Project External Glass Overflow

[Tunjee]

I went with live sand so the tank would cycle faster. A sand bed even a small sand bed looks more natural but it accumulates too much waste over time and creates a storm when disturbed. I figure within a year the bottom of the tank if visible will be covered in coraline. Without any substrate I'm able to run my new Velocity T-2 650 gph pump with the returns aimed straight down the back of the reef without a storm. This provides a constant flow behind and under the reef and allows me to siphon out the detritus that gets caught in the little gap between the cutting board and the front of the tank. If I had more nozzle jets placed strategicaly I would be able to keep the detritus in full suspension until it hit the filter sock, skimmer and sump therefore alleviating the need for manual removal from the tank. I could also possibly fill this gap in with epoxy.

My cutting board was purchased localy from a resturaunt equipment company for $14.

 

[Tunjee]

Tunjee,
How am I ever going to have a tank as nice as yours if you keep making yours better?
Are you planning on having the board eventually encrusted with life? Did you make the switch out of concern for water quality?
By the way do you run carbon, and if so how often? That water is crystal clear!

- Chad

Good clean loooking setup ninjafish. Ya the board will eventually be covered in coraline. And yes my concerns for water quality, nutrient removal and flow too. I havent run any carbon yet but I do run a 5 micron filter sock. The filter sock is what keeps the water clear. I think it might be harboring nitrates though since my nitrates seem to stick at 5ppm.

 

[Tunjee]

Cool Tunjee! That was the one thing I didn't like about your tank, the live sand, but now you've done it. I also installed a cutting board in mine. This has been the biggest PITA project ever, due to plumbing issue after plumbing issue after PLUMBING ISSUE (I totally flooded the carpet atleast 10 times-no joke), but I think I've finally got it nailed. Here's an impossibly crappy picture of it just running plain tap water.

Lookin good flaunt. I like the return system you got going. Is that a closed loop setup I see at the bottom? You should get some good flow, whats your gph?

 

[flaunt]

Thanks Tunjee. Yes, I do get some great flow, but at the expense of water temperature. Right now the temperature of the water in the tank is 95 degrees. Not good. I run two dolphin pumps for circulation. One is a dp-1200 which is on the closed loop you observed along the bottom. It's hooked up to a SCWD and does max 1200gph. The return pump is a dp-800 and goes through the spraybar at the top. It does max 800gph. I'm hoping to find a solution to the heat issue other than getting a chiller or downgrading the pumps. I'm using a 15H as a sump so I've got atleast 30g of water in the system. I thought this would be more than enough to absorb the heat from the pumps.

 

[ninjafish]

Wow! That is some serious turnover! Regarding the heat, have you tried running with with only one of the dolphins? I know that more circulation is always better but it must reach a point when you're no longer keeping a reef and using pumps for circulation, rather you're keeping two pumps and using a reef to cool them .
Besides, even with a measly 40-60X turnover your water shouldn't go stagnant... at least not right away .
- Chad

 

[flaunt]

Yeah I know it sounds crazy, but trust me I'm not actually throwing 2000gph right into the main tank. The circulation pump has about 3 vertical feet of head to overcome and the closed loop has 2 feet plus the SCWD to overcome, so they are losing a significant amount of flow. It's still a very good amount of flow but that's really what I'm going for. Without any livestock at all in there it's hard to say what's "too much." I'd almost consider a chiller before downgrading the pumps, but I don't know that I'd be able to bring myself to shell out the cash for the kind of chiller I would need to bring the temperature down 10 degrees. If I do downgrade maybe I'll try putting the 800 on the closed loop and get a 400 for the return.

 

[mattydub]

hey flaunt...why not exhaust all "ghetto" options before going in on a chiller? Like putting fans everywhere near the sump, blowing on the pumps, or even freezing water bottles and sticking them in the sump? Just some thoughts cause I'm cheap...HTH =)

 

[ninjafish]

Have you run the numbers through the RC head loss calculator? With the 1200 as the return you should probably still have over 900 gph after losses (that's without the scwd tho).
I have fought with high temps on my last tank and it is the hardest thing to fix - without shelling out big bucks for a chiller.
Whatever you end up doing, it is an awsome tank!

 

[flaunt]

hey flaunt...why not exhaust all "ghetto" options before going in on a chiller? Like putting fans everywhere near the sump, blowing on the pumps, or even freezing water bottles and sticking them in the sump? Just some thoughts cause I'm cheap...HTH =)

Well, I'll go slightly ghetto before giving up. I have nothing against fans at all but I don't think freezing water bottles in the sump would be a very maintainable solution if you know what I mean.

I turned off the dp-1200 and in an hour or so the temperature is already down to the mid-80's. The dp-800 is running submerged. I'm thinking about getting a container, something like a rubbermaid trashcan to set the dp-1200 inside. Then I can keep the container filled up with water and have a fan blowing on it to help get rid of the heat. The only thing I don't like about that idea is I'll have to keep that container filled up with water, but it might be a workable solution.

 

[flaunt]

Have you run the numbers through the RC head loss calculator? With the 1200 as the return you should probably still have over 900 gph after losses (that's without the scwd tho).
I have fought with high temps on my last tank and it is the hardest thing to fix - without shelling out big bucks for a chiller.
Whatever you end up doing, it is an awsome tank!

I have run the numbers before to get a general idea. The 1200 is on the closed loop, not the return, but I think your number sounds about right. The SCWD takes off something like 1/3 of the flow rate so it's definitely getting nowhere near the 1200gph capability of the pump at the output.

Thanks. If I can ever get these problems solved I might actually be able to turn it into a real reef tank rather than a literal box of water.

 

[jobryan26]

I saw every question asked but the most important one of all.




How many beers were required to complete this project?

 

[flaunt]

I don't know how many beers it took Tunjee, but I don't think I'd personally drink while dremelling... I'm a big enough klutz while sober! :lol:

My tank temp is down to about 80 degrees now. That's with only the dp-800 and a small fan on the sump. I just went and got one of those window fans that has two fans next to each other and put it along the back of the tank where the dp-1200 sits. I can't believe how much the 1200 heats up the water, it's crazy! I'm going to turn it on again in a little bit to see what happens. If the temp settles in the mid-80s I'm perfectly happy with that. Oh, btw, the lights are also over the tank, so the heat from those are included.

 

[Cody Ray]

Looking good :thumbsup: ! Will have to try this on my 60-gallon. I didn't want a big old internal overflow, so this is the perfect solution!

 

[flaunt]

Wow, I *may* have actually solved this problem. I turned the other pump back on over an hour ago putting the new fan on it and the tank temperature is still right around 80. Crossing my fingers hoping it stays there :lol:

 

[Tunjee]

My velocity t-2 heats the water up pretty good too. I put a fan on a ranco controller blowing over the sump. Tank temp is stable at 80-81.

 

[Tunjee]

I saw every question asked but the most important one of all.




How many beers were required to complete this project?

Look at the first post 9th pic down.

 

[ninjafish]

Hey guys,
Here is an updated picture of what the tank really looks like under the lights:

Almost done the project and it wouldn't have been possible without the info in this thread.

- Chad

 

[Tunjee]

Lookin good !

 

[ninjafish]

Thanks Tunjee ( :

 

[theduckster]

so how's the external overflows working out for you do you guys still like them better than the internal overflows
i no they look great very clean

i am getting ready to have a tank built out of acrylic
and think i will use this style of overflow
unless you guys have a bunch of regrets

here is a PIC of what i am planning