What size holes did you drill? Larger holes = less pressure - I recall reading about the optimal size in another thread; but cant recall it.
Looking good; once you get that glass you'll almost be ready to go!
My 185gal build in progress (lots of pics)
- Thread starter cvermeulen
- Start date
What size holes did you drill? Larger holes = less pressure - I recall reading about the optimal size in another thread; but cant recall it.
Looking good; once you get that glass you'll almost be ready to go!
What size holes did you drill? Larger holes = less pressure - I recall reading about the optimal size in another thread; but cant recall it.
It would be pretty tough to put a number on the optimum number/size of holes... more holes also equals less pressure... as long as all the water doesn't dump out before it gets to circulate under the gravel, I think more holes is better.
Yes of course, you want it to circulate the entire length of pipe as it discharges - and while its going to depend on the power of your pump, I imagine theres some sort of formula for size and spacing of holes which would be optimal for a particular gph pump; if not I figure one could be devised with enough experimenting. LOL
Kinda what I did... drilled more and more holes till it wasn't squirting out with any appreciable force
After seeing the relatively small number of holes it takes, and the gentleness of the flow it produces however.... I'm seriously thinking about upgrading to larger pumps. 800gph each right now... I could probably double that and run one of them on a timer or something. I thought 1600gph total would produce a lot more current. Of course, this tank is already going to wreak a bit of havoc with my hydro bill, so maybe I'll live with a pair of 800's until one of them breaks or something.
Aiiiiiggght. I was supposed to do more on the CNC project tonight, but it fell through, so I did a bunch of odds and ends on this project (and changed the header bolts on my car, too!)
First I started messing around with the overflow setup on the back of my tank.... I mocked up my leaky tub/sump and pumped water into the overflow bulkheads from the inside of the tank, and let the standpipe pull the water back down to the sump... I'm running one of those (I forget the stupid name!) stand pupes with the submerged inlet so it doesn't sound like a flushing toilet... but it pulls so much water, I found that instead of drilling a small hole in the top of the piupe I could leave it completely open, and not get any gurgling. Hopefully the pics make sense:
I also got around to cementing together the filter return plumbing. God I hope this doesn't leak. I might silicone the threaded joints just for insurance - I won't be able to access this plumbing after the tank is setup:
I also put a second coat of stain on the light fixture, and varathaned the entire stand (no pics). I pulled apart the mocked up sump and put more epoxy on all the parts. hopefully when it's all dry I can put it together and start test runs on the sump!
First I started messing around with the overflow setup on the back of my tank.... I mocked up my leaky tub/sump and pumped water into the overflow bulkheads from the inside of the tank, and let the standpipe pull the water back down to the sump... I'm running one of those (I forget the stupid name!) stand pupes with the submerged inlet so it doesn't sound like a flushing toilet... but it pulls so much water, I found that instead of drilling a small hole in the top of the piupe I could leave it completely open, and not get any gurgling. Hopefully the pics make sense:
I also got around to cementing together the filter return plumbing. God I hope this doesn't leak. I might silicone the threaded joints just for insurance - I won't be able to access this plumbing after the tank is setup:
I also put a second coat of stain on the light fixture, and varathaned the entire stand (no pics). I pulled apart the mocked up sump and put more epoxy on all the parts. hopefully when it's all dry I can put it together and start test runs on the sump!
mellowvision
Seafood Lover
if you won't be able to access the return after setup, maybe you should consider installing a return bypass that is accessable, so you can use a hose in an emergency, if it leaks
