slief
RC Sponsor
Thank you very much. It certainly should be fun! It looks like I will be at MACNA in DC which should be fun as I will get to put faces to many of the names here on RC.
My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics
- Thread starter slief
- Start date
Thank you very much. It certainly should be fun! It looks like I will be at MACNA in DC which should be fun as I will get to put faces to many of the names here on RC.
slief
RC Sponsor
HOLY skimmer that thing is huge! Hmmm, think it would be overkill for the 240 I'm setting up? Could probably buy a whole system for the price of that beast. I'd love to come by and check your system out one of these days, let me know if you allow people to come visit
That thing was a serious beast! The collection cup alone was heavier than my Supermarin, pump and all.
You are welcome to come by anytime your in the neighbor hood. Send me a PM if you're going to be in the area. :thumbsup:
One arrived at my office Thursday (the day I left for RE USA. I'm swinging by my office tomorrow on my way home from the airport. I may install it as early as tomorrow but will post pictures of it once I get home and settle in. I'm expecting a second one a week from Tuesday. Both will be used externally. One for my return and one for my closed loop. Both will be replacing Dart Golds and both will be controlled by my Apex.
pmrossetti
Active member
Can't wait to see them and how they compare to the Darts
slief
RC Sponsor
Can't wait to see them and how they compare to the Darts
The Dart's won't compare. The Superdart is 4200GPH at 0' head. The new RD3 230 is 5200GPH at a 6.6' head. The RD3 is much more powerful. When I slow it down to match the Darts flow, the RD3 will consume less power too. The RD3's run much cooler also.
I got back today and stopped by my office on my way home to pick up the RD3 230 that arrived the day I left for Ft Myers. I made my adapters just a few minutes ago so I can swap it right in with my existing plumbing,. The RD3 is substantially smaller than the Dart but has flow that is similar although still stronger than the Hammerhead pumps.
My initial thought was to use this one to immediately swap my return pump but because of the way my plumbing is on the exit side of the return, I am going to have to re-do a bunch of that PVC because the exit line of the RD3 230 will end up higher than the Super Dart Gold it will replace.... As such, I am going to use this RD3 230 in place of my RD3 80 watt which I am running on my closed loop in place of another Dart. The RD3 80 is really under powered for that. My plan had always been to replace that pump with this RD3 230 but I also found out this last week that I have another RD3 230 in route. :spin1: Thus my thought to use this one for my return. Since I have to re-do a bunch of plumbing on my return side to swap that pump for one of these, I will just use the 2nd RD3 230 for that once it arrives after the 4th of July. In the mean time, the pump is ready to go in now. It will take less than 5 minutes to swap but I am feeling a bit lazy now so I will either do it later tonight if not tomorrow.
Now for some pump porn.
Some comparison photos. RD3 230 vs Dart Gold.
scubadan206
Member
Hey Scott. I've been meaning to ask for a while so here goes. How have the California water restrictions affected you. I'm curious about the affect on the hobby in California in general but what is your take on it. Have you talked to others in the area, as I know many have far larger systems to maintain?
Also. Congratulations on the new job opportunities. If I ever have need of their products I know I can trust good guys like you to give it to me straight when some support is needed...
Daniel. :wildone:
Also. Congratulations on the new job opportunities. If I ever have need of their products I know I can trust good guys like you to give it to me straight when some support is needed...
Daniel. :wildone:
slief
RC Sponsor
Thank you very much! The drought hasn't effected me much yet. My RODI is a 1:1 unit so it has little waste. The biggest impact is how we flush our toilets. If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down. We don't flush when we pee until several pee's later.
I don't turn the water up as high when I shower and I water the lawn less.
By the way, you posted as soon as I did. Pictures of the new pump are above.
scubadan206
Member
Speaking of DC pumps.... Can you get a kill-o-watt meter on that thing and give us some real world numbers that we can use for our systems? Turn down the flow and see if the power will drop at an even ratio or, at a higher relation to flow.
scubadan206
Member
I almost expected people in Cali to all use the same bath water like in the frontier days. That and convert all their lawns to gravel and rock decorations like in Lake Havasu City... It almost seem like it's that bad from our view. [I live five miles from Lake Michigan].
slief
RC Sponsor
I have an Apex and I monitor my Amp draw. That will be real easy to provide some consumption graphs and I can match the flow just about perfect by adjusting the new pumps flow to match the water level in the display. More flow = higher water level and less = lower. I already know the power drops based on the percentage that the motor runs at. The percentage has a direct correlation to the wattage so if I cut the motor speed percentage by 50, power consumption will be 50% and flow will be about 50% less. As such, 115 watts will result in about 2600 GPH at 6.6'. I have seen this from my RD3 80 watt as well as my RD3 skimmer pump.
Unfortunately, because this particular pump will be replacing my RD3 80, I won't be able to compare it to a Dart until I get the 2nd pump and modify my return plumbing to accommodate the difference in union height. Then I will be able to do an Apples for Oranges comparison and we will be documenting that in the form of an LA Fish Guys episode and power consumption and flow will be part of that. Of course Jim is pretty slow in releasing those videos so you will see the details here first.
slief
RC Sponsor
I forgot to mention, this new pump will be controlled by my Apex. I will be changing the flow throughout the day. This recirculation pump blows out though a manifold under my live rock and is used to keep detritus from settling under the rocks. As such, at night it will be slowed way down and during the day it will run at varying speeds.
scubadan206
Member
Thanks. I ask because of an old post by Nineball. He turned down the flow on his DC pumps by 50% and got....50% less flow, but at the same time the wattage dropped by more than 60%! I'm curious to see if you are able to duplicate this with your pump or if it's even possible at all.... He seemed pretty sure on his calculations, but never really followed up on it...
Daniel. :wavehand:
Daniel. :wavehand:
slief
RC Sponsor
Unfortunately, without a good flow meter, it would be really hard to get that precise but I am all for saving power and if that was the case, I would appaud that. When I swap the return pump, that will be the best means of quantify that.
In the mean time, I'm just chilling with my new friend. :beer:
Lavoisier
Premium Member
Unfortunately, without a good flow meter, it would be really hard to get that precise but I am all for saving power and if that was the case, I would appaud that. When I swap the return pump, that will be the best means of quantify that.
In the mean time, I'm just chilling with my new friend. :beer:
Most compelling pic yet! :dance:
slief
RC Sponsor
slief
RC Sponsor
I have a 2nd one that should arrive Thursday and will be using that one for my return pump. I will likely tackle that project this weekend but it's going to require some serious plumbing work to get it in there. I will also have to redo the output side of my Dart Pump so it's plug and play with the revised plumbing and can be set aside as a backup in case I need it. Fortunately, that should be easy but reworking my return side plumbing after the pump will be a bit more fun..
This is a very old picture but the pump on the right is my return pump and this new pump will add an inch or so in height which means I will have to redo everything above the pump. The T with the blue ball valve goes to my chiller which I no longer use but the line goes underground all the way to my garage which is about 50' away. There is a total of about 100' of 1" flex PVC running 18" under ground and that run provides a bit of geo thermal cooling. Since these new pumps run cooler than the darts do, I may not need that geo thermal cooling. Plus my garage gets dam hot and with my chiller being in there, there is likely some heat transfer via the chiller to counter the geo thermal cooling. As such, it's a catch 22. Do I keep that line or remove it.. That is the question.
Anyhow, this is an old picture of the return pump plumbing:
This is a newer picture with the new RD3 230 and my current Superdart Gold return pump.
RD3 230 Watt Controller mounted before I cleaned the wires up and fired it up. The 0-10v control cable should arrive tomorrow so I can connect this pump to my Apex and create some power saving profiles as I don't need this thing to run full power all the time if ever. I will run it at very low power at night and increase the flow during the day.
This is a very old picture but the pump on the right is my return pump and this new pump will add an inch or so in height which means I will have to redo everything above the pump. The T with the blue ball valve goes to my chiller which I no longer use but the line goes underground all the way to my garage which is about 50' away. There is a total of about 100' of 1" flex PVC running 18" under ground and that run provides a bit of geo thermal cooling. Since these new pumps run cooler than the darts do, I may not need that geo thermal cooling. Plus my garage gets dam hot and with my chiller being in there, there is likely some heat transfer via the chiller to counter the geo thermal cooling. As such, it's a catch 22. Do I keep that line or remove it.. That is the question.
Anyhow, this is an old picture of the return pump plumbing:
This is a newer picture with the new RD3 230 and my current Superdart Gold return pump.
RD3 230 Watt Controller mounted before I cleaned the wires up and fired it up. The 0-10v control cable should arrive tomorrow so I can connect this pump to my Apex and create some power saving profiles as I don't need this thing to run full power all the time if ever. I will run it at very low power at night and increase the flow during the day.
slief
RC Sponsor
Just fired the new RD3 pump up. I didn't want to fire it up last night before going to bed because I wanted to keep an eye on it in case I had a leak at one of my unions. Thus pump is dead silent at any speed. If not for the display and the obvious flow coming from under the rocks, I would never know it was running. Once I get that second one, the only thing that will be generating any noise on my tank will be the 10" Rotron duct fan that sends air from the light soffit to the outside of the house and the overflow. While I am not looking forward to the work I need to do on the return plumbing, I am looking forward to having two of these bad boys on my system. They are by far the nicest and quietest pumps I have ever owned, let alone seen and they are seriously powerful.
