Elliott's Reef: 900g DT , 400g sumps

[007Bond]

Hey Elliott...do you use any Larry's, Rod's, or Rogger's brand frozen foods? Dr F&S has some on sale. I found this thread,...posters seem to be in favor of Larry's
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1796293

 

[Elliott]

Hey Elliott...do you use any Larry's, Rod's, or Rogger's brand frozen foods? Dr F&S has some on sale. I found this thread,...seems to be in favor of Larry's

I use Rod's frozen foods, very pleased, also heard good things about the others you mentioned, probably all sufficiently good

 

[007Bond]

Thanks !

 

[nuxx]

WOW!

Jealous :mad2:

 

[007Bond]

Good morning Elliott,...question of you. Did you setup a wash down system of some sort on your skimmer necks or just on the injectors?...I don't recall what I have read on your thread. I'm thinking of a Swabbie or another method to keep my skimmer running at its peak. Thanks,---Rick

 

[Elliott]

Good morning Elliott,...question of you. Did you setup a wash down system of some sort on your skimmer necks or just on the injectors?...I don't recall what I have read on your thread. I'm thinking of a Swabbie or another method to keep my skimmer running at its peak. Thanks,---Rick

yes, the RK2 has both neck and cup wash downs that are on Apex timer

both Barr 5220 down draft skimmers are fitted with Swabbies, also on Apex timer

you're right, it really helps keep the skimmers running more efficiently

 

[007Bond]

As always...thanks Elliott.

 

[Elliott]

As always...thanks Elliott.

pleasure :beer:

 

[Outdrsyguy1]

Hi Elliott! Well my build is slowly coming along and I was trying to take advantage of the sales today to buy a bunch of plumbing parts
What are those returns you used for your closed loops? I'm having trouble finding them(they look like black 2" piping with ribbing along it).
Also did you use the 3/4" eductors or the 1/2" eductors out of curiosity?
I'm currently trying to set mine up withe a reeflo gold hybrid hammerhead closed loop so I figured about 10 eductors at 8 gpm or so each (that's about 5000 gph @8' head off the pump curve).
did you ever have problems with where the eductors were aimed? I don't know how you can have so many without blasting everything in front of them... Obviously it works, but do you just point them at all the gaps between rockscape?

 

[Elliott]

Hi Elliott! Well my build is slowly coming along and I was trying to take advantage of the sales today to buy a bunch of plumbing parts
What are those returns you used for your closed loops? I'm having trouble finding them(they look like black 2" piping with ribbing along it).
Also did you use the 3/4" eductors or the 1/2" eductors out of curiosity?
I'm currently trying to set mine up withe a reeflo gold hybrid hammerhead closed loop so I figured about 10 eductors at 8 gpm or so each (that's about 5000 gph @8' head off the pump curve).
did you ever have problems with where the eductors were aimed? I don't know how you can have so many without blasting everything in front of them... Obviously it works, but do you just point them at all the gaps between rockscape?

I used 1" eductors, purchased from KTH http://www.kthsales.com/website/Misc/hello_salt_water_enthusiasts.htm

make sure you use a pressure rated pump (hammerhead is NOT) as it takes considerable pressure to drive eductors, read the KTH verbiage which explains it well... "If your pump came with a performance curve, 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 IS THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF EDUCTORS "

I arranged mine at the bottom to bounce off the back, side and front walls, blowing debris up and into the water column. There are also a few mid level that blow across the tank. My two closed loops are each run by 3 hp Iwaki 220v pumps, that are set to ramp up and down to a maximum of 50% output (any more is too strong)

The two closed loops are arranged in opposite directions, so one is set up for clockwise rotation, the other counter clockwise. They are also each controlled by a VFD to ramp up and down which also regulates their power draw.

It has been a very reliable, efficient and effective flow system with really no maintenance. There are also 2 wave boxes that provide a 1" wave.

Hope that helps! Happy Reefing

 

[Outdrsyguy1]

thanks a ton for the quick response! When I saw the gyre power heads come out it made me think about doing the same with eductors like your doing with the cw/ccw.

I'm a little confused about the pressure ratings though, I see how the ratings go super high but the example down at the bottom of the "low pressure chart" it says that if you put 5 gpm to a .3 orifice eductor and gave it 12' of head pressure it would produce 25 gpm worth of flow. If I go to the reeflo chart and go with 14' head pressure (assuming about 2' for fitting loss therefore 12' available at eductor) then the flow would be 4225 gpH which is 70.4 gpM. Therefore if I used 70.4/5 gpm = 14 eductors i should get approximately 25 gpm per eductor (25*14=350gpm = 21,000 gpH).

Am I doing the math wrong?


low pressure chart link:
http://www.kthsales.com/website/Misc/Low pressure eductor flow rates.pdf

 

[Elliott]

so, according to the low pressure chart:

with 0.3 orifice

14' head pressure = 27 gallons per minute,gpm = 1620 gallons per hour,gph (27 x 60 = 1620)

to understand how many eductors one can drive at this flow rate, divide the pump output in gpm at 14' (look at flow graph for your pump) by 5.4 (from low pressure chart)

 

[Outdrsyguy1]

Interesting how 2 people read the same chart differently. I read it as at 14' head pressure and 5.4 gpm from the pump, you get a total solution movement of 27 gpm. So to calculate your number of eductors, you take the pump curve at 14' head and get (in my case) 4225 gph( 70.4 gpm). Then 70.4 total pump gpm divided by 5.4 gpm per eductor gives you 13 eductors.
I'll try giving them a call tomorrow and see if they can help me find some clarity. Hope your having a great day!

 

[Elliott]

Interesting how 2 people read the same chart differently. I read it as at 14' head pressure and 5.4 gpm from the pump, you get a total solution movement of 27 gpm. So to calculate your number of eductors, you take the pump curve at 14' head and get (in my case) 4225 gph( 70.4 gpm). Then 70.4 total pump gpm divided by 5.4 gpm per eductor gives you 13 eductors.
I'll try giving them a call tomorrow and see if they can help me find some clarity. Hope your having a great day!

yes, you are correct, we are both saying the same thing...

 

[007Bond]

Hi Elliott...question on your close loop...what stops the eductors from blowing your sand all over the tank?

 

[Elliott]

Hi Elliott...question on your close loop...what stops the eductors from blowing your sand all over the tank?

so the sand is only in visible areas as you face the tank, the eductors are not blowing on the sand directly, the ones facing forward are elevated and blowing from the sides, the rest are pointing back and/or elevated

however I do have a few visible small areas that are bare of sand from turbulent flow

 

[007Bond]

Got it

 

[Elliott]

Got it

:beer:

 

[Outdrsyguy1]

..... deleted post, sorry

 

[Thefishwrangler]

Wow. All your livestock looks stunning.