Carlson Surge Device?

[Chrisrush]

Thanks for updating your pic and the explanation. The surges fire at different rates?

Also, I think I see what I'm seeing, but the u-tube is the discharge (1.5"?), with a 1" air vent tee'd off a the top, and your overflow on the corner (2")? The surge feed is the 2 split 1" tubes, correct?

That tank is a 20g split in 2, so 2 - 10g surges?

Any way to post a video of the surge, and the flow?

 

[Helter Skilter]

The tank is a 20H split in two. The bulkhead on the right is a 1.5" feed. It "t"s off into two 1" fills. The u-tubes are what creates the siphon that flows into the tank, and are both 1.5". The the 3/4" pipe coming off of the "u-tubes" is used to control the siphon-break point. The 2" bulkhead is an emergency drain (just incase. I've never had a misfire though.)

They do fire at different rates. There a ball valves on each fill so I can adjust the flow. Even if I tried to synch them, they would quickly come out of synch. Differences in pipe runs, as well as pressure changes as the tanks fill throws off the timing ever so slightly.

Make sure your overflows can handle the peak flow of your surges firing all together, or your tank WILL turn into a Zero Edge sooner or later.

I do not know how to get my camera to take video, so until then... no video.

 

[Plato]

Here are some pics of the carlson surger device on the reef tank at the Georga Aquarium from the September MACNA in ATL.

 

[Reefski's]

i don't believe that is the design for a Carlson surge device. they use PVC and a siphon.

they do not use dump buckets.

it is cool thought. it is a lot of maintenance. i was told there that they shut them off at night for fear of a failure when no one is there to respond.

she said they were a big maintenance headache.

Carl

 

[username in use]

If you havent seen Joes tank, make the trip. I go almost weekly. Atlantis Marine World in Riverhead New York.

 

[Helter Skilter]

Best user name ever!

 

[Helter Skilter]

I upgraded my system pump to a Hammerhead Gold yesterday. When I upgraded my skimmer a few months ago, I plumbed all my equipment onto the Barracuda I had, and by the time I got everything on line, there wasn't enough pressure to run my chiller effectively, or push much flow through my 1" Seaswirl (Yes, when I was planning this tank, I decided the flow from 3 surges just wasn't quite random enough for my tastes).

Swaping the pump was easy part. When I first set up my tank, I cut the teeth on my overflows down an extra inch, and doubled the width on them. I also cut extra teeth so they wrapped all the way around the megaflows. When all three surges fired at the same time the water would rise all the way up to my centerbraces. That was with my Seaswirl dialed way back.

I'd been really freaked out about messing with them, but yesterday I cut down the inside walls of the overflows by about a half inch to handle the extra flow from the Hammerhead. It worked out perfectly. I have an estimated 1000gph going through my Seaswirl, and when all three surges fire simultaneously, the water rises to the top of the teeth instead of pouring over the top of the overflow.

 

[bosborn1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir3FTLCqbKA

Ended up putting two of these on this tank. We could never get rid of the bubbles.