Plumbing advice - End flow 180

[In the process of upgrading to a 180 gal. tank. The Tank will have one overflow at one end as this tank will be acting as a room divider. The overflow has two 1" and two 3/4" bulkheads. I plan to have the LR run down the middle so I can place corals on either side. Up hi will be SPS and LPS on down. Trying to decided on the best way to plumb this. I have a few ideas but would like to hear yours.

Thanks!

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[your creating a linear flow system,, in other words in a flow patern that wont be very random . Only way to overcome this in a 180 is to add some serious pumpage. Id personally not only use the two 3/4 returns,, but id have the side of the tank drilled and adda bulkhead on each side to add more flow. At least 1 inch .This way you can take one of the 3/4 inch lines and run to the bottom of the tank and under where you plan to put your Live rock. Id run a line about 4 foot across the bottom and just put a tee on it to blow water to each of the long sides to help create another "water pocket" of turbulence.. Probably about where you plan on the first shelf to come down. Maybe even add tunze streams instead of drilling.. 6 foot is a long way for water to travel in a open space..

What are you planning on using for pumps?

Nathan]
 
[You might try a manifold return. Several outlets (at least 4) with only locline sticking below the surface. Do a search on here and RC about manifolds to get an idea. I do agree though it will need to be a monster pump! If it were me I would do a closed loop manifold and use one of the bulkheads as a return with a modest size pump since you don't need to turn the sump over that much!]
 
[wizard

we are planning very similar tanks - mine will also be a room divider - slightly different dimensions (72" x 30" x 24") -- the aquascaping sounds very similar to mine ... for flow, i plan on having 4 holes placed in the eurobracing for returns fed into an oceansmotions 4 way -- for addt. flow, i will be using the tunze stream i have now and will add a 2nd if needed -but, i doubt i will need it - the main return will be from a blueline 100 - should do just fine (i hope) - here is a diagram of what i am thinking of:]
 
[That should be great Gerard.

Wizard something close would work perfect for you. Even if you don't have eurobracing you can run the piping the exact same way and it can either be supported by your center brace or a couple acrylic strips running across the tank!]
 
[Thanks everyone. This is still a work in progress but I am trying to incorporate a number of the excellent suggests. For example, I am probably going bare bottom so I think putting same flow through the bottom of the LR is a good idea, (with antisiphon hole of course ;) ).

The blue are the returns from the sump. Probably a MAG 24 since it is internal. I am space restricted and need the space outstide my sump for the kalk reactor, autotop off, chiller, etc.

I was thinking of making a close loop with a SQWD, (which as you know has 2 outlets). However after looking at the suggestions and the Super Squirt I am thinking of making a closed loop with it, (shown in green). For the pump I have a MAG 9 I can use for this. If this turns out not to be enough I can upgrade it later. BTW the oceansmotions website has been updated and you can order from several different drum variations like the OM 4-way. My intent is help blow stuff out of the corners so it can be carried back to the overflow. I thought about adding OM "revolutions" but since you will be able to see through the tank I was concered about how they might look. Anyone used these?

Thanks!

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[You might consider swapping your pumps between the 2 applications.

A Mag24 is going to be a lot for a return pump. You may run into noise and microbubble issues. Not to mention if you are only planning to use 2 1" drains the Mag 24 may overload them and cause a flood. I would use the Mag 9 here since you only need 3-5x turnover in your sump. You shouldn't depend on you return pump to provide most of the flow.

If you use a Mag9 on the squirt you aren't going to have much upgrade room. The squirt stops working around 1200 GPH. You may be better served to consider th OM 4-way with the Mag24. It's going to give you a lot better flow in the tank.

JMO. HTH.]
 
[Just checked out OM. Looks like they finally posted some info on th SS. Looks like it should handle the Mag24 fine which is great since it is cheaper.

Hopefully they get the full GPH tested soon so I can see if it'll work for my application. I plan to be running more than 2200 GPH through it.]
 
[The MAG is a horse. However, using the headloss calculator I get around 1200. However I also am going to tap some of that flow to a refugium. If micro bubbles are a problem then maybe I should go down to a MAG 18.

I think a 24 may still be too powerfull for the super squirt. I may look at an 18. I have not bought the larger pump yet so I am not tied to it.

Thanks!]



Edited By the3dwizard on 1109614758
 
[Bret,

Is there any reason the revolutions need to stick in the water that far? Just wondering if the large cylinder can be just above the surface.

Cheers!]
 
[I messaged over to Paul at OM this morning on my setup. Apparently the SS will handle a Sequence DART which is more flow than a Mag24. The SS has been preliminarily tested to ~2200 GPH (he is waiting on a different pump to do more testing). The key is that the intake on the SS is smaller than what is usually preferred for the Mag24 which will limit the flow a bit by adding some head. You may want to message Paul at OM on their forum for more info but I would think the Mag24 may be fine.]
 
@the3dwizard wrote:
[Bret said:
[Mine are lower than they have to be. The minimum they have to be submerged is to the top of the disk. The disk holds an air bubble which is what raises it back up and causes it to switch positions. Mine aren't supported by anything and are basically hanging from PVC. That's why they are so low in the tank.]
 
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