Join me for a strange one...

Awesome project Kcress!!
Reading through this , I was going to mention mounting the CL pump and all the plumbing to the stand, but you are already there!

Not sure what you are using for a return pump, but 1" spaflex could be bent into your 360 loop easily in that space. Then swimming pool vac hose could be used for the drains, or simply use hard pvc (as long as your sump is higher than your 16" lift). Whatever you use, I would do a serious inspection every month or so to make sure you are not getting cracks.

I'm with Bean, I'd put some rigid mounting blocks on the stand to hold the pvc tight. Even the clik hangers (I use a ton of them and love them) are too weak for this. I'd use strut and strut type pipe hangers.

The pvc pipe repair sliding couplings came to mind, but the flex pipe is easier.

Keep it up!
 
Oh, I have some nice Pelco PTZ gear motors from our old camera system at work. They have solar tracker written all over them, as they are outdoor units, and pretty beefy. Where do I learn more? :)
 
These are still in the thick cast housings. I have 2 smaller ones at 24VAC and a 40lb er thats 120VAC. Cant recall the torque, I downloaded the manuals years ago.

Only guys like us would PTZ a freakin Turkey! :hammer:
 
4adam12;
$25 a piece for them is crazy. IMO that's pricing for a metal-plater, not a hobbiest.

Lock lines may be the ticket. They aren't all that cheap either.. I'd rather just drill and tap the column and screw male threads in. I can even drill and tap in skew angles.




Bean: I hear you about DIY.

My thinking, (currently), is that here I have a VFD. Ultimately I will dial it to some point that is as low and quiet as I think I need and can get away with, to cause the nearly minimum water motion the display needs to be healthy. More, just wastes energy. (Of course at other times I can turn it up to mayhem.:D)

Since eductors are so complex in their design a specific pressure/flow is where they're optimized. I suspect that any I purchase are going to be optimized for much higher pressure and flow than I'll want to provide.

With this in mind it seems logical that I build my own as mine probably won't be any/much worst than expensive ones being run far out of their optimum region. If mine are capable of merely doubling the bulk flow that has to be worth something.

Does this logic work for you?


H20ENG; Thanks for the kudos!
As I show further what I have, you and others can maybe get more specific.

As for heliostats did you look at the links I provided?
 
Now for the overflow return plumbing.

Here's where I could probably use some suggestions.



7z4utchhm2.jpg


The return box outlets are two 1-1/2 inch bulkheads and one 1 inch bulkhead.
The 1" is to be flooded and has a gate valve in it to throttle the flow.
One of the 1-1/2" is to be open channel.
The other 1-1/2" is... just there with another gate valve.

I like the Bean tripled-play but also have a hard time imagining an 1-1/2" ever getting clogged and if it gets into siphon mode with about 6 feet of fall.. wow.

Keep in mind that my return pump is a Poseidon PS4 which will be delivering about 16g/min back to the tank.
What's a one inch and an 1-1/2" good for in siphon? Anyone know?

xpy35tqi5j.jpg


mvxlzp9iim.jpg


Note the one inch is anchored.




cn37ilpf3f.jpg



Here's the whole basement as it stands this moment.

The 1" black flex in the back it the return to the tank. You can see it anchored to the rear beam with a clip in the second picture. That large loop should be plenty for hooking to the return pump discharge and not stressing anything including itself. As the stand rises or descends that loop can grow or flatten.


Ready to start some simple testing.
 
I agree with the amount of flow could be absolute overkill, but, i was wondering could the vfd be controlled to a point that say once a day, you crank it way up for about 30 seconds to really keep things stirred up?

Steven
 
Yeah baby!

I will be.. oh yeah. Surfs UP!

My present system ran random waves with between 1 and 20 minutes between them. I sorely miss them now that I pulled the pump, rebuilt, and up-flowed it, for this build.

It had a dedicated PC running the wave cycles and the sequenced lights. However, the PC cost me $30 a month running 24/7 so I will be switching to a TECO mini-PLC. I haven't figured out how to make that thing do anything randomly though.:confused: Maybe I have to have it watching some decaying radio-nucleotide.. :smokin:
 
At a minimum:
I am still rather concerned about the stress points. I would at least attach (2 parallel pieces) of unistrut between the left legs and hard mount ALL of the standpipes to (both) of them. This will help ensure that there is ZERO stress at the bulkheads and other PVC joints.

Ideal:
As mentioned above, I would weld a manifold plate to the leg, with STAINLESS fittings attached and plumb the tank and sump to it. I think there is going to be a lot more repetative stress than you think :)
 
I did not think you were going to be using Spa-flex for the moving connections. I do not think it flexes enough and will cause problems. I would suggest you use Kink-Free tubing, as it is much more flexible. The ID matches the OD of common PVC sizes, so you could just cut off the Spa-flex and clue it on to that. That seems to work better then hose barbs and clamps.
 
Bean I agree, I'm not comfortable with the lack of bracing on the sump lines.

Just now, however, it dawns on me that if the sump is deep enough, (if it can be), all these pipes could just dive straight down into the water. They would then just dip in deeper or shallower depending on the stand position. There would be no stress cycling. I need to take some measurements.

laverda; Thanks for the link. After being burnt royally on "flexibility" BS on site marketing I can't bring myself to assume any hose is very flexible unless a piece is in my hand. The customer reviews for that product profess: Not flexible, it bursts easily. :hmm2: Do you know if it's floppy flexible? Like will it bend a 90 on its own within a few inches? Like vacuum cleaner hose?
 
kcress, Yep that was my suggestion above, to just leave the drains hard piped and let them rise in and out of the sump. As long as the sump is deep enough. The only one that needs to flex is the return. A good candidate for that flex above.

How about a hard piped return on a Union that when you want to raise the tank, you kill the pump, loosen the union, and swivel the pipe out of the way?

You know I've seen pretty good pressure on pool vac hose too. Probably fine with the little return pump.
 
Or mount an acrylic box on the side of the tank, similar to a siphon style overflow (no siphon though, just the box that will spill over to the tank). Make it deep enough that the hard piped return can simply bolt to the wall, then the pipe will go in and out of that box, just like the sump below. Then it will ALL be hard pipe :hammer: :thumbsup:
 
Like this. When the tank goes up, the pipe can travel down the box with no issues.

Alternatively, you could build this box into the tank with flow holes drilled wherever you wanted. Or modify one of the overflow boxes for this return.
 

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H20ENG said:
Like this. When the tank goes up, the pipe can travel down the box with no issues.

Alternatively, you could build this box into the tank with flow holes drilled wherever you wanted. Or modify one of the overflow boxes for this return.
Click to expand...

I think that a fixed box and traveling pipe would be the most fail-safe and in the long rong the easiest to fabricate, at least for the return.

The problem with the setup (depending on expectations) is the chaning head on the return pump and standpipes. Keeping the system in balance (quiet) over the differences in head heights will be a challenge.
 
I assume he would turn it off when raised, and leave the valves balanced for the lowered viewing position. Least I would.. Otherwise, Yep.
 
H20ENG said:
Like this. When the tank goes up, the pipe can travel down the box with no issues.

Alternatively, you could build this box into the tank with flow holes drilled wherever you wanted. Or modify one of the overflow boxes for this return.
Click to expand...

I like the idea but..
You must not have noticed that I have no room between the wall and the tank. On the back I have slightly more..


nczafc45nf.jpg
 
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