'PicoSurge'

[golf nut]

Here as another option for you, sort of complicated but a true dual surge without any tank level changes. notice the lower surge tanks have sealed tops to them, they are not open to the air.

[BlueAbyss]

Originally Posted by Mr OM

Here as another option for you, sort of complicated but a true dual surge without any tank level changes. notice the lower surge tanks have sealed tops to them, they are not open to the air.

OMG I think that may solve my problem with fluctuating sump levels I like this drawing! I need to figure out a way to make an area that doesn't fluctuate with surge but still lets me know when I need to top off... not sure if this would do that, though the water level in the lower chambers should never change which in itself could be useful. I like the concept though, and will likely apply something like this in my seagrass build

[golf nut]

Originally Posted by BlueAbyss

OMG I think that may solve my problem with fluctuating sump levels I like this drawing! I need to figure out a way to make an area that doesn't fluctuate with surge but still lets me know when I need to top off... not sure if this would do that, though the water level in the lower chambers should never change which in itself could be useful. I like the concept though, and will likely apply something like this in my seagrass build

Have you considered using the flow from the pump to do the switching?

[BlueAbyss]

Yes I've considered a number of options... some are good, some only decent...

Wavemakers seem great off the start, and are relatively simple... all you really need is a pair of powerheads or pumps with the outputs at either end of the tank, and a short-cycle timer. PROS: reasonably priced, no moving parts (depending on the timer). CONS: Boring. LOL.

Sinusoidal valves are really cool in terms of 'geek' factor, work very well, and can produce some interesting flow patterns... more interesting (IMO) than wavemakers. This is still a semi-viable option for me, since I can DIY the heck out of it. PROS: interesting flow patterns, reasonably priced. CONS: requires seals and has moving parts.

Both of these have one problem in common: the fact that they rely on the flow from the pump to move the water. To move the amount of water in 2 seconds that I would need the pump to move would require a pump way larger than I'm willing to hook up in this system. I'm not sure that what I have planned can even do what I want it to What I want to do is dump 1l of water in less than 2 seconds... every 4 seconds.

The solenoid is looking better and better now that I'm looking into an Arduino microcontroller to control my lighting...

Solenoid valves work awesome and would be perfect for my application... PROS: little in the way of extraneous junk hanging around, easily DIYed CONS: moving parts, notorious for sticking.

So I'm sticking with my modified CSD. Until I prove whether it will work or not. And whether the baffle chamber will break the bubbles that seem inevitable, though I wonder if the bubbles aren't associated with the design of the siphon? I guess I won't know until I try my siphon design. I will be trying my siphon design first to see if I am satisfied with it before I finalize my design and order the glass that I'll be needing. I may still end up doing a backwards overflow and having surge from opposite ends, though I worry that this setup would be too turbulent.

[golf nut]

Which pump would you like to use? .


I am not yet sure how your baffles are going to work but gut instinct says that the chamber is simply going to fill and only slowly release into the tank, should the surge not enter directly into the tank to get you the momentum you are looking for?

[BlueAbyss]

Well, the baffles will actually be perforated and so shouldn't reduce the flow too much. The idea with the baffles is to spread the flow out and reduce the velocity but not slow down the flow. EDIT: Now that I think about it, reducing the velocity IS reducing the speed of the flow... that's fine as long as it still runs the 300 gph I want.

I'm looking at using a pair of MiniJet 606 pumps, 1 for each surge tank (unless I go with a closed loop, then 1 will feed the closed loop and the other will feed a single surge tank).

[golf nut]

The whole reason for using a surge is to get flow into the tank,the trick is to do it without noise and bubbles, there is no such thing as a free lunch, you still need to power a pump to fill the surge.

I am curious as to how you settled on the one liter surge every 4 seconds.