flow

[timrandlerv10]

right now my tank has two outlets from the return (mag 9 i think with 5' head but under 12" of water) and two koralia 3's. i know there is a dead spot behind the rocks under the coast to coast overflow.

i would like to put the koralias closer to the rocks and closer to the sand, but i'm afraid that the anemones will wander into one and make invert soup. putting the return flow there would be great, because there's no fan blade...but i think it isnt much flow.

how can i keep stuff safe, increase my overall flow, and help eliminate the dead spots? i dont want to just replace my return with a larger pump...would it be possible to put another pump in the return, and then just recirc some water? i should have plumbed a recirc system when i started, but i didnt know any better, and i dont want to take the tank apart just to do it.


thanks!

 

[Tomoko Schum]

You can have a closed loop without drilling the tank. If you don't like to the look of PVC pipe coming over the back of the tank, you can either paint it black, or you can drill the tank by draining the tank half way like Jason and Will did for John Newby several years ago ....

Tomoko

 

[timrandlerv10]

I think i'm good with just painting it black for now...how/where do i put the pump?

 

[Tomoko Schum]

A closed loop pump is usually an external one. You can put it anyway you like. I recall Matt had one right on top of a wood stand (or a board attached to it) when he was working for Lucy's Lagoon.

Tomoko

 

[8BALL_99]

I've never painted pipe that is in the water.. Like on Johns 210 his closed loop goes over the back wall. Most people never notice it.. I just painted the pipes to just above the water line then I died the parts that go in the water with PVC primer. Turns them bright purple/pink. They blend in pretty good with the LR. After a couple of months they will be covered with algae and you won't see them at all. You can also buy Black pvc piple and fitting online.. But the fittings cost several times what standard ones go for.

Pump doesn't matter. Just have it below the waterline ofcourse.. Also add a way to prime it if you go over the wall. Doesn't have to be fancy.. Infact just a union high up on the intake is enough to prime the pump. Just unscrew the union fill with water then close it back.. Once you prime it water will stay in the line inless you drain it. So the pump will stay primed during a power outage ect. HTH

 

[8BALL_99]

Btw yes I've drilled a couple tanks with water in them and me a Jason did drill Johns old 110s filled about half full.. But really I wouldn't suggest this. The extra pressure on the glass makes the risk of breaking the tank much higher.. Not to mention if it did crack while drilling there would be nothing you could do to stop the water from rushing out onto the floor. John was ok with the risk VS unloading 2 110 gallon tanks.. Plus this was in his Reef house So worse comes to worse its not like he hasn't have the floor wet before.. I haven't done it in a couple years simply cause I won't now lol. I've never broke a tank that wasnt' tempered but I still won't risk it now Big risk just to save on a very little amount of time and work.

 

[timrandlerv10]

so at the end of the stand near the wall (already kind of covered with a credenza, etc.) i could just build a shelf, then put the pump on that--and that would remove three feet of head.

put the intake just below the water line, and then put the discharge vents wherever i want them--and as long as they are all under water, after its primed, it will always stay primed.

i think i'm going to just do it in white to start and see what happens...white pipe will look less obtrusive that the junk collecting on the tank floor...

how do i design the 'current' for the tank to make it most healthy? if possible, i would like to keep the discharge pipes at one end...but i guess i could also run one pipe to the other under under the overflow behind everything.