Closed Loop Question

I shut off then pump water out of a separate chamber, refill with Ro/Di, mix, then turn it back on again. Timer to remove.. Look up continuous water changes. You can use dosing pumps to accomplish that. My mixing chamber works really well for me.
 
I have a tee off my feed to the CL pump with a Valve and a barb on the end. I just attach a hose and drain what I need out, roll my garbage can over and fill her back up. Not auto but I don't have the space for that type of set up unless I turn my game room into a fish room ;o)
 
thanks for all your replies and time...

seems like the guy had it set up right to begin with. so that part is done...woohoo!
 
First of all forgive me if I missed it in your post.
What size is your tank and what is going into the tank coral wise ?
The other thing is most Reeflo pump's can be throttled back to run as low as 400 GPH so the GPH issue aint a problem.
I personally agree with Ron about running it full speed with out the barrell.
In my original build of my 375 peninsula I was running 2 closed loop's each being drivin by a 6000 GPH Reeflo Black fin pump draining from the bottom with 2" bulk heads.
Each having a Ocean motion 4 way for a total of 8-1" returns all comming up from the bottom.
Then after talking with the owner of Ocean Motion (PauL- The expert BTW)as we discussed my best plan befor he desiged my closed loop lay out he himself told me not to even bother with the OM 4 way's that the way my layout was I would get plenty of random flow he also talked me out of his revolution's.
If your tank is 180 gallon's or smaller I would just get a Reeflo Snapper and run that for your closed loop.
 
My tank is a 150 gallon 5'x2'x2'. I plan on keeping SPS and other corals.

As of right now, all my returns will be running over the top... that is unless I can get enough flow to the pump with the 1.5" on the bottom. If so, I'll probably use the 1" hole on the bottom for one of the outlets of the closed loop with an eductor(sp?) to run to the side along the back and run the rest over the top.

I found some plans that I like on the OM forum but would need to drill more holes... The design plans were to have 4 returns on the bottom... 2 in the front corners(just above the sand bed) facing upward and back 45 degrees and 2 in the back corners slightly taller(about 6") and 90 degrees toward the front. This seems like the best option so I don't have too many pipes running up and over the top of the tank...

This is already going alot slower than I'd like... but I guess with patience I can get it the way I'd really like. If I go the route of drilling, I may as well drill all the returns, including the return from the sump. I'll just need 6-8 more bulk heads and the patience and ability to drill the tank, not to mention the juevos... I got some Diamond bits in the package deal I got with the equipment but am worried about possibly cracking the tank... the videos on youtube that I found make it look pretty easy...
 
The big tank at Your Reef has closed loop returns that come in from the bottom and John wasn't happy with the results. You'll get much more efficient flow the way that mine and Rob's are.
 
Here's how I ended up plumbing my closed loop. I'm not sure if I'm going to use loc-line or not so I didn't finish it off yet.

I'll start with the pics of the tank before plumbing. The 2 holes on the top are overflow. There are 2 boxes that attach to them to allow surface skimming. I think I'm going to make new skimmer/overflow boxes.

IMG_0739-1.jpg


The 2 holes on the bottom - 1- 1.5" and 1- 1"
IMG_0736-1.jpg
 
the 2 holes plumbed to 1- 2" to feed the Dart
it took me a while to figure out how to do this in a way that I can still take it apart if needed to.

IMG_0750.jpg


up to the OM Super Squirt
IMG_0758.jpg
 
back view of return to OM Super Squirt
at the 4-way before the OM Super Squirt, I added a drain line which has a ball valve and union to remove the drain line. the other side which is capped off for now is the line I will use if I decide to have the OM Super Squirt motor replaced. After testing it found that it wasn't turning the barrel so I removed the barrel and have it wide open... I'll give it a try like suggested.
IMG_0748.jpg


back over the top.
the pipe up the center is the return from the sump
IMG_0747.jpg
 
the reflectors at the top will be moved inside the canopy... still trying to figure out how I'm going to mount them and add the supplement lighting.

also, still trying to figure out a skimmer/sump... the skimmer I have is too big for the sump I planned to use. so I'm either in the market for a skimmer or a sump that is at least 14" wide.
 
oh and the canopy is still a work in progress, I sanded and refinished the shell, but still need to figure out how I'm going to attach panels or doors.

and I don't like the size of the center brace across the top... but I'll deal with it for now...
 
RonMidtownStomp said:
How high above the water are the reflectors when they're mounted?
Click to expand...

not sure yet. when I hung them on the hooks they were about 8" from top of the tank. I don't want to hang them... going to build some kind of shelf for them but I'm having a hard time configuring it to also fit 2- T5 bulbs in the front and 2 in the back for supplement... think I'll be able to just use 1 in the front and back?
 
because for some reason they don't hang parallel to the tank... 1 does but the other hangs a little crooked. I figure with 2 pieces of wood going from front to back with the same width of the reflector they'll be perfectly parallel to the tank and won't move around if I bump them... plus I need to add 2 mounts at each end for the T5's. hmm... maybe I'll go VHO instead of T5... be easier to fit 1 of each instead of 2 of the T5. got any endcaps for the VHO? will I need reflectors for them? I've got a bunch of each for T5... I was hoping to use what I have...
 
VHO are getting harder and harder to come by. I just zip tie the cord to the reflectors somewhere and pull until they align right.
 
I mounted a chain to the end where the wiring/mogul stick out to level it out after hanging but for some reason 1 of them hangs a little crooked side to side(the mogul end and opposite being front to back).
 
RonMidtownStomp said:
VHO are getting harder and harder to come by. I just zip tie the cord to the reflectors somewhere and pull until they align right.
Click to expand...

does that mean that I may not want to run VHO due to availability? I'm pretty sure I can fit the T5 reflectors(very tight fit) but was going to cheat the reflectors to the front a little because the Overflow/Skimming boxes will block some of the light if perfectly centered.
 
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