Who has used 'surge' devices and what kind?
 

Hey people, who has used and would use again, has used and did not like, or is interested in trying a surge system, and what kind?

I'm building a modified CSD for my pico (I have yet to build the tank :redface: or even order the glass :lol:) and was wondering how everyone's experience was or is?

I used a Borneman (toilet flapper) surge. My plan was to have 2 5g buckets at each end of the tank, but in the end only got around to one. The plastic chain I used to hold the float was constantly getting stuck on itself or the ball would wedge itself so it was stuck open or stuck closed a good 1/3 of the time. :lol: If I were to do it again I'd go with a square tank and larger so that it wouldn't be prone to this.

Other than that it worked well. I drilled the pipe near the outflow and put a little tube into it for letting the air escape and that cut down on the bubbles a lot.

It made a really neat "kerploosh" sound when opening. :lol:

I voted that I would do it again, but the truth is I'd give a Carlson surge an equally viable consideration as well ... without moving parts I think it would be more reliable. At least when it failed it wasn't a disaster as there was an emergency overflow but still, you want to know it's doing its thing and not just sitting there trickling away into the tank.

I've used the carlson devices on different sized tanks.

Pros:

- Kind of a neat way to get some flow - it's not that great
- Fun to tinker and build

Cons:

- Lots of micro-bubbles
- Loud
- Pain in the ass to make and have setup above and beside your aquarium
- Cost just as much as a powerhead, except it's a pain in the ass
- Pain in the ass
- Looks ghetto

I think you know which option I voted for.

What are you trying to say here Jack? :razz:

Don't be a pain in the ass too Christy, lol. I'm just buggin' ya.

Some constructive input:

It may work out on a Pico but I've never seen it done before. Has anyone? Links?

Good to hear some opinions, keep 'em coming. I'll be using a CSD either way and have figured ways to deal with most of the issues with them, but it's good to hear someone's experience.

Never seen it done. Actually, I haven't seen many surge systems in constant use over any great period of time, let alone on a 6 gallon pico (what I'm building). That's part of the reason I'm building it, and to test my siphon system on a small scale before I build a large system.

Sort of overkill for a pico, but it will be fun, and a lot cheaper than the planned 30 gallon :biggrin:

YouTube has a few videos of surge buckets in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZDqlOAQfao

This one is pretty ghetto but it gives you some ideas!

Yeah I've seen the videos, my system will be a little different... I'll have a surge every 4 seconds, rather than every 2 minutes.

That video is super ghetto... I'm definitely hiding everything, it's too much to have ugly piping sticking out everywhere. Part of the reason to plan for a surge system from the beginning :wink: