|
|
|
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/28/2008 8:09:31 PM
Posts: 54,
Visits: 386
|
|
After my 120 was up and running successfully and the fish were growing and the corals were encrusting, my oldest son decided to help his Daddy clean the glass.....He's only seven, so,,,I could only get so mad,,,,,He picked up sand with the magnetic scrapper and scratched up the whole front and sides of the tank Now, I didn't get mad at him because he was showing an interest in the same thing that has brought some much happiness to me. So after explaining to him how to properly clean the glass, I started to think,,,how nice it would be to have scratch free glass!!! Than the idea arose of expanding the tank by 110 gallons. The tank would have been a 5' by 3' by 2'. Really nice size!!! Well,,,the wife said,,,,,and,,,,,,and##$$%^,,,,@##@%$. So, now the new tank size is going to be 150 gallons and it's 5' by 2' by 2'. I know, you guys are thinking this guy just gave into his wife. No way!! This was a war that wasn't worth fighting. She has let me get away with so much already that it wasn't worth the fight So here's the plan as of right now Ok so here are my thoughts so far..... The tank is 5'long by 2' tall by 2' deep. I have used powerheads in the past but I think I may use a CL on this one. My problem is that I want to have a feeding type mode and a sleeping mode. That is when the current dies down enough to give the livestock(mainly fish) a just to rest. Corlas don't need rest. So how would one do this with a CL???? And I really don't want a ton of pipes under the tank. I also am scared of using a 4 way. Too much piping!!! I haven't seen one done yet that looks planned out. Pipes going everywhere!!!! Not clean looking. So what do you guys think???? I wonder if I could put the pump on a timer and have it timed to come on when the actinic's come on. Kinda like daybreak or like when the tide comes in(out)??? I might be overthinking this Here's a good question,,,,,Would the flow just from the returns be enough during lights out to keep the corals happy??? My return pump is moving 750 gph. And would that be enough flow to feed the corals with food in the column????
OM's are iffy at best. I have heard way too many people telling me of stories about sand getting into it, so how about this
So in the true spirit of DIY, I have come up with this idea!!! What if I used a reeflow pump pushing out around 4000 gph. And I used two irrigation valves wired to a irrigation controller. I own a landscape installation company and I have hundreds of 1" valves laying around. I also have controllers sitting around as well. These controllers have up to 16 start times aviable and can run up to 32 valves. I of course would only need 2 or 3 valves at the most. I would use two outlets (1") to feed the pump with each valve having three returns. So actually, I would have 6 returns feeding flow to the tank. This can also be programed and timed to start down when the lights go off. So what happens is when the lights come on, the pump comes on and the program on the controller starts.
So what do you think????????????
Hello, My name is Mr. Tang and I'm a reefoholic
|
|
|
|
|
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/28/2008 8:09:31 PM
Posts: 54,
Visits: 386
|
|
| some pics of my current tank 120 aga reefready FTS 
sump room 35' away 
some livestock 
Hello, My name is Mr. Tang and I'm a reefoholic
|
|
|
|
|
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/28/2008 8:09:31 PM
Posts: 54,
Visits: 386
|
|
| more pics 
Hello, My name is Mr. Tang and I'm a reefoholic
|
|
|
|
|
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/28/2008 8:09:31 PM
Posts: 54,
Visits: 386
|
|
| So after looking at all my options and talking to my good buddy, I have decided to go with two reeflow Dart pumps connect to a heavy duty timer and have them come on oppisite of each other. Kinda like a wave timer. But much bigger and much more flow. The Dart flows 2820 gph at 4' head. I figure it will have about 1' or 2' at the most head. So it should flow more like 3000 gph. I figure that 3 or 4 returns for each pump. The timer would be programmed to go on and off randomly until the lights go off and than the pumps would shut down until the lights come back on. How's that sound so far????? Mr. Tang
Hello, My name is Mr. Tang and I'm a reefoholic
|
|
|
|
|
Group: Administrators
Last Login: Today @ 11:32:14 AM
Posts: 4,087,
Visits: 8,735
|
|
| Very nice tank mr.tang...I LOVE the trigger!!!!! That family of fish has always been a favorite of mine, but I have never kept one. On to your question. I am not sure if the Dart or most other similar pumps can handle the daily on/off without shortening their lives. You may want to double check with manufacturer (http://www.reeflopumps.com/, 877-378-6798 m-f 8am-5pm mountain) or sales@reeflopumps.com). Would there be a minimum time the pumps would be off during the random cycles?
________________________________________________ Keith "Simply put, you believe that things or people make you unhappy, but this is not accurate. You make yourself unhappy." Wayne Dyer
|
|
|
|
|
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/28/2008 8:09:31 PM
Posts: 54,
Visits: 386
|
|
Thakns for responding!! My good buddy has checked with reeflow and they did say that the pumps could be done that way without harming the life of the pump. They said to make usre that the time between start and stop was long enough for the charge in the soleinod to die out. That sound right to you?????
Hello, My name is Mr. Tang and I'm a reefoholic
|
|
|
|
|
Group: Administrators
Last Login: Today @ 11:32:14 AM
Posts: 4,087,
Visits: 8,735
|
|
If that is what the manufacturer said (they will know better than I would ), then I would go with that. Did he ask how long it takes for the solenoid to de-energize?
________________________________________________Keith "Simply put, you believe that things or people make you unhappy, but this is not accurate. You make yourself unhappy." Wayne Dyer
|
|
|
|
|
Group: Administrators
Last Login: Today @ 11:32:14 AM
Posts: 4,087,
Visits: 8,735
|
|
I also just sent them an email (with a link to this thread) to see if they might be able to give their input on this.
________________________________________________Keith "Simply put, you believe that things or people make you unhappy, but this is not accurate. You make yourself unhappy." Wayne Dyer
|
|
|
|
|
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/28/2008 8:09:31 PM
Posts: 54,
Visits: 386
|
|
| Thank you Keith!!! I have found this forum thanks to you to be the most helpful one yet!! I appreciate your insight and concern enough to email the company about this!!! I hope they look into this and respond!!! Now once this is all worked out,,, we need to start planning the placement of the returns!!!! I want to use the rock work to hide the returns. I have the vision of two or three islands of rock and a network of caves via rockwork from the overflow box(right back corner) to the back left corner. I understand the tank is only five foot long so maybe two islands would only work. I would like to use one big cherry picked piece from Marco Rocks but they seem never to have any in stock. So,,,,I may need to put together a series of smaller rocks to form a bigger one or create the rock from man-made parts. Whats your thoughts on man made Live Rock???
Hello, My name is Mr. Tang and I'm a reefoholic
|
|
|
|
| | |