Sprayfoaminess - what an adventure!

[Che]

Okay, so I sprayfoamed the back glass of my 125g tank. At first I thought that there was no way that this is going to work, but I pressed on and worked through my fear, anger, and frustration and I am pretty happy with the results. There are some thick places and some thin places where if you look closely the glass shows though. I am fortunate that the back glass of my tank is black so you can't really tell. Here are some pics. The first couple are of the tank while it is still lying on its back. The second two are of the tank on its stand, but the stand is in the middle of the room.

Here are the pics:

 

[newhere]

I really like how that turned out. I think I will have to do this on my next tank. How many cans did you have to use?

 

[NaClH20NMYVEIN]

That tank will be amazing very soon.

 

[cerreta]

Che, nice design odea for the CLC. Is that what the center hole is for in the bottom glass of the overflow? Can you get me a closeup of the bulkhead fitting you chose for the CLC extending into the main body of water? It looks kinda weird, what is it?

 

[aztbs]

congrats che, that stuff is quite unusual to work with, no? It is awesome how sparkly is looks. When you first fill the tank, it will look steely/metallic. I can't wait to see this get running.

 

[Che]

Newhere - I used 5 cans of spray foam. I could have easily used 6 or more, but I was deliberately trying to keep it to a fairly thin application. It starts to get kinda fun to use once it starts sticking to the glass.

cerreta - to be honest, I am not completely sure of the hole in the bottom of the overflow. I think that it is desgined to balance the pressure on each side of the overflow. If i decide that I don't like it, i can plug it up fairly easily. The screen fitting that is covering the whole is a fitting for a hot tub; it fits the hole quite nicely. I am not real clear on your last question as I don't have any of the CL bulkheads in for any of the pictures.

aztbs - thanks for the inspiration and the vote of confidence. And yes, the sprayfoam is incredibly unusual. Amazing how it acts one way and then as soon as you think you have it figured out, that technique doesn't work any longer. I am glad I got it done and I am very happy with the outcome. My brother came by to help me with some of my back yard work and I showed him the tank and he ssaid, "that's gonna be freakin' awesome..." I just smiled and said, "Yes, yes it will" in my best James Bond voice.

Evolust - thanks

 

[Angel9111]

I realise it's probably already been posted, and i missed it, but i was wondering where do you get the foam from?

 

[Che]

I believe aztbs ordered it from Dr. Fosters and Smith. She had odered a few or so cases of it and I picked up the foam that I used from her.

 

[cerreta]

Hmm, so what will you use the three holes for in the overflow? I thought one was a tank drain, one for return, and one for the closed loop circuit (CLC) drain, that connects to the fitting in the lower portion of the overflow.

 

[Che]

Cerreta, I probably could have done it that way, but noone really made that suggestion when I purchased the tank or when I asked, "How the heck should I plumb this thing?" In the overflow I have one drain and two returns. The closed loop drains from the center hole in the bottom of the tank, returns through my chiller, and then will return alternately through the left and right holes via an OM 2-way Squirt. Pretty boring and straight forward, I think.

 

[cerreta]

Cool, that should work fine. I was hoping you did not have the CLC drain directly in the the overflow setup as a Durso, because the amount of water that would get pulled into the overflow is so great that it would certainly create an unbearable amount of noise.

One of the best CLC systems I have seen is one that had the CLC drain in the overflow but it connects to the main tank water through a bulkehead and strainer like I thought you had. That way the drain stays hidden, but the overflow box does not get burdened with the high drain demands of the CLC.


Not sure if you have all the plumbing stuff designed yet, but I do have some suggestions that may be of help.

1. The drain going through the chiller first may be a problem. Drains pull a lot of air. Air mixed with water in the chiller will not maximize the cooling efficiency of the chiller. Furthermore, dirty water flowing into the chiller (including bits of algae and dead fish or debris) may get trapped in the chiller cooling coils. It will grow gunk and decrease chiller efficieny even further.

2. If using a CLC drain in the main body of water, make sure the pipe strainer is well above the sand layer otherwise debris and sand will easily be sucked into your pump and OM 2way. These OM are sensative to particulate matter and will cause them to make lots of noise.

I recently built a 110 tall and started a thread on the build proceess. If interested in some more design ideas, you can check it out here:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=779601&perpage=25&pagenumber=2

2.

 

[cerreta]

Oh, forgot to mention, you could place T and ball valve somewhere on the CLC drain line and use this for water changes. It is one of the best moves I made. Also, when time comes to move, I can drain the tank volume right through this valve without having to siphon from the tank.

My thread has pictures of this water change valve.

 

[Satori]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8182241#post8182241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cerreta
Cool, that should work fine. I was hoping you did not have the CLC drain directly in the the overflow setup as a Durso, because the amount of water that would get pulled into the overflow is so great that it would certainly create an unbearable amount of noise.

Actually this is how mine is. The drain for the CL is inside the overflow. I wish I would have seen these pics before I set it all up. I would have drilled a hole in the side of the overflow so it would suck water from the main tank.

Not for noise reasons, though. It's dead silent. However, the overflow teeth can only accomadate so much flow, so the flow has to be divided between the CL and the return.

If I had the CL sucking out of the main tank, I could run a larger return pump. (and a larger CL pump, for that matter)

 

[Satori]

BTW, Che, that foam looks really great!

 

[Che]

Thanks on the compliment MSM.

I was given some advice to incorporate the chiller in the closed loop circuit from a good source. The water drains from the center of the tank to the water pump, which then goes to the chiller and then to the OM 2way Squirt. I have a ball valve on the drain line, union ball valves on each side of the pump, unions on the in-take and exits from the Squirt, and ball valves on each of the left and right returns.

Do you still think that I am going to have a problem with air in the chiller? I am a little concerned about debris in the chiller reducing efficiency, but I am not sure how any other configuration aside from pumping from the sump to the chiller from after the skimmer section. (is that clear?)

Please, please, please don't tell me that I need to re-think my plumbing configuration.

 

[cerreta]

Please, please, please don't tell me that I need to re-think my plumbing configuration.

No probably not. You should not have air problems if using the CLC as long as the drain is in the main body of water. I originally thought you would use the drain from the overflow to the sump, which will pull down air.

Some bigger pumps have prefilters which serve t otrap debris and will protect the pump OM and chiller.

Most chillers need a flow between 500-1000gph. Most CLCs run flow in the 2000+ gph range. I'm still not sure if the chiller is a good idea to have on the CLC. Besides, if you need to service the chiller, be sure you have valves and unions so you can service it. A CLC with a drain in the main tank has lots of potential for dumping a whole tank load of water onto the floor.

IMO, CLCs should be designed to be simple and free of any obstacles or devices that would limit the flow of water or create additional sources of leakage.

Why not run the chiller on the return pump or use a separate circuit to run just the chiller. What kind of return pump and CLC pump did you plan on using?

I use an Ampmaster 3000 running at about 2000gph via four CLC 3/4" bulkheads in the bottom of th etank. Two bulkheads have dual 3/4" loclines nozzels split from a "Y" and two have a single 3/4" locline nozzle. I feel this flow is just enough, but I have thought about upgrading to an Ampmaster 3600 for more flow. I have this in a 110tall. Your tank is bigger, sure you have enough flow going through it?

 

[Satori]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8182853#post8182853 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cerreta
I originally thought you would use the drain from the overflow to the sump, which will pull down air.

My CL is like that, and it doesn't pull any air.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8182853#post8182853 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cerreta
A CLC with a drain in the main tank has lots of potential for dumping a whole tank load of water onto the floor.

Actually, having the CL drain in the overflow (like mine) has the higher potential for a flood. I have to have a check valve, because when the power is off, water pressure pushes backwards through the CL and keeps filling the overflow, which keeps running down the durso drain into the sump.

Without the check valve, the sump never stops filling up.

If I ever have to move the tank, I'm drilling a hole in the overflow like Che's and plumbing the CL intake out to the main tank.

 

[Satori]

Che, the problem I see with having the chiller inline with the CL isn't so much with air, it's that you won't be able to adjust water flow through the chiller. If your CL pump is decent size, the water may run too fast through the chiller and you won't be able to dial it back. I have mine inline with one of my returns. My return pump splits and goes to one return, and the other one goes over to the chiller before going to the second return. I can adjust the flow on the second return to adjust the flow through the chiller.

 

[Che]

This is making me a little sick to my stomach. I think that I am going to drill an additional hole in my sump and run my chiller on an independent circuit from the return section of my sump to the chiller and then back to the sump using a spare Little Giant pump that I have. I wish I would have done it this way from the start. I will be a little difficult to fit a third pump in my stand. Maybe I will put it behind my stand and drill the side of the sump.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Che]

I guess that I can leave it as it is. I don't think that I will have a huge problem with flow because I am using a Little Giant 3 for the closed loop. I know, it doesn't have the amount of flow that I would like, but I am limited by the size of the drain drilled in the tank. I will do some more calculations when I get home.

Thanks.