Closed loop?

[fishfan09]

Curently I have a Koralia 3 and a 2 along with two 2 other power heads rated at about 200gph moving water. I have recently thought about going to a closed loop with an SCWD being ran of a pump somewhere in the 600 to 800 gph range. My question is will that be enough movement alone or should I still keep the K2 and K3? Is that a little much. I like the fact of the SCWD but also like the coverage of the Koralias. And what pump do you guys recommend? Thanks Brandon

 

[Shark Keeper]

It all depends on how your Closed Loop will be set up.

The SCWDs restrict your flow so I would just plumb the pump with the two outlets splitting your flow (400gph one side and 400gph the other). I would do the closed loop, keeping the pumps that you have until you have it complete to see if you have any "dead spots" where you need additional flow.

In my 180 I have a OM and added a single Tunze to aid in the flow.

Hope that helps.

 

[MarineFishGuy]

Just in case your not up on Reef Geek speak, an OM is Ocean Motions. A drum based flow diverter plumbed into your closed loop.

Typically you have one input and between 2 and 8 outlets (depends on model).
Each output goes to a different nozzle in the tank. The drum causes it to cycle through them to randomize the flow.

When setting up my 210, I looked into a closed loop, it was the direction I had planned on going. Although in a Peninsula setup, there is precious little space to drill bulkheads.

I opted for 2 Tunze 6105s and an Aquasurf. The 6105 is rated from 1400gph to 3450gph. So I have a combined total of 7000gph at 100%.

My second Tunze should arrive Wednesday. I plan to cycle through different profiles for water movement using the Aquasurf, Wave, Synchronous, and random.

In the end I felt like I had more flexibility with the Tunze\Aquasurf combo and more overall water movement for less power consumption.

1 Reeflo Barracuda @4000gph consumes 280W.
1 Tunze 6105 @3450gph consumes 45W.

 

[fishfan09]

Thanks for the input.. I have also seen on youtube a DIY wavebox... has anyone made one or known someone who has?

 

[MarineFishGuy]

I was going to try and go the DIY Wavebox route.

It looks simple enough. The complicated part is the controller mechanism.
It involved soldering up a PCB with some special circuits.
While I may have been able to do this, I wanted something more reliable (than my soldering skills would allow).

When I found out I could make a wave without a box using the Tunze 6105s and an Aquasurf, I decided to go that route.
I also did not have anywhere to mount the box where it could be at the surface in the Peninsula tank.

 

[fishfan09]

The controller is what has kept me fom attempting the wavebox as well, just thought for as little money needed for the DIY box it should be considered. Maybe I should just go with the tunze and aquasurf myself that sounds like it would be the one that involves no headaches and most reliable. What tunze would you recommend for an 55 gallon?

 

[MarineFishGuy]

The kicker is, for a good wave box, you need a nice DC pump so it always spins the same direction. The bilge pumps are not designed for continuous use and are reported to burn out in a few months (heresay).
So you are left with the controllable Tunze pumps or a controllable Koralia. In either case, it is a $250+ investment. The Tunze controller can not do a wave unless you get the brand new 7096, not sure about the Koralia controller.

It takes more power to do it without a wavebox as well as fine control over the interval. I need 2 x 6105s in my 29" tall tank. When it was only half full I got a 2" wave with a single 6105.

Having read quite a few threads recently on Tunze, I would think Roger would suggest the 6055 for that size tank.

I tried putting the 6105 in my 75 (which is crammed with live rock). I almost emptied half my tank onto the floor as I forgot it was set to 100% with the 24v jumper.

You could also consider the 15v jumper and a 6105 is you plan to upgrade to a larger tank later. Although the 6105 is quite large physically (compared to a 6045).

The 6105 will come with both a 15v and a 24v jumper (if using the 42mm prop) or a 15v and a 18v (if using the 45mm prop).
They recently made a change to the prop/jumper so it would spin slower to reduce noise.

Roger sent me the prop and jumper for free as I had the 24v jumper and smaller prop on my 6105).

 

[fishfan09]

wow...lol thanks for the knowledge. I will take a week of two to research and find out what I want to go with, because as you mentioned it is an investment and do plan on a larger tank, however right now space is hard to come by in my rental.