New tank design graphic ... Tell me what you think...

[Richard_Dicosimo]

Models 1260, 1262 Performance Curve
1260: Max Pump Output: 635gph, Max Delivery Head: 12`1``, Max Power: 65W
1262: Max Pump Output: 900gph, Max Delivery Head: 11`6``, Max Power: 80W

i think you are going to be dissapointed in your flow with all the conections you have tee'd off your main line. if your going to use an extra pump for your fuge maybe you could steal some of your water from the return on your fuge to fuel your reactors.

i helped a freind setup a 70 gal tank and it had a 900gal return pump i believe, and after all was said and done i felt it was not enough flow granted it was a ocean runner pump not an eheim.

Richard

[Megalodon]

Originally Posted by Myka

Yes, this is what I meant. You said you'd use it intermittently though, wouldn't it be better to run it all the time? Albeit, I don't know much about these...

I'd use it sometimes on my other tank as well.

[Megalodon]

Originally Posted by Richard_Dicosimo

i think you are going to be dissapointed in your flow with all the conections you have tee'd off your main line. if your going to use an extra pump for your fuge maybe you could steal some of your water from the return on your fuge to fuel your reactors.

i helped a freind setup a 70 gal tank and it had a 900gal return pump i believe, and after all was said and done i felt it was not enough flow granted it was a ocean runner pump not an eheim.

Richard

There's an Eheim 1262 in the tank as well, hooked up to a PVC manifold on the bottom. I also removed the tee-off from the mainline. That should bring my turnover to about 14X the tank volume per hour... I think.

[Zylumn]

Good job a lot of thought has gone into this so far.
I hope you don't mind a few suggestions.

- I liked the idea of 1 overflow feeding directly to the refugium. Why run another pump when you really don't have to. (you would need then ball/gate valves on your lines)
- Your return pump would essentially be in a chamber of about 3 or so gallons of water. ( If you don't mind topping up every day it should be no problem, but you will have to keep a close eye on your water level) I would make area (L) just large enough to house your skimmer and make your return area as large as you can; possibly switching dimensions. This will give you a few days before a top up.

- Also your bulkhead (I) should be below or equal to the hight of your baffle between (F) and (G)

Kevin

[Myka]

Is the tank drilled yet? I'm not a fan of returns. Is there a reason you're going over the top of the tank instead of drilling them? No room in the sump for power outtage overflow maybe...?

[Chin_Lee]

3 recommendations I would do if it were my tank:
1) in your fuge put in a backup bulkhead 1" higher that the primary in case the primary gets clogged.
2) put in gate valve (not ball valve) onto C or E to achieve herbie method for complete silent flow and pipes
3) put E straight down, then put in a union on E and C just below tank. Then put in 90" elbow fittings and pipes for the rest of the drain pipes. The unions will give you flexibility in terms of where you want the exit drain pipe to be by allowing you to "swivel".

[fkshiu]

You've obviously put a lot of thought and work into your plans, but perhaps you're over-thinking things a little bit.

Wouldn't you be able to achieve exactly the same results, but only have to use a single sump/fuge and a single return with melev's plan F?

http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/f/sump_f.html

Aside from the complexity, the main issue I see with your plan is that you would have two tanks draining into your sump in the event of a power outage. The result is that you'd have to have a lot of empty "safety" space in your sump to absorb this water leaving you with precious little water volume in your sump unless it's very big.

[Megalodon]

Thank-you my fellow local hobbyists. Your advice has been wonderful. Please keep it coming.

My CorelDraw trail will expire in about five days, so I'll keep trying to post as many revisions as I can.

[Megalodon]

OK, bare with me here, the legend is now all over the map alphabetically. If I do another revision I might run out of letters, LOL.

Version 4 Legend

A - 3/4" PVC over-top return manifold
B - Strainer overflow w/ 1" drilled bulkhead
C - 1" PVC drain pipe
D - 3/4" PVC return pipe
E - 1" PVC drain pipe @ 90 degree angle
F - Refuge return chamber
G - 10-gallon refuge
H - DIY stand (to hold refuge above sump)
I - 1" bulkhead w/ hose attachment
J - Refuge main overflow drain tube
K - Drain area with filter bag
L - 20-gallon Sump
M - Baffles, first at 1.5" and the next at 1"
N - Eheim 1262 return pump
O - Refuge Light
Q - 1/2" PVC refuge feed
U - 90 degree PVC elbows that swivel
V - 1/2" gate valve (teed off return pipe)
W - Back-up refuge overflow output tube
X - AquaC EV-180 protein skimmer
Y - 1" gate valve

Changes... X, U, V, W, and Y have been added.

M, the baffles, has the first baffle 1.5" apart instead of 1" like the rest, to allow more opportunity for bubbles to escape.

E, is now at a 90 degree angle, to allow for U, a 90 degree joint that brings the pipe into the stand area and to another swivelling attachment. Tell me if you like the drain going directly to the refuge better.

K has now be altered. The glass separation has been removed to provide more room for the protein skimmer, and a filter sock was added to the drain

F, the refuge return chamber, is now smaller, as it doesn’t need to be so large. In fact, it might not need to be there at all.

W has been added in case J gets plugged. I won't bother putting that in the baffles because it's ever needed, pods are the least of my concern.

V and Y are gate valves instead of ball valves to allow greater flow control.

Q is now fed from the return instead of having a separate pump

Also, the return pump area in the sump has been enlarged considerably.

[Megalodon]

Originally Posted by fkshiu

You've obviously put a lot of thought and work into your plans, but perhaps you're over-thinking things a little bit.

Wouldn't you be able to achieve exactly the same results, but only have to use a single sump/fuge and a single return with melev's plan F?

http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/f/sump_f.html

Aside from the complexity, the main issue I see with your plan is that you would have two tanks draining into your sump in the event of a power outage. The result is that you'd have to have a lot of empty "safety" space in your sump to absorb this water leaving you with precious little water volume in your sump unless it's very big.

Over-thinking in this case is good. I'm getting plenty of feedback and am therefore able to tweak it in ways I hadn't previously considered.

I'd have an all-in-one sump refuge but the trend now seems to be having them separate. I'm not doing it to be trendy or anything but I can tell you that I cannot fit a large all-in-oner in there as the centre braces are in the way.

I'd also get larger tanks for sumps but those are the dimensions they come in. Maybe I'll look into having custom sizes made.