Kar's 55g Red Sea Reef Thread
- Thread starter kar93
- Start date
chrismunn
New member
do you understand the way weatherson has his air injection system setup with the open ended cylinder? i actually found it kinda confusing the first few times i looked at it. it took me a bit to understand exactly what was going on there?
basically the cylinder is submerged in water. he has his in the overflow box er something? you could put it in the sump and im sure that'd be just fine? the cylinder is basically just a drinking glass turned upside down. on the top end of the cylinder, he has a hole for the airline tube to pass through. there are also 2 more holes where 2 more pieces of tubing are attached. thoes 2 tubes go to each of his return pumps, and attach to a venturi. when the air pump turns on, it fills the cylinder with air, and the cylinder fills up. when the cylinder fills with air, the venturis attached to the return pumps draw air in through the 2 tubes attached to the air filled cylinder. thats when the injection system blows air into the tank. when the air pump turns off, the venturis draw out all of the air left in the cylinders. when all the air is out of the cylinder, the venturis draw water through the pumps, instead of air.
that cylinder is what makes that system function so well. if he was to simply attach the venturi lines directly from air pump to return pump, then when the air pumps were off, the venturis would still draw a small amount of air through the return pumps. this would mean constant micro bubbles.
if you wanted to use an air stone attached to the end of an airline which is attached to an air pump, and put the air stone under a power head, that would have the same result on a smaller scale. different method, same result. and by doing it that way, you wouldnt have to worry about the powerhead drawing air into the tank without the air pump being turned on.
i like that little sun diagram you have there. where did you get it?
basically the cylinder is submerged in water. he has his in the overflow box er something? you could put it in the sump and im sure that'd be just fine? the cylinder is basically just a drinking glass turned upside down. on the top end of the cylinder, he has a hole for the airline tube to pass through. there are also 2 more holes where 2 more pieces of tubing are attached. thoes 2 tubes go to each of his return pumps, and attach to a venturi. when the air pump turns on, it fills the cylinder with air, and the cylinder fills up. when the cylinder fills with air, the venturis attached to the return pumps draw air in through the 2 tubes attached to the air filled cylinder. thats when the injection system blows air into the tank. when the air pump turns off, the venturis draw out all of the air left in the cylinders. when all the air is out of the cylinder, the venturis draw water through the pumps, instead of air.
that cylinder is what makes that system function so well. if he was to simply attach the venturi lines directly from air pump to return pump, then when the air pumps were off, the venturis would still draw a small amount of air through the return pumps. this would mean constant micro bubbles.
if you wanted to use an air stone attached to the end of an airline which is attached to an air pump, and put the air stone under a power head, that would have the same result on a smaller scale. different method, same result. and by doing it that way, you wouldnt have to worry about the powerhead drawing air into the tank without the air pump being turned on.
i like that little sun diagram you have there. where did you get it?
kar93
Active member
Yeah, It took me a few reads to get my head round it aswell. I thought smaller scale design for a smaller tank. I hope it works.
I got the sun diagram from google.
http://www.red-sea-guide.com/weather-travel/index.htm
With this having probably 90%+ inhabitants of the red sea i thought it would be best to replicate there natural enviroment. I was also thinking of replicating there natural water temperatures:
.
However, i'm still thinking the temperature thing over because i dont want the temperature to suddenly change and stress if not kill the tank inhabitants.
I got the sun diagram from google.
http://www.red-sea-guide.com/weather-travel/index.htm
With this having probably 90%+ inhabitants of the red sea i thought it would be best to replicate there natural enviroment. I was also thinking of replicating there natural water temperatures:
However, i'm still thinking the temperature thing over because i dont want the temperature to suddenly change and stress if not kill the tank inhabitants.
chrismunn
New member
if you'de be willing to take the risk of replicating the exact real life parameters of the the red sea, in your reef, ide be very, very interested in the outcome. so would others im sure!
we all know what happens when you have 12 hours a day of intense lighting, and a constant 78-80 degree tempurature. but what would happen if you followed along with the shifting lighting regiments and water tempurature floccuations?
ive heard of lights being timed to follow the seasons, and having coral spawning events as a result. but ive never heard of following seasonal tempuratures before. thats interesting!
we all know what happens when you have 12 hours a day of intense lighting, and a constant 78-80 degree tempurature. but what would happen if you followed along with the shifting lighting regiments and water tempurature floccuations?
ive heard of lights being timed to follow the seasons, and having coral spawning events as a result. but ive never heard of following seasonal tempuratures before. thats interesting!
Aquarist007
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12327401#post12327401 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kar93
Yeah, It took me a few reads to get my head round it aswell. I thought smaller scale design for a smaller tank. I hope it works.
I got the sun diagram from google.
http://www.red-sea-guide.com/weather-travel/index.htm
With this having probably 90%+ inhabitants of the red sea i thought it would be best to replicate there natural enviroment. I was also thinking of replicating there natural water temperatures:
.
However, i'm still thinking the temperature thing over because i dont want the temperature to suddenly change and stress if not kill the tank inhabitants.
alot of information regarding temp and temp fluctuations was dealt with on this thread--a interesting read:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1187329&highlight=common+misconceptions
kar93
Active member
I know that under a full moon that corals will literally go on a spawning frenzy but there's no way i could replicate that.............hmmmm, im now imagining a big hole in my roof just above the tank 
Its only a couple of degrees temp change so it may just work. I'd be intersted to see if it works or not but i just dont know if i am willing to risk it. I can't see light replication being a problem though.
Its only a couple of degrees temp change so it may just work. I'd be intersted to see if it works or not but i just dont know if i am willing to risk it. I can't see light replication being a problem though.
so here they are:
kar93
Active member
I've been thinking about this air injection all day and how im going to do it with the air pump and get no air bubbles so all i thought i could do was get an air pump put airline infront of both my Seios and set the air pump on a timer and put a check valve on the tubing so the water wouldn't syphon out. Would there be any problems with this?
chrismunn
New member
for the best result on your air injection idea, i would have the air being pumped INTO the seio pumps, instead of being pumped in front of them. if you pump air in front of them, its just going to push big bubbles across the tank. if you pump air into the intake of the pump, it will chop up the bubbles, and spread them around the tank the same way a skimmer does.
for the check valve on the air line, it depends on where your air pump is located. if the air pump is going to be located ABOVE the tanks water level, then the check valve wont be needed.
if the air pump is going to be located BELOW the water level, or below the tank, the check valve will be a MUST!
is that drawing a view from the top looking down, or is it as if you were looking straight into the tank from the front?
for the check valve on the air line, it depends on where your air pump is located. if the air pump is going to be located ABOVE the tanks water level, then the check valve wont be needed.
if the air pump is going to be located BELOW the water level, or below the tank, the check valve will be a MUST!
is that drawing a view from the top looking down, or is it as if you were looking straight into the tank from the front?
