Closed Loop?
- Thread starter wtildens
- Start date
tastydog
New member
I have a closed loop setup on my system. It is very simple, you suck the water out and push it back in somewhere else. I have a 9.5 Mag drive pushing water around.
The advantage over a power head is you get water movement from two separate areas of the tank, the disadvantage is you need to things in the tank.
The disadvantage is that it is noisy. To reduce the noise you have to put a valve and create some back pressure on the pump to quite it down.
Just keep in mind a closed loop is only to move water around and replace power heads. Also you don't have the pump in the water. I found though that the pump gets really hot and the water going through it gets heated up. I ended up submerging the pump in a bucket of fresh water I fill up now and again. It helps with sound and to dissipate the heat. You will still need more flow and a sump.
The advantage over a power head is you get water movement from two separate areas of the tank, the disadvantage is you need to things in the tank.
The disadvantage is that it is noisy. To reduce the noise you have to put a valve and create some back pressure on the pump to quite it down.
Just keep in mind a closed loop is only to move water around and replace power heads. Also you don't have the pump in the water. I found though that the pump gets really hot and the water going through it gets heated up. I ended up submerging the pump in a bucket of fresh water I fill up now and again. It helps with sound and to dissipate the heat. You will still need more flow and a sump.
tastydog
New member
Yeah, most every pump is designed to run with some back pressure. Without it, the pumps are generally loud.
Keep in mind a decent pump runs at about 50-90amps, a koralina uses 4-10amps. So HUGE difference and for most folks water movers such as those are the way to go.
Why do you want to use a closed loop? Explain what you are doing if you want more advice.
Also, I have no idea what schatzi was talking about. A closed loop means that there is NEVER any surface area exposed to air. The water leaves through a pipe, never leaves the pipe and enters the tank. ANYTHING else is NOT a closed loop, it is something else.
Cheers,
Brandon
Keep in mind a decent pump runs at about 50-90amps, a koralina uses 4-10amps. So HUGE difference and for most folks water movers such as those are the way to go.
Why do you want to use a closed loop? Explain what you are doing if you want more advice.
Also, I have no idea what schatzi was talking about. A closed loop means that there is NEVER any surface area exposed to air. The water leaves through a pipe, never leaves the pipe and enters the tank. ANYTHING else is NOT a closed loop, it is something else.
Cheers,
Brandon
tastydog
New member
Um, it can be I guess. You just have to think about it, also I don't glue the pieces that go into the tank, I leave them so I can adjust them. You can add a little silicon to them to keep the salt creep down.
You do need to decide where you want the water coming from though for sure. However, if you are using PVC, its not biggie to make large changes. PVC is cheap and glues quickly.
Brandon
schatzi
Professional amateur
the point is to adapt a manifold output system for the output of a closed loop, yes the pic does not show a CL but it's exactly the same concept. this type of mainfold will give you many options in return flow and if you're ambitious enough could also add a return system that comes from under the substrate. CL's are not hard at all, but that doesn't mean they are a fit for everybody.
schatzi
Professional amateur
yeah, works well, you can make it as complex or as simple as you want, add a wavemaker, run multiple lines, kinda just depends on how much room you have to work with and how much time you want to put into tweaking it and all that.
I think you mean watt, 50-90amps would be something impressive
.As has already been summed up, CL have their pluses and minuses. On large tanks its advantageous to have a closed loop because you can push a large amount of water more efficiently using a single large external pump rather than having having a dozen smaller power heads. As well in a case like that a closed loop would look much nicer than having a bunch of pumps in the tank.
On smaller tanks they can work well because in small tanks real estate is at somewhat of a premium. A closed loop can be plumbed so all you have in the tank is your inlet and a couple returns. No messy looking pumps hanging in the corners.
They do have their disadvantages though, for a small tank it'll probably be less energy efficient. It simply takes more watts for the external pump to move the same amount of water as a couple power heads. They are a little less flexible if you're one that likes to constantly move pumps around. You can still get a wide range of different water movement by using loc-line or many other techniques on your returns but it is true you can't just move them *anywhere*. Of course there isn't any reason you can't combine both a closed loop and powerheads and probably for the majority of people this is what they do. Closed loop for the main circulation and then a powerhead or two to hit a specific spot or to diversify the flow a little bit.
If you plan out your closed loop right the plumbing shouldn't be overly complicated, it is wise to spend a good amount of time planning it out on paper though so you can get it setup correctly for ease of maintenance.
Yep, a CL and a sump are completely separate. A closed loop is literally that, a closed loop. Water goes in the inlet of the pump, through the pump and is discharged through 1 or more returns.
While a sump is an open system, water drains to the sump through the overflow, goes through any sump/fuge and any associated equipment, then is picked up by the return pump that pumps it back up to the tank.
LifeAquatic
New member
Just my opinion but closed loops systems are a little out dated now that we have better more efficent power heads.
Some reasons not to go with closed loop.
Noise and electrical cost. Initial parts cost expensive. Heat build up from pump.
More plumbing work.
More places for potential failure. " water leaks"
I would use a Vortech, Tunzee, or even Korailla before doing a closed loop system.
I actually use Vortechs for flow in my tank but there are cheaper ways to do it.
Some reasons not to go with closed loop.
Noise and electrical cost. Initial parts cost expensive. Heat build up from pump.
More plumbing work.
More places for potential failure. " water leaks"
I would use a Vortech, Tunzee, or even Korailla before doing a closed loop system.
I actually use Vortechs for flow in my tank but there are cheaper ways to do it.
I am setting up a 700 fowlr. My flow will be the return from the sump and a closed loop (two 1 1/4 returns and two 1 1/2 input(suction) It is a tall tank and the look of power heads and lines running in the tank would ruin everything not to mention the acrylic is 1 1/4 inch so I don't think the vortechs would cut it... I use vortechs on the 400 reef.
