FLOW: 65g Tank... to drill or not to drill
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Yah... well that sucks. I'm not sure if that will dissuade me or not from doing this, but I'd like to find away around that if possible. My tank's acrylic so I could do it if I put in some bulkheads and keep all the plumbing below the water line, but that would be rather ugly and negate the aesthetic aspect of going for a CL.
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FI, you are running Velocity T4 pump(s) already??? Dont they add lots of heat?
I really like the Sequence line of pumps because they use a quiet/silent fan to blow air across the pump body to dissipate heat. Most other (oftentimes cheaper) pumps are made to just dump their heat into the water system. Not good in my opinion. Especially when you have a smaller tank with strong lights, multiple pumps (skimmer, return, dueling Closed Loops, reactors...)
Also I have one quick question: If you leave pump A off for 12 hours while pump B is running what is going to keep my fish, shrimp, snails, and other critters from swimming into the pump? I understand you can put a strainer on the intake but what about the port(s)? :unsure: Ouch!
I really like the Sequence line of pumps because they use a quiet/silent fan to blow air across the pump body to dissipate heat. Most other (oftentimes cheaper) pumps are made to just dump their heat into the water system. Not good in my opinion. Especially when you have a smaller tank with strong lights, multiple pumps (skimmer, return, dueling Closed Loops, reactors...)
Also I have one quick question: If you leave pump A off for 12 hours while pump B is running what is going to keep my fish, shrimp, snails, and other critters from swimming into the pump? I understand you can put a strainer on the intake but what about the port(s)? :unsure: Ouch!
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I already run a velocity for my return, and my lighting is all T5s. Temperature is controlled by a ranco dual controller, and cooling is just from ultraquiet PC fans. So far with one velocity no heat issues to speak of... adding another might be cause for a chiller, but we'll see. Right now the flow is tunze, but I've wanted a CL for this system forever it seems. As for the darts, yah they're quiet, but nothing is as quiet as a velocity pump and my tank is designed to be seen not heard... I've taken great pains and expense to make sure my tank emits almost no sound... I'd rather deal with heat than sound, but that's just a personal preference.
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FI, So far I just use evaporative cooling as well. I am hoping to avoid a chiller because they suck electricity, make a bit of noise, and dump the heat into the room. Of course admittedly the large fan that runs over my sump is not exactly quiet. I can manually switch it to one of three speeds (if I am in the room watching TV) and the AC Jr turns it on only when the tank is really getting warm.
Cam, Strainers might look kinda funny??? Maybe not. Also maybe you would not really need them if you had small enough exits on the loc line. ???? I dont know.
Cam, Strainers might look kinda funny??? Maybe not. Also maybe you would not really need them if you had small enough exits on the loc line. ???? I dont know.
I wouldn't run them personally, but if you had some small clowns it would be something I would consider. I don't think it would look bad at all since the loc line would barely be in the water and it would look much better than powerheads.
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As much I liked this idea, I'm going with the original concept of just using an OM device on a timer to increase the intervals to where I want them to be. It seems petty, but I want my water flow to switch directions every 30 minutes and infusing the tank with microbubbles all day long isn't an option. Although the aqualifter idea could work it makes the system a bit more complicated than I'm willing to deal with.
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FI, I cannot remember his name at OceansMotions... Ok... Paul something I think. Anyway he owns OM and designs all of the stuff and is a really cool guy. I would call him or send him an email and explain what you are looking for. I bet he would be able to custom one for you if you want. I bet that he could slow down the drum rotation giving you a longer interval. Or perhaps it would just be easier like you said to put it on a timer.
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I love my closed loop pushed by my Dart and OM 4 Way! Not trying to push people into something that they dont want but I really and truely have not ever regretted it at all.
The next tank that I set up will be larger than my 120g. Not sure yet what the size will be.... but I will have a OM 4 Way and a Dart or maybe a larger Sequence pump.
I would do it all over again with the closed loop over powerheads in the tank.
Just my 2 cents.
The next tank that I set up will be larger than my 120g. Not sure yet what the size will be.... but I will have a OM 4 Way and a Dart or maybe a larger Sequence pump.
I would do it all over again with the closed loop over powerheads in the tank.
Just my 2 cents.
The OM unit was on my list, but you can't control the speed of the switching. If I bought one, I would want it to switch ever 10-30 minutes not every 30 seconds to 1 minute. You end up cancelling out a lot of flow that way since it takes at least 10 minutes for the flow to fully build up in one direction. Right now I am of the opinion two closed loops with two darts (about the same price as one dart and an OM) is the way to go in a 6' tank.JustOneMoreTank;42349 wrote: I love my closed loop pushed by my Dart and OM 4 Way! Not trying to push people into something that they dont want but I really and truely have not ever regretted it at all.
The next tank that I set up will be larger than my 120g. Not sure yet what the size will be.... but I will have a OM 4 Way and a Dart or maybe a larger Sequence pump.
I would do it all over again with the closed loop over powerheads in the tank.
Just my 2 cents.
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I thought two pumps would work as well and was literally just about to hit the "submit order" button for a new pump and some plumbing parts when I thought about... microbubbles. The methods of getting around the bubbles might be possible, for some people they prolly don't care bout em... I do though and I don't think any solutions would look nearly as clean as an OM on a timer. Timing the rotation though is tricky work and likely random at best though... so that's not a perfect solution either.
I think a better solutions would be to figure out if it would be possible to adjust the rotation of the motor on the OM devices? The motors from my understanding are run of the mill industry standard motors used in clocks, thermostats, etc. I haven't played with one in person, but perhaps a gear box of sorts can be added to it to decrease the actual rotational speed of the OM device.
I think a better solutions would be to figure out if it would be possible to adjust the rotation of the motor on the OM devices? The motors from my understanding are run of the mill industry standard motors used in clocks, thermostats, etc. I haven't played with one in person, but perhaps a gear box of sorts can be added to it to decrease the actual rotational speed of the OM device.
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I'm pretty sure the motors run consistently since they were designed to work in clocks... from what i've heard, rather read.
I think the dual closed loop setup would likely have minimal bubbles on restart as long as the intake and outputs were nicely sealed and completely submerged. With a shorter cycle time of about 15 minutes a closed loop would more likely stay filled with water.
I have an OM 4-way as well and have been trying figure out how to get this back and forth, long cycle style flow going. I thought of using someting like a http://www.bustan.ca/product_detail.asp?menuID=1&SID=15&PID=873">cycle timer</a> to turn the OM motor on/off at regular intervals.
The motor on the OM 4-way is a 1rpm motor so the outputs switch every 30 seconds. I would set the cycle timer to turn the OM motor on for a cylce of 30 seconds and then set the interval at about 15 minutes. So every 15 minutes it would come on for 30 seconds effectively changing the direction of the flow.
Now since the cycle timer can not be set perfectly and the OM motor speed may slightly vary - you will get the occasional cycle or series of cycles where the inputs are all on! This will add your randomness that you desribed.
Doesn't matter on the timing circuit. If you turn off a DC motor connected to an AC power supply, it takes a seemingly random amount of time to turn off and/or turn on. The system has to discharge or charge the "buffer" and this happens at irregular intervals thanks to the way AC works. This is why when you unplug a DC power brick with a light from the wall, it stays lit for a few seconds. I figure the system is using some gears and just turning like an analog clock.
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Thanks Cam, I understand and thought that was what you meant... of course this was after I had hit the "post quick reply" button and was having a beer mulling my tank's future flow a bit more in depth.
Thanks sam for the input... I'm curious to see how Matt's double pump setup will work as well as your cycle timer experience. Those things look like they might work, I didn't know they were even available.
One more thing... I was reading on the OM forums that someone could control this much like a cycle timer would but with an aquacontroller. Can any old aquacontroller do this? I'm still an old fashioned guy with a myriad of controllers...
Thanks sam for the input... I'm curious to see how Matt's double pump setup will work as well as your cycle timer experience. Those things look like they might work, I didn't know they were even available.
One more thing... I was reading on the OM forums that someone could control this much like a cycle timer would but with an aquacontroller. Can any old aquacontroller do this? I'm still an old fashioned guy with a myriad of controllers...
