Day 1 Of My First Large Reef Tank
- Thread starter pointx
- Start date
Hey Zoo, the well is tapped into the natural water level here in the Florida Keys which happens to be clean sea water (static at 6'). I will be using no mechanical filtration other then a debris basket on the pump. I have been running 2000 gallons an hours non stop thru my rock curing vats but can double that if wanted without dropping a inch in the well. Hope I helped clarifiy and questions you had
Randy
Randy
chachijoe75
New member
Maybe if we all pitch in we can build a pipeline, like in Alaska!
Thanks Elliot, looking for opinions on flow if anyone has any input? In my situation do I need to follow the 10 times min per gallon requirement? It seems like a waste to run all the new seawater thru the system every hour. Can I for example run like 4000/per hour with SW and make up the differance with powerheads or similar?
Oh yeah here is my first attempt at florida bio tope, using real sea water (pic is at 11 months)
Oh yeah here is my first attempt at florida bio tope, using real sea water (pic is at 11 months)
your only concern is "in tank" flow which can be achieved by either powerheads (tunzes, vortechs,etc.), closed loop(s) or just turning up your NSW source pump. however your flow should be chaotic and not laminar. If you can achieve enough flow from your source pump and feed the tank from different directions you should be fine, though with 800g it's unlikely. The amount of flow required depends on what you are planning to keep, for SPS the more the better IMO. I prefer using eductors since they require no maintenance (I'm lazy) but you need a pressure rated pump, one that can achieve around 23' of head pressure. Eductors are used in paint and oil vats for mixing and will pull in surrounding water, resulting in 4-7 times volume output, ideal for a big tank like yours. If I were you I'd consider a couple closed loops with 220v Iwaki MX250'x controlled by VFD's for total control of surge effects. This set up consumes little electricity since consumption ramps up and down as controlled by the VFD and relay.
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
I would shoot for 3x to 4x an hour turnover from your natural saltwater source. Add as many Vortechs or Tunzes as needed to make up the rest of the flow. They're a lot cheaper in the long run. Closed loops use a lot of power.
Lowredranger
New member
I am not sure but i would assume at least the vortechs are out b/c it is probably 1" acrylic.
Must be nice being able to skip out on all of that equipment that the rest of us have to deal with. That tank is going to be awesome.
Must be nice being able to skip out on all of that equipment that the rest of us have to deal with. That tank is going to be awesome.
Bax
Premium Member
Wow!
The groundwater SW loop is just a fantastic use of your local situation!
The only long tern down side could be bio fouling of your seep well. If so, You can probably resovle that by drilling a second one and alternating between them. I suppose common chemical disinfection in the Keys is a great BIG NO NO!
The groundwater SW loop is just a fantastic use of your local situation!
The only long tern down side could be bio fouling of your seep well. If so, You can probably resovle that by drilling a second one and alternating between them. I suppose common chemical disinfection in the Keys is a great BIG NO NO!
carlosngloria
Active member
nice tank and set up u have, you should check out the fmas forums here on rc .
Ok Its not day 1 anymore but felt like it again!!! Finally got the stand and tank off the truck and trailer, wow is glass heavy. My guess is the tank weighs close to 2500lbs and it took 4 of us and every tool in the book to move it inside.
First problem is that the tank and custom skid we rigged did not line up to the stand, it was off about 1/2" inch or so and we could not even lift it that high. So we broke out the jack and raised the skid the 1/2" needed.
After we got everything lined up we had to slide the tank on the stand an 1" at a time, took a while but we finally did. This would have been impossible to move if it was not on the custom build skid. It would have taken 12 or so guys to have moved it.
I need to knock down the 2 walls to the right and do the build around the tank and stand then it should really open up the viewing area to enjoy.
First problem is that the tank and custom skid we rigged did not line up to the stand, it was off about 1/2" inch or so and we could not even lift it that high. So we broke out the jack and raised the skid the 1/2" needed.
After we got everything lined up we had to slide the tank on the stand an 1" at a time, took a while but we finally did. This would have been impossible to move if it was not on the custom build skid. It would have taken 12 or so guys to have moved it.
I need to knock down the 2 walls to the right and do the build around the tank and stand then it should really open up the viewing area to enjoy.
Thanks for all the kind words and help. I am attaching some pics and info on the pump to get to some consensus on the capabilities of this pump. I have been messing around with the controls and built in timers and they can be set by minute increments. It has digital flow meter that is quite accurate so I can easily make adjustments. Ideally I would like to run all my eductors thru the pump, say around 4000-6000 gallons/hr and then the final 2000-4000 thru a closed looped sump based setup for redundantcy and extra flow. I just would like to try to avoid adding freshwater if possible.
Take a look at the pumps flow and features and maybe I am missing something.
Thanks again...
Randy
Take a look at the pumps flow and features and maybe I am missing something.
Thanks again...
Randy
look at the flow in "gallons per minute" when the pump is producing 23 feet (same as 10 PSI) and divide this number by 7 - (the ideal flow rate is 7 GPM at 10 PSI) - this represents the number of eductors you can use. if I am reading the chart correctly (it's rather small) it looks like at 23' the pump does 80 gpm at 3100 rpm, 80/7 = 11 eductors!
btw, OM do not work well with eductors, too much back pressure for the cylinder to turn
btw, OM do not work well with eductors, too much back pressure for the cylinder to turn
you can run all the eductors you want! you have more than enough pump, in fact I'm very impressed. do you know what it draws (watts or amps) at full speed? even at 3100 rpm, which is not max, you can run 11 eductors! that's excellent!
oceansmotions.com makes a nice automatic valve that allows one to rotate flow through either 4 or 8 output pipes in a closed loop, however they don't work with eductors due to the back pressure they produce, which causes the cylinder inside the ocean motion (OM) to stick
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