcome some vertical head in the weirs and backpressure from quite a few bends. For more vertical lift you want fewer holes and larger bubbles. I would speculate that 8 evenly spaced holes of 1/8" size would give you good results, but I'm just guessing.
Let's think this through. The EcoWheel air injector fitting into the lift pipe is a 1/2" diameter fitting, right? The area at the injection point is then (pi)*r^2 = pi*(1/4)^2=pi/16. Split among 8 holes that is pi/16 * 1/8 = pi/128. Setting pi/128 = pi*r^2, then r=(1/128)^1/2 = 0.088. The diameter is 0.177. The next sized down common drill bits are
11/64 = 0.171 -> 95%
5/32 = 0.15625 -> 78%
9/64 = 0.140625 -> 63%
1/8 = 0.125 -> 50%
So yeah, 1/8" looks like a reasonable size to me. Half the total injection area than a single 1/2" fitting, but I still think that it would be OK. I would not make an 8-point injector for this application with holes smaller than 1/8", or larger than 11/64". If there looks like there is any science to this, there is not. I'm just trying to get a feel if 1/8" is in the ballpark. The best way to optimize an air system is to set it up and run tests with different configurations of injectors. Or, you can just take the speculations of someone like me and hope for the best!
The big killer in air-lift systems is vertical head and plumbing drag. Sweep elbows and as large as possible of pipe (except the lift pipe) will cut down your drag and increase your total flow. Both putawaywet and I used ABS drain pipe for our plumbing because sweep elbows in large diameters are easy to get. Flex PVC would also be a good option and could reduce the 90 degree bends to slow curves with less resistance than sweeps."
Of course, someone else talked about that the eco-wheel was designed to work with the single injector, and changing (increasing) the dynamics could impact planktonic life, perhaps negatively. This is theoretic though. Now that I found out the ports would probably clog, perhaps I'll just stick with the original design on my eco-wheel.
HTH.
Matt
chask said:
That's correct.
chask said:
Holes too small? Probably not. Prone to clogging? Yes. But that's to be expected when you have an air/saltwater interaction - you are bound to get calcification.
t12345 said:
I know itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s been a little while since I have posted any updates but I finally managed to get some work done on the tanks which means I now actually have something to post for those who might still have an interest.
However, since itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s going to take a bit of work to put this latest update together my game plan is to add things in sections over the next week or so rather than delay things any longer trying to put it all together in one big update.
First off, hereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s the canister filter I fabââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢d to handle some of my various husbandry tasks from mechanical filtration to water polishing and/or carbon. At the heart of the setup is an Ocean Clear canister thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s basically a scaled down version of itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s big brother which is commonly seen in commercial aqua culture and public aquariums. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s rated at 1200gph and comes with 3/4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ threaded inlets/outlets and a removable pleated micron cartridge. I mounted the canister to one of those pre-fabââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢d shelf boards (12ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ wide with white vinyl finish) that you get from your local HD or Lowes. The shelf was then fitted with drawer slides and mounted in a custom wood frame that I built and subsequently covered in matching beige carpet (yeah itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s a sickness) The frame was then attached to the bottom of the cabinet with stainless screws.
The pump is a Mag12 and plumbed with gray sch40 pvc obtained from US Plastics Corp. I added a few ball valves, installed a bleed off valve in the lid and finished it off with a couple quick couplers (disconnect fittings).
The hoses were measured and cut and then attached to the parts that would hook onto the tops of the tanks. These are really nothing more than candy-cane shaped pipes made out of more gray pvc that I assembled so they would hang securely over the top of my acrylic tanks. The inlet pipes have plastic strainers over the ends of the pvc pipes to ensure no unwanted animals get sucked into the pump (I discovered that those slip in bulkhead strainers slipped easily over the ends of the pipe and made for a perfect final touch) and the outlet pipes were finished off on the ends with 90 degree elbows left unglued so they could be swiveled left or right depending on my needs.
Hereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s the unit up and running on my pier piling tank
And a close-up of the quick disconnects which are also scaled down versions of commercial fittings. The couplers allow for the hoses to be separated from both the filter as well as the parts that hook onto the tank to allow for ease of storage.
Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve had the opportunity to use the unit on about a dozen occasions now from everything from running carbon to backup circulation for times that I needed to take the main filtration off-line. Overall, it works well, although in hindsight I think having to do it all over again I would have bumped up the pump a couple sizes because looking at how elaborate the thing wound up being itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s pretty obvious Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m a long way from 1200gph coming out the other end. (A quick read of the gauge during operation shows about 4 psi on average.) Oh well, there always the opportunity to upgrade at a later date if I decide I need more flow.
Also, I do seem to be getting a small amount of micro bubbles coming out of the return lines which Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m thinking are coming from a small vacuum leak at one of the quick disconnects on the inlet side of the pump. That, and the thing isnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t the most user friendly thing the prime. I basically have to connect the hoses to the filter and then pour water in the opposite ends until I get everything filled with water. At that point I connect to the pvc ends and turn it on.
The longest I have ever used it in one stretch is about 36 hours as itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s main purpose is really just spot cleaning or water polishing. Right now, my routine is to fire it up and then blow off all the rocks with a power head or the hand-held wand (see below). I then let the filter run for a half hour or so before repeating the procedure with the power head. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s basically one of those maintenance types of deals where I can do it in-between doing other stuff over the course of an evening.
Hereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s a shot of the wand I made to go with the unit. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s basically a 1/4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ length of gray pvc that I glued to a small ball valve that can be operated with my thumb. The nozzle end was heated and bent to a mild angle and then fitted with a reducing bushing to concentrate the flow and give me a bit of a spray action when in use. The end on the inlet side of the ball valve was fitted with another quick disconnect, attached to a 1/4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ rubber hose, which was then attached to the bleed off valve in the canister lid via a second disconnect. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢d love to say this thing is the bomb but honestly itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s performance has turned out to be less than stellar. Problem #1 one is it is powered by water that has yet to be filtered reducing the volume of water passing thru the canister. Problem #2, is that no matter how far you open the ball valve you really donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t get a real geyser of a water flow. Problem #3, since itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s attached to the bleed off valve the darn thing burps air several times a minute. Oh well, better luck next time I guess.
Overall Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m pretty happy with how everything turned out and think it will serve me well for many years to come. Cost wise I probably have about $400.00-450.00 invested, which isnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t too bad considering I wanted everything to be top shelf. I imagine I probably could have substituted cheap vinyl tubing and white pvc from HD, but the cost for those two upgrades was really pretty reasonable when weighed against the price I paid for the canister assembly and the pump. So, I consider it money well spent. Besides, once I am finished and have emptied the water and stowed the hoses I merely slide the unit back into the cabinet and close the door.
Brett
However, since itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s going to take a bit of work to put this latest update together my game plan is to add things in sections over the next week or so rather than delay things any longer trying to put it all together in one big update.
First off, hereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s the canister filter I fabââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢d to handle some of my various husbandry tasks from mechanical filtration to water polishing and/or carbon. At the heart of the setup is an Ocean Clear canister thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s basically a scaled down version of itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s big brother which is commonly seen in commercial aqua culture and public aquariums. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s rated at 1200gph and comes with 3/4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ threaded inlets/outlets and a removable pleated micron cartridge. I mounted the canister to one of those pre-fabââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢d shelf boards (12ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ wide with white vinyl finish) that you get from your local HD or Lowes. The shelf was then fitted with drawer slides and mounted in a custom wood frame that I built and subsequently covered in matching beige carpet (yeah itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s a sickness) The frame was then attached to the bottom of the cabinet with stainless screws.
The pump is a Mag12 and plumbed with gray sch40 pvc obtained from US Plastics Corp. I added a few ball valves, installed a bleed off valve in the lid and finished it off with a couple quick couplers (disconnect fittings).
The hoses were measured and cut and then attached to the parts that would hook onto the tops of the tanks. These are really nothing more than candy-cane shaped pipes made out of more gray pvc that I assembled so they would hang securely over the top of my acrylic tanks. The inlet pipes have plastic strainers over the ends of the pvc pipes to ensure no unwanted animals get sucked into the pump (I discovered that those slip in bulkhead strainers slipped easily over the ends of the pipe and made for a perfect final touch) and the outlet pipes were finished off on the ends with 90 degree elbows left unglued so they could be swiveled left or right depending on my needs.
Hereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s the unit up and running on my pier piling tank
And a close-up of the quick disconnects which are also scaled down versions of commercial fittings. The couplers allow for the hoses to be separated from both the filter as well as the parts that hook onto the tank to allow for ease of storage.
Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve had the opportunity to use the unit on about a dozen occasions now from everything from running carbon to backup circulation for times that I needed to take the main filtration off-line. Overall, it works well, although in hindsight I think having to do it all over again I would have bumped up the pump a couple sizes because looking at how elaborate the thing wound up being itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s pretty obvious Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m a long way from 1200gph coming out the other end. (A quick read of the gauge during operation shows about 4 psi on average.) Oh well, there always the opportunity to upgrade at a later date if I decide I need more flow.
Also, I do seem to be getting a small amount of micro bubbles coming out of the return lines which Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m thinking are coming from a small vacuum leak at one of the quick disconnects on the inlet side of the pump. That, and the thing isnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t the most user friendly thing the prime. I basically have to connect the hoses to the filter and then pour water in the opposite ends until I get everything filled with water. At that point I connect to the pvc ends and turn it on.
The longest I have ever used it in one stretch is about 36 hours as itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s main purpose is really just spot cleaning or water polishing. Right now, my routine is to fire it up and then blow off all the rocks with a power head or the hand-held wand (see below). I then let the filter run for a half hour or so before repeating the procedure with the power head. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s basically one of those maintenance types of deals where I can do it in-between doing other stuff over the course of an evening.
Hereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s a shot of the wand I made to go with the unit. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s basically a 1/4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ length of gray pvc that I glued to a small ball valve that can be operated with my thumb. The nozzle end was heated and bent to a mild angle and then fitted with a reducing bushing to concentrate the flow and give me a bit of a spray action when in use. The end on the inlet side of the ball valve was fitted with another quick disconnect, attached to a 1/4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ rubber hose, which was then attached to the bleed off valve in the canister lid via a second disconnect. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢d love to say this thing is the bomb but honestly itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s performance has turned out to be less than stellar. Problem #1 one is it is powered by water that has yet to be filtered reducing the volume of water passing thru the canister. Problem #2, is that no matter how far you open the ball valve you really donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t get a real geyser of a water flow. Problem #3, since itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s attached to the bleed off valve the darn thing burps air several times a minute. Oh well, better luck next time I guess.
Overall Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m pretty happy with how everything turned out and think it will serve me well for many years to come. Cost wise I probably have about $400.00-450.00 invested, which isnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t too bad considering I wanted everything to be top shelf. I imagine I probably could have substituted cheap vinyl tubing and white pvc from HD, but the cost for those two upgrades was really pretty reasonable when weighed against the price I paid for the canister assembly and the pump. So, I consider it money well spent. Besides, once I am finished and have emptied the water and stowed the hoses I merely slide the unit back into the cabinet and close the door.
Brett
matt & pam
Member
Brett, do you run carbon in tank besides with this add-on filter?
I'm getting closer to starting my tank. My contractor is putting up drywall this week, should be done with the basement by the end of the month. I had a drain line put in the wall behind the tank, and ran two lines behind the wall for water replacement, both ro/di water and replacing salt water as well. I hope it works as planned.
Matt
I'm getting closer to starting my tank. My contractor is putting up drywall this week, should be done with the basement by the end of the month. I had a drain line put in the wall behind the tank, and ran two lines behind the wall for water replacement, both ro/di water and replacing salt water as well. I hope it works as planned.
Matt
Nice Brett!
AFA the bubbles, Is the the filter on the suction or discharge side of the pump? Hard to tell from the pics. If the filter is on the suction side, and starts to get dirty, the pump could slightly cavitate. You know this, just grabbing at straws
I LOVE those little CRC disconnects!
I made some similar "hooks" for doing water changes on various tanks. We had a ton of pressure on the line and the hook would actually blow out of the tanks! I stopped that by putting a tee on the end of the hook. Helped in blowing the substrate around, too.
AFA the bubbles, Is the the filter on the suction or discharge side of the pump? Hard to tell from the pics. If the filter is on the suction side, and starts to get dirty, the pump could slightly cavitate. You know this, just grabbing at straws
I LOVE those little CRC disconnects!
I made some similar "hooks" for doing water changes on various tanks. We had a ton of pressure on the line and the hook would actually blow out of the tanks! I stopped that by putting a tee on the end of the hook. Helped in blowing the substrate around, too.
matt & pam said:
No. Beyond the idea of just hanging a bag in one of the influent boxes I'm not sure where I'd put it. I'd like to though, but hate to do something that restricts the flow.
Although, I did violate that old warning about not adding too much carbon too fast. Anyone remember me mentioning a gorg that I've had for 5 or 6 years that almost never (like 1 day a month at the most) extends polyps? Doesn't seem to grow, yet doesn't seem to die back either? Just sits there year after year looking the same as it did when I first bought it. Well, it's no longer a living parodox. Not in the least. So let this be a warning, friends don't let friends use carbon unjudiciously.
matt & pam said:
Sounds great, can't wait to see the pics.
Last edited:
Chris, the filter is on the discharge side. I'm suspecting a vacuum leak. Those disconnects are nice indeed but I believe they are made for pressure not suction so that's why I'm looking at them as the source of the problem. Either that, or it's where the hose slips over the hosebarb ends on the disconnects. I secured them with double zip ties in lieu of metal clamps in case they bumped the acrylic tank. Maybe I should revisit my hose connections.
On a side note, back in your public aquarium days ever have anyone fully open a saltwater makeup valve really quickly and then try to rectify things by immediately cranking it back off. As I understand it there's a little something called a pressure wave that can roll back on itself. Nasty little thing that pressure wave because it seems that it can compromise the structural integrity of the PVC line quite quickly. Rumor has it, it was quite the show, frantic calls to life support to get the water shut down and all. Almost sorry I missed it
On a side note, back in your public aquarium days ever have anyone fully open a saltwater makeup valve really quickly and then try to rectify things by immediately cranking it back off. As I understand it there's a little something called a pressure wave that can roll back on itself. Nasty little thing that pressure wave because it seems that it can compromise the structural integrity of the PVC line quite quickly. Rumor has it, it was quite the show, frantic calls to life support to get the water shut down and all. Almost sorry I missed it
Next on the list is a little modification to the airlift.
Problem #1 is that given that I wound up placing the setup directly on the carpet the added weight of the reef tank has caused it to settle, as best I can figure, about 1/4" more in relation to the rest of the system.
I have always used the eyeball method with my normal water level in that I try to run the water level just shy of the top of the grating in the upper overflow of the reef tank. Any higher and I don't get a good surface skimming, any lower and I run the risk of sporatic rotation of the EcoWheel.
However, with the tank now being a bit lower than everything else I have realized that by still eyeballing the water level via the overflow grating I'm actually running the system with less water than I did back at the beginning. And while I can't speak for all EcoWheel's, mine is very touchy about it's water level. Five (5) gals can make a big difference.
Problem #2 is that I compared some early photos back at the beginning to those lately and discovered that not only did the water level inside the EcoWheel tank look lower that it used to be, but just the amount of air going up the uplift appeared decreased as well. (Note: take lots of pics, lots and lots of pics because you never know when they will come in handy later)
So. I decided I needed to make some changes. Going on the assumption that the air-ring injector was suffering from a bit of clogging due to calcification, and given that I neglected to engineer it as a removable section for cleaning, I decided I need to make a drastic, albeit simple modification to the airlift.
I shut down the system, closed off all my ballvalves (You can never have too many ballvalves) and attached a small hose to the Jaco fitting in the bottom of the uplift pipe (so glad I put those in there). It took only about an hour for all the water to drain from the 3 influent boxes, associated piping, and the airlift tube itself. (While the water was draining I took the opportunity to disassemble the air pump, clean it, and check for warn or broken parts.) Once the water had drained I disconnected the air hose that runs from the "wet" end of the safety loop to the air injection site on the airlift. Next, I took a series of drill bits and drilled right down the center of the hose barb, thru the inner wall of the air-ring injector and into the center of the airlift pipe, completely bypassing the series of small holes that make up the air-ring injector. After I worked my way up to the biggest drill bit that seemed appropiate I re-connected the hose (actually, I took the opportunity to replace the hose with new, clean up the fittings and make things look just a tad nicer) and then refilled everything with approx 15 gals of NSW. All told it took about an hour and a half. When I threw the switch everything fired up just fine. First thing I noticed was an increase in flow within the tank. Also, the bubles within the airlift now appeared considerably larger and a good deal more agressive if that makes any sense. I really couldn't see any dicernable change to the water level within the EcoWheel itself, but there was a definately an increase in flow within the tank. Definately worth the effort.
So, in hindsight now, I think I'd have to say while it was fun to play around and tweek things I'd seriously reccomend leaving the method of air injection as A.E. had originally designed it. If you want to tweek your flow go with "sweeps" instead of tight 90 degree elbows, or better still, go with spa-flex hose as that seems to be the best option of all.
Next on the list I am going to try and modify the overflow grating on the reef tank to try and reclaim that 1/4" that I seem to have lost. Right now the plan is to drain a bit of water and take a Dremmel with a rotary bit and see if I can modify the opening so I can raise the water level back up and still have my surface skimming. Right now I'm probably a couple weeks away from giving that a go, I'd like to give the tanks a rest from all my hands on that they have suffered thru this last month.
Brett
Problem #1 is that given that I wound up placing the setup directly on the carpet the added weight of the reef tank has caused it to settle, as best I can figure, about 1/4" more in relation to the rest of the system.
I have always used the eyeball method with my normal water level in that I try to run the water level just shy of the top of the grating in the upper overflow of the reef tank. Any higher and I don't get a good surface skimming, any lower and I run the risk of sporatic rotation of the EcoWheel.
However, with the tank now being a bit lower than everything else I have realized that by still eyeballing the water level via the overflow grating I'm actually running the system with less water than I did back at the beginning. And while I can't speak for all EcoWheel's, mine is very touchy about it's water level. Five (5) gals can make a big difference.
Problem #2 is that I compared some early photos back at the beginning to those lately and discovered that not only did the water level inside the EcoWheel tank look lower that it used to be, but just the amount of air going up the uplift appeared decreased as well. (Note: take lots of pics, lots and lots of pics because you never know when they will come in handy later)
So. I decided I needed to make some changes. Going on the assumption that the air-ring injector was suffering from a bit of clogging due to calcification, and given that I neglected to engineer it as a removable section for cleaning, I decided I need to make a drastic, albeit simple modification to the airlift.
I shut down the system, closed off all my ballvalves (You can never have too many ballvalves) and attached a small hose to the Jaco fitting in the bottom of the uplift pipe (so glad I put those in there). It took only about an hour for all the water to drain from the 3 influent boxes, associated piping, and the airlift tube itself. (While the water was draining I took the opportunity to disassemble the air pump, clean it, and check for warn or broken parts.) Once the water had drained I disconnected the air hose that runs from the "wet" end of the safety loop to the air injection site on the airlift. Next, I took a series of drill bits and drilled right down the center of the hose barb, thru the inner wall of the air-ring injector and into the center of the airlift pipe, completely bypassing the series of small holes that make up the air-ring injector. After I worked my way up to the biggest drill bit that seemed appropiate I re-connected the hose (actually, I took the opportunity to replace the hose with new, clean up the fittings and make things look just a tad nicer) and then refilled everything with approx 15 gals of NSW. All told it took about an hour and a half. When I threw the switch everything fired up just fine. First thing I noticed was an increase in flow within the tank. Also, the bubles within the airlift now appeared considerably larger and a good deal more agressive if that makes any sense. I really couldn't see any dicernable change to the water level within the EcoWheel itself, but there was a definately an increase in flow within the tank. Definately worth the effort.
So, in hindsight now, I think I'd have to say while it was fun to play around and tweek things I'd seriously reccomend leaving the method of air injection as A.E. had originally designed it. If you want to tweek your flow go with "sweeps" instead of tight 90 degree elbows, or better still, go with spa-flex hose as that seems to be the best option of all.
Next on the list I am going to try and modify the overflow grating on the reef tank to try and reclaim that 1/4" that I seem to have lost. Right now the plan is to drain a bit of water and take a Dremmel with a rotary bit and see if I can modify the opening so I can raise the water level back up and still have my surface skimming. Right now I'm probably a couple weeks away from giving that a go, I'd like to give the tanks a rest from all my hands on that they have suffered thru this last month.
Brett
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Ahh yes, good ol water hammer.
A good way to find those not so strong joints in the pipeline...
We never had any main lines go south from water hammer. Though we had a 6" raw water line crack at an elbow in the pump room. Sometime, just for fun, try air welding a 6" fitting full of 53deg saltwater while 10' up on a ladder on a Friday night just before vacation....
We had one tank with a 3-way 2" ballvalve surge. It was a satellite tank of about 2000g, with a self contained filtration system. The filters were 2 of the pleated cartridges like you mentioned above, but big, pool size units. When the valve moved one way, it relieved the pressure from the filters and sent the water up to a waterfall like surge. When it returned, the filters would get a good case of water hammer, and popped several times, flooding the whole deck under the moving walkway.
The problem was solved by putting in an air pad- 5' of 6" clear pvc pipe with a cap on top. When the valve switched back to filter, the water would compress that air and rise up 2.5 feetinto the pipe. Dry floors after that
Sorry for rambling, tons of war stories, but good times
BTW, I read an OLD (1960's I think) article recently (Drum and Croaker) about clearing clogged airlifts while in place, but I cant remember exactly what they did. I'll have to find the article for you.
A good way to find those not so strong joints in the pipeline...
We never had any main lines go south from water hammer. Though we had a 6" raw water line crack at an elbow in the pump room. Sometime, just for fun, try air welding a 6" fitting full of 53deg saltwater while 10' up on a ladder on a Friday night just before vacation....
We had one tank with a 3-way 2" ballvalve surge. It was a satellite tank of about 2000g, with a self contained filtration system. The filters were 2 of the pleated cartridges like you mentioned above, but big, pool size units. When the valve moved one way, it relieved the pressure from the filters and sent the water up to a waterfall like surge. When it returned, the filters would get a good case of water hammer, and popped several times, flooding the whole deck under the moving walkway.
The problem was solved by putting in an air pad- 5' of 6" clear pvc pipe with a cap on top. When the valve switched back to filter, the water would compress that air and rise up 2.5 feetinto the pipe. Dry floors after that
Sorry for rambling, tons of war stories, but good times
BTW, I read an OLD (1960's I think) article recently (Drum and Croaker) about clearing clogged airlifts while in place, but I cant remember exactly what they did. I'll have to find the article for you.
Yes, big tanks do have the tendency to spill big amounts of water don't they. But as the guy who's NOT responsible for putting things back together when there's a big ooops I'd have to say it does make for some equally big laughs
Back to the topic at hand.....
Substrate:
The black sandbed finally went bye-bye. Kind of a shame because I really liked the rather unique look it gave the tank. But in all honesty, it needed to go. I remember reading back when I first set it up that someone who had tried it before me reported that after a period of time it had begun to look like a well used ashtray. Well, after 18 months I can't say that I disagree with that analagy. As the months rolled by my once pristine substrate began to take on a dull and dingy appearance. Not to mention that I was just kind of tired of looking at the old dark substrate. So over the last few weeks I have been slowly removing the old and adding in new. Although, I realistically could only get about 80% of the old stuff out as there were some spots under the rockwork that I just couldn't get to.
So far I've used about 60lbs of #3 & #5 grade aragonite reef sand but I will probably need to add another 15 or 20lbs after the first batch has settled and worked it's way around.
One surprising thing was the amount of gunk that came out with the old sand. It was nothing short of amazing. I was literally pouring bucket after bucket of dark brown water down the drain. Even more surprising was that all this time I had believed I was being rather deligent with my husbandry by blowing off the rocks every couple weeks and periodically using my HOB canister filters to scrub the water. Talk about a wake up call.
Also, taking on a task of this magnitude didn't come without a few problems along that way. Several days into the swap I began to notice several patches on a rather sweet neon green Hydnophora were beginning to die off. At first I thought it was just a adverse reaction to all the silt that was being stirred up, but after a few days I began to notice the recession was all ocurring on just one end of the colony. After a bit of thought I realized that it was on the side where I had been holding the hose that was spewing the replacement water. Interesting. Like most all creatures of habbit I replace water with nearly the same technique each and every time, right down to where I hold the hose while refilling the tank. So, after several days, 3 or 4 water changes, and a hundred or so gallons of NSW blowing directly on it the poor thing decided it couldn't take any more. Obviously I have no one to blame but myself for the damage so about the only thing I can do is clip off the dead portion of skeleton and wait for it to regrow. That, and to try and learn from my mistake.
Lighting:
Although I made these changes a few months ago they are still worth noting. My 10K 250w Ushio's were due for a change so I swapped them out for a pair of 10K AB's. Not a whole lot of difference, just a little less yellow to my untrained eye. FWIW, I did manage to break off both ceramic tabs on both bulbs for a total of 4 broken tabs. I think that's a new person best for me. Gotta love double ended pendants.
Also, as long as I had the canopy off and was dinking with my lighting, I went ahead and swapped out the T5's as well. Previously I had a pair of Blue+ along with a pair of Actinics. But believing that the Actinics weren't doing a whole bunch of anything I swapped in 4 new Blue+ tubes. Overall, I like this better than the 50/50 mix. A bit more blue, a little more punch and the corals still seem to glow as much or more as with the previous setup.
More recently I removed the cold cathode tubes I had been using for my moonlighting and installed one of IceCap's mini LED pro's in their place. Andy at IceCap had been nice enough to send me a couple to try and I have to say I really like the little things - not because they were free.... but because they really give the tank an slick look during the night. Way more glitter lines than the CC tubes. And the little suckers are powerful to boot. I originally was going to mount 2 over the reef but when I mocked them up the tank appeared way over lit. So I just went with one centered in the hood and it worked quite well. It easily covers my 48" tank with only a slight shadow on both acrylic ends approx 8" down from the top. Pretty amazing that a 4w LED can throw out that much light. I have to admit that they're a little pricey and I'm not sure I would have been so eager to replace the CC tubes had I had to cough up the money for these things myself, but sometimes I guess a guy can luck out and be in the right place at the right time. Either way, if anyone is considering these things don't hesitate to try one... they are housed in a nice blue metal box, have a little mini polished parabolic reflector inside, are plug and play and come with an adjustable mountig bracket.
I'd really like to get a couple shots of the tank at night but no matter how many times I have tried all I keep getting are these totally blacked out pics. I'll keep playing with the hopes that one day I just get lucky and score one of those really cool blue moonlight shots like others have posted.
Brett
Back to the topic at hand.....
Substrate:
The black sandbed finally went bye-bye. Kind of a shame because I really liked the rather unique look it gave the tank. But in all honesty, it needed to go. I remember reading back when I first set it up that someone who had tried it before me reported that after a period of time it had begun to look like a well used ashtray. Well, after 18 months I can't say that I disagree with that analagy. As the months rolled by my once pristine substrate began to take on a dull and dingy appearance. Not to mention that I was just kind of tired of looking at the old dark substrate. So over the last few weeks I have been slowly removing the old and adding in new. Although, I realistically could only get about 80% of the old stuff out as there were some spots under the rockwork that I just couldn't get to.
So far I've used about 60lbs of #3 & #5 grade aragonite reef sand but I will probably need to add another 15 or 20lbs after the first batch has settled and worked it's way around.
One surprising thing was the amount of gunk that came out with the old sand. It was nothing short of amazing. I was literally pouring bucket after bucket of dark brown water down the drain. Even more surprising was that all this time I had believed I was being rather deligent with my husbandry by blowing off the rocks every couple weeks and periodically using my HOB canister filters to scrub the water. Talk about a wake up call.
Also, taking on a task of this magnitude didn't come without a few problems along that way. Several days into the swap I began to notice several patches on a rather sweet neon green Hydnophora were beginning to die off. At first I thought it was just a adverse reaction to all the silt that was being stirred up, but after a few days I began to notice the recession was all ocurring on just one end of the colony. After a bit of thought I realized that it was on the side where I had been holding the hose that was spewing the replacement water. Interesting. Like most all creatures of habbit I replace water with nearly the same technique each and every time, right down to where I hold the hose while refilling the tank. So, after several days, 3 or 4 water changes, and a hundred or so gallons of NSW blowing directly on it the poor thing decided it couldn't take any more. Obviously I have no one to blame but myself for the damage so about the only thing I can do is clip off the dead portion of skeleton and wait for it to regrow. That, and to try and learn from my mistake.
Lighting:
Although I made these changes a few months ago they are still worth noting. My 10K 250w Ushio's were due for a change so I swapped them out for a pair of 10K AB's. Not a whole lot of difference, just a little less yellow to my untrained eye. FWIW, I did manage to break off both ceramic tabs on both bulbs for a total of 4 broken tabs. I think that's a new person best for me. Gotta love double ended pendants.
Also, as long as I had the canopy off and was dinking with my lighting, I went ahead and swapped out the T5's as well. Previously I had a pair of Blue+ along with a pair of Actinics. But believing that the Actinics weren't doing a whole bunch of anything I swapped in 4 new Blue+ tubes. Overall, I like this better than the 50/50 mix. A bit more blue, a little more punch and the corals still seem to glow as much or more as with the previous setup.
More recently I removed the cold cathode tubes I had been using for my moonlighting and installed one of IceCap's mini LED pro's in their place. Andy at IceCap had been nice enough to send me a couple to try and I have to say I really like the little things - not because they were free.... but because they really give the tank an slick look during the night. Way more glitter lines than the CC tubes. And the little suckers are powerful to boot. I originally was going to mount 2 over the reef but when I mocked them up the tank appeared way over lit. So I just went with one centered in the hood and it worked quite well. It easily covers my 48" tank with only a slight shadow on both acrylic ends approx 8" down from the top. Pretty amazing that a 4w LED can throw out that much light. I have to admit that they're a little pricey and I'm not sure I would have been so eager to replace the CC tubes had I had to cough up the money for these things myself, but sometimes I guess a guy can luck out and be in the right place at the right time. Either way, if anyone is considering these things don't hesitate to try one... they are housed in a nice blue metal box, have a little mini polished parabolic reflector inside, are plug and play and come with an adjustable mountig bracket.
I'd really like to get a couple shots of the tank at night but no matter how many times I have tried all I keep getting are these totally blacked out pics. I'll keep playing with the hopes that one day I just get lucky and score one of those really cool blue moonlight shots like others have posted.
Brett
Here's something a few of you warm climate folks may find interesting.
I actually had to add a 2nd heater to one of my influent boxes. So, I now have a 200w AND a 250w heater.
Here's the tale of the temps.....
Ambient room temps average in the neighborhood of 75 to 76 degrees early evening thru early morning and 78 to 79 mid day to late afternoon.
Average tank temps are like 77.2 to 77.4 in the AM and 78.8 to 79.0 in the PM.
Which isn't all that bad for 570w of MH and approx 320w of T5. So it appears the system seems quite capable of maintaining 1 to 2 degrees over ambient room temp over the course of a 24 hour period. I think I can live with that.
Another thing of interest is that after all the cleaning and sand removal (along with something in the neighborhood of 200 gals of water changes over a 3 week period) my algae production has decreased to a slow crawl. I last harvested well over a week ago and the wheel looks like it was just done yesterday.
Also, I finally broke out the test kits figuring that after nearly a year I should probably take a look at my water quality. That, and I wanted some data to report on my update.
Here's what I got:
Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia all come back reading zero. P04 barely turned enough color to call it detectable. pH innitially came back a bit low at 7.8, but then I remembered I'm still unsing a Salifert lot # that had reported low readings so with the advised 2 point correction I'm up to 8.0
I tried getting a Strontium reading just for kicks but no matter how many times I tried I couldn't get repeatable readings from test to test. Others seem to be able to make the Salifert Sr kit work, I guess I'm not one of them.
Ca. came in at 390 which isn't bad considering I'm still dripping Kalk and occasionally tossing in some Kent Turbo Ca whenever I remember to (once a week or so)
Obviously the big number here is the Nitrate reading, which prior to the big bioball removal episode seemed to average about 10-20ppm. Strange, now that I think about it I never got around to re-measuring after removing the balls, but I'm funny that way sometimes. Regardless, it now comes up as undetectable with a Salifert test.
However, with that trade off now comes the issue of some micro bubbles. Not a lot, just enough to start sticking to the glass if I let the algae accumulate. It's not annoying enough to really get on my nerves, but I'd still prefer them not to be there. However, given the choice between elevated Nitrates and some micro bubbles, I'll take the bubbles.
Speaking of algae, not a hint of the stuff anywhere in the main reef display. Nada, Zero, Zip. Just the light dusting of the green on the tank walls. However, I did see a small bit of red Cyano in one particular spot that seemed to come and go. That was in an area at the front where I had a medium sized yellow Sarcophyton that, when expanded, would touch against the front acrylic of the tank. the Cyano seemed to appear on the front acrylic directly under the expanded leather. If I moved the leather so the Cyano was exposed to both light and flow the Cyano would disappear, so I have no idea if it was reduced water flow or the shade from the leather that the cyano seemed to like best. Either way, it's a moot point now as the leather was returned to my LFS a few weeks ago along with a few other pieces that had outgrown their spot.
Getting back to old news here, I know I've mentioned doing a lot of water changes in the last month, and while most of that was due to the sand removal, I just want to take a minute and say that it's really something I consider to be a cheap form of insurance. I won't hesitate to do a 25 gal H20^ at the drop of a hat. I mean what's $10.00-15.00 worth of water to protect thousands of dollars in livestock. So, don't be frugal with that water, change it, and change it often.
I actually had to add a 2nd heater to one of my influent boxes. So, I now have a 200w AND a 250w heater.
Here's the tale of the temps.....
Ambient room temps average in the neighborhood of 75 to 76 degrees early evening thru early morning and 78 to 79 mid day to late afternoon.
Average tank temps are like 77.2 to 77.4 in the AM and 78.8 to 79.0 in the PM.
Which isn't all that bad for 570w of MH and approx 320w of T5. So it appears the system seems quite capable of maintaining 1 to 2 degrees over ambient room temp over the course of a 24 hour period. I think I can live with that.
Another thing of interest is that after all the cleaning and sand removal (along with something in the neighborhood of 200 gals of water changes over a 3 week period) my algae production has decreased to a slow crawl. I last harvested well over a week ago and the wheel looks like it was just done yesterday.
Also, I finally broke out the test kits figuring that after nearly a year I should probably take a look at my water quality. That, and I wanted some data to report on my update.
Here's what I got:
Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia all come back reading zero. P04 barely turned enough color to call it detectable. pH innitially came back a bit low at 7.8, but then I remembered I'm still unsing a Salifert lot # that had reported low readings so with the advised 2 point correction I'm up to 8.0
I tried getting a Strontium reading just for kicks but no matter how many times I tried I couldn't get repeatable readings from test to test. Others seem to be able to make the Salifert Sr kit work, I guess I'm not one of them.
Ca. came in at 390 which isn't bad considering I'm still dripping Kalk and occasionally tossing in some Kent Turbo Ca whenever I remember to (once a week or so)
Obviously the big number here is the Nitrate reading, which prior to the big bioball removal episode seemed to average about 10-20ppm. Strange, now that I think about it I never got around to re-measuring after removing the balls, but I'm funny that way sometimes. Regardless, it now comes up as undetectable with a Salifert test.
However, with that trade off now comes the issue of some micro bubbles. Not a lot, just enough to start sticking to the glass if I let the algae accumulate. It's not annoying enough to really get on my nerves, but I'd still prefer them not to be there. However, given the choice between elevated Nitrates and some micro bubbles, I'll take the bubbles.
Speaking of algae, not a hint of the stuff anywhere in the main reef display. Nada, Zero, Zip. Just the light dusting of the green on the tank walls. However, I did see a small bit of red Cyano in one particular spot that seemed to come and go. That was in an area at the front where I had a medium sized yellow Sarcophyton that, when expanded, would touch against the front acrylic of the tank. the Cyano seemed to appear on the front acrylic directly under the expanded leather. If I moved the leather so the Cyano was exposed to both light and flow the Cyano would disappear, so I have no idea if it was reduced water flow or the shade from the leather that the cyano seemed to like best. Either way, it's a moot point now as the leather was returned to my LFS a few weeks ago along with a few other pieces that had outgrown their spot.
Getting back to old news here, I know I've mentioned doing a lot of water changes in the last month, and while most of that was due to the sand removal, I just want to take a minute and say that it's really something I consider to be a cheap form of insurance. I won't hesitate to do a 25 gal H20^ at the drop of a hat. I mean what's $10.00-15.00 worth of water to protect thousands of dollars in livestock. So, don't be frugal with that water, change it, and change it often.
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piercho
New member
I'm glad you were able to restore your flow by installing a single point injector without having to do a major teardown. I'd hate to think that I influenced you to set up the injector in a way that you could not have recovered from when it did not turn out to be optimal. I don't think mine has lost flow but its hard to tell and, like you told me a while back, the flushing of the ports when the RCSD fires may be preventing blockage in mine.
AES once made air injection collars and I got the idea for mine from theirs. They no longer make them and I found this interesting line in AES tech talk 68: "Air Lift Notes"
A move or house remodel is comming up which may require me to tear down the tank. One thing I like to do if that happens is bissect the injector and all the piping to see what happens in there over time. Another thing I intend to do is just install a single injector - exactly like you did - and see what difference it makes on a system thats been running a while.
AES once made air injection collars and I got the idea for mine from theirs. They no longer make them and I found this interesting line in AES tech talk 68: "Air Lift Notes"
A move or house remodel is comming up which may require me to tear down the tank. One thing I like to do if that happens is bissect the injector and all the piping to see what happens in there over time. Another thing I intend to do is just install a single injector - exactly like you did - and see what difference it makes on a system thats been running a while.
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