SILENCE...shhh

[saltwaterwannabe]

I am sure this has been discussed hundreds of times....but I am trying to make sure my new tank is dead silent.  I have a 210 with 2 Shadow overflows (5000 gph combined rating) to install and a Hammerhead (actually 2, one is backup) that should push 4200 gph from my basement sumproom (or 2500 gph if I convert it to a barracuda.).  Before anyone asks, yes this is different than the peninsula I had wanted but after living here a couple months it is clear this option works a lot better in the space.

I am currently running a temporary 100 gallon tank in the basement and can see the only thing I will hear in the new 210 dt will be the mp 40's unless I change something up.  I prefer not to introduce bulkheads low in the tank, which limits ability to run a "traditional" closed loop.
I am considering adding a 3rd shadow overflow (3 shadows = 7500 gph rating = 35x tank) and essentially running it as a closed loop with one pump near the ceiling in the sumproom for less head/high flow and another running the sump.
This would leave the tank silent with no equipment visible in the dt...which sounds great in concept.
Would this setup pose problems?

 

[lmm1967]

Why so much flow through your sump? Lotsa water moving = lotsa trouble keeping it quiet.

 

[danh]

I think if your sump is big enough you might be able to handle your flow and your filtration with one swoop. Maybe.....

 

[saltwaterwannabe]

The total system will be just over 600 gallons through 4 inline tanks (210 dt+180 fuge+100 frag+120 return tank) which is the reason for the large flow.  I will build overflows to support the flows in the inline tanks.  I may swap the 180 and the 100, but the 180 fits well on a wall in that order and I am planning the fuge ahead of the frag tank.

My wife can hear my used old mp40s in the temp tank currently in an unfinished space below the master bedroom and the dt will sit on the wall common to the master, which has pushed me towards no powerheads in the dt.

I am shooting for a minimum of 10x flow through my sump and a total of roughly 40x within the dt.  I am also trying to provide as much flow through the inline tanks by gravity so I can reduce the number of powerhead, pumps, etc. I will need.  I would be approaching 80 x turnover in the frag tank and 40 x in the fuge...which is a lot.

If I picked up some powerheads for the dt, I would actually have enough for 2 powerheads in all tanks, but I am trying not to run that many powerheads due to recurring maintenance.  Other than the 210 and 180, I am planning to drop water in one end and have one powerhead in the opposite end of each tank with an overflow above the powerhead.

I still need to pickup bulkheads and possibly a larger hole saw for the inline tanks, the size of which are highly dependent on the flow through the system, a couple fittings, and a frag tank light.  Sheetrock finally happens next week, so I am just about to the build stage😁.

Any thoughts on silencing the dt would be great.  I do like the idea of zero powerheads in the dt if it is reasonable using lots of overflow and a seaswirl or oceans motion diverter.  If anyone has exp or input on this pls let me know.

 

[saltwaterwannabe]

The total system will be just over 600 gallons through 4 inline tanks (210 dt+180 fuge+100 frag+120 return tank) which is the reason for the large flow.  I will build overflows to support the flows in the inline tanks.  I may swap the 180 and the 100, but the 180 fits well on a wall in that order and I am planning the fuge ahead of the frag tank.

My wife can hear my used old mp40s in the temp tank currently in an unfinished space below the master bedroom and the dt will sit on the wall common to the master, which has pushed me towards no powerheads in the dt.

I am shooting for a minimum of 10x flow through my sump and a total of roughly 40x within the dt.  I am also trying to provide as much flow through the inline tanks by gravity so I can reduce the number of powerhead, pumps, etc. I will need.  I would be approaching 80 x turnover in the frag tank and 40 x in the fuge...which is a lot.

If I picked up some powerheads for the dt, I would actually have enough for 2 powerheads in all tanks, but I am trying not to run that many powerheads due to recurring maintenance.  Other than the 210 and 180, I am planning to drop water in one end and have one powerhead in the opposite end of each tank with an overflow above the powerhead.

I still need to pickup bulkheads and possibly a larger hole saw for the inline tanks, the size of which are highly dependent on the flow through the system, a couple fittings, and a frag tank light.  Sheetrock finally happens next week, so I am just about to the build stage😁.

Any thoughts on silencing the dt would be great.  I do like the idea of zero powerheads in the dt if it is reasonable using lots of overflow and a seaswirl or oceans motion diverter.  If anyone has exp or input on this pls let me know.

 

[saltwaterwannabe]

I opted to go with 3 x 1 inch sea swirls.  They should be here in a couple weeks.  Crossing my fingers that paint is finished by the end of the week and that I have time to build next weekend.

 

[danh]

Good luck.

Make sure the 120 return is running low enough to handle all of the head water from the previous 3 tanks. I guess that's why you're using such a large tank at the end.

What kind of drains are you running? I assume bean? I think it'll be fun trying to get all of the drains tuned right. I guess you start with the DT and work your way down.

Lastly... If you need any help at any point and I have any free time I'll offer... and I'd also like to see it completed.

 

[saltwaterwannabe]

Sure thing, I hope it will be a show piece when done and I plan to show it off for fun and swaps.  I may ask for some help along the way too.  I am planning bean overflows,  possibly a modified version depending on how the Shadows perform.

I am planning to put both hammerheads on the system and turn the second one on to feed few extra loclines for flushing the DT.  I am not sure if it will work without causing an overflow yet and I will need to see the Shadows in action  with a gate valve before trying this as well as add a level sensor to shut off the second pump if the water level in the return tank drops too low.  If I do not run both, at least I can easily take one off line for maintenance when I need to.

I am kicking around the idea of putting some SWCD's on the basement frag tank(s) - making even better use of the available head from the DT and putting the fuge next in line after the basement frag tank(s).  The fuge would discharge directly to the 120 on the end.  Only catch is the fuge would now be after all (future?) frag tanks and I was hoping to put it before at least one frag tank.

For storage I had assumed one inch of depth above every weir in the system plus pipe volume and have some 1/4" acrylic to build a baffle to hold 150% of the volume for storage with an emergency overflow.  Last night I came up with another idea that I am mulling over.  After getting a bit of dust into the temporary sump last night I realized that allowing the sump to overflow intentionally skimmed all stuff off the surface in the sump beautifully.  I am contemplating setting the return tank to intentionally overflow to a floor drain for water changes to flush the surface junk.  This would require something other than wood for the return tank stand to prevent rot since the stand would get really wet often.  Eliminating the baffle could make adjusting water flow a challenge and would make the surface area of the tank used for the ATO quite large.

Sheetrock has been taped and is drying.  I will start a build thread after the paint has dried; which brings up an interesting topic-what color to paint the sump room.  I guess I need to pickup some paint chips to to view in regular and reef lights...decisions, decisions...  If anyone has some great color ideas that show well in daylight and change to something more interesting in reef light blue I am all ears.

I can't wait to get started on the build