DSB Heresy

[BigDaddy]

The drainage cloth can be bought at Home Depot. It does not deteriorate.

I think I drilled it randomly every 4", but again I put more hole the further away from the drain.

The drain is a siphon w/ a valve (there's a T at the top w/ a cap so, I can start the siphon if it fails), I only had to fill it once and it has worked ever since. I used 3/4" pvc, but 1/2" would work for you.

I also found a test kit that tests for organic phosphates, it's quite expensive at $134. But, it would be interesting to see how much is being exported in the CPW.

 

[salty joe]

Yeah, i heard it was a royal PITA to test for total phosphate. I had no idea it was so expensive.

It would be real interesting to compare total phosphate in waste water to tank water.

 

[Obi-dad]

Even with the tests for total organic phosphate (boiling and/or acid) it seems like it wouldn't just be organic phosphate molecules that were present in the water, but also the organic phosphates from any living bacteria and plankton present in the water. That would give you a much higher value of organic phosphates than in what we are interested in - water with a lot of bacteria and plankton (probably a good thing) would look worse than water that doesn't have a lot of life in it (but may have more organic phosphates).

 

[tankslave]

What else did you think was in the "organic" category?

 

[BigDaddy]

It would be interesting to see if the total phosphates of the CPW water was much higher than the tank water. Even if it's organic it would show you are exporting phosphates instead of it binding in your sand bed.

 

[Obi-dad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9844454#post9844454 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tankslave
What else did you think was in the "organic" category?

Organic molecules that are not part of living cells (waste in the water). There would be a big difference between the two - organics as part of plankton = good, organics in the water = not good. I think these tests are not going to differentiate between the two.

 

[Steve 926]

As Always

Thanks to all for the reply.

I guess I will be burning the midnight oil & constructing a CPW of 1/2 schl. 26 pvc. My concern is that it will have to be built in pieces & assembled in the tank due to the euro bracing around the top of the display.

When covering it with the cloth, did you attach it to the bottom of the pvc, or just let it lay under it

Steve (@^ 926

:smokin:

 

[BigDaddy]

The pvc is completely wrapped.

Assembling it in the tank shouldn't be a problem. I only glued the drain pipe. The rest of the cpw isn't glued.

 

[BigDaddy]

I don't remember if it's just wrapped or if I glued it on the bottom.

 

[daven]

Well, I'm setting up my 180 now. I have decided to go ahead and do this. I figure there is little to no risk because if I don't like it I'll just quit using it.

BigDaddy, just curious, why didn't you glue the cpvc?

 

[BigDaddy]

It's a very tight fit, so I figured I wouldn't need to. So far so good.

 

[DougSupreme]

once you put the sand over the plenum, the piping is NOT going to pull apart on its own

 

[daven]

Did you go with sand over the plenum directly or a layer of cc then sand?

 

[DougSupreme]

I just wrapped the plenum with the landscape fabric like you would wrap a present and then put the sand directly on top of that.

 

[BigDaddy]

I put a layer of crushed coral over the plenum (about 2") and then put a double layer of drainage cloth between the crushed coral and the sandbed.

 

[BigDaddy]

The crushed coral is suspose to allow a more even flow into the plenum and prevent short circuts which would limit the plenum's effectiveness.

 

[reefez]

I would hate so see the first couple layers of gunk on top of the landscape fabric after a couple years. Sounds like a drian begging to clog.

 

[BigDaddy]

I can see around the edge of my tank and see the drainage cloth and the crushed coral layer. It looks basically the same as when I installed it three years ago.

I might dig up a portion of the sand bed to see if there's any buildup on the drainage cloth. But, there doesn't appear to be from the edges.

 

[Steve 926]

Has any one considered using a fine fiberglass screen
I would think that it would not clog as easily

What's yopur opinion :rolleye1:

Thanks for the reply

Steve (@^ 926


:smokin:

 

[SPC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9860418#post9860418 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Steve 926
Has any one considered using a fine fiberglass screen
I would think that it would not clog as easily

What's yopur opinion :rolleye1:

Thanks for the reply

Steve (@^ 926


:smokin:

That's what is used with a true plenum.

Steve