planning on setting up a marine

[Anthony]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/a ... deview.bmp

there is the idea with a sea swirl attacted to the return

the return pump i have been told to get was a atman some thing that did like 6000L and hour is that enough?

[Aquatopia]

the pic is SORT of right - but the sea swirl control box sits on top of the tank and has bracket screws to hold it in place. It is not submersible - its only the outflow part that is underwater - thats right i thinkl (from their website).

[Anthony]

[Aquatopia]

Anthony - where you have put the sea swirl, you need to raise the box part so it shows that it is above the top of the tank. Effectively the plumbing to it will go into it horizontally, not from above - what package are you doing your drawings with? I am so lazy i have not looked into mine yet (although Im using Apple Mac)

[lduncan]

(although Im using Apple Mac)

Great minds think alike.

Layton

[Aquatopia]

Layton - looks like you are gonna have brain ache by the time ive finished chatting to you then ! I love my MAC but its been a hard transition. I spent years on PC's and everything was second nature then.

[Ira]

I assume your picture isn't meant to be literal, but you'll obviously want your return pump below the water level of your tank, otherwise it'll be a pain in the butt to get primed after a power outage, turning it off, etc.

[Anthony]

now ive just been informed that sea swirls are not cheap is there a different/cheaper way?

[Anthony]

ira i dont get what u mean?

i have an idea i made my pics on paint

copy and paste my pic into paint and adjust all u think needs to be chnaged

[Brianemone]

where your return pump is attached to the sump is tooooo high

you want it to be as low as possible on the sump so that the pump never runs dry as long as there is some water in that compartment of the sump

you want that as low as possible and where it returns into the main tank to be high enough not to empty the tank in the event of a power outage

[Aquatopia]

Sea swirls are from US$127 on the Marinedepot website - probably work out at NZ$200 all up ? Or thereabouts.

Chim - can you jump in here? Would eductors do for now for Anthony here?

Also as its a simple setup he's planning - what about SCWDs

(Anthony these are simple mechanical non electrical units that alternate the outflow between two outlets thus creating a wave effect) They are cheaper than swirls.

[Anthony]

i dont no how to do the return now?

[Anthony]

i read some where,where it said to have atleast 90 degree angles as possible

so heres another plan

[Anthony]

and heres another plan with atleast 90 degree angles as possible

[Brianemone]

thats right, return pump is low in sump and where the water returns to the main tank is high so the syphon doesnt drian the tank

[Brianemone]

i think value for money is more on the sea swirls as they dont reduce your flow, the scwds are a great idea but seem to reduce alot of flow

[Anthony]

but with the sea swirl when i turn off the power or i get a power cut i will have no water flow

[Brianemone]

if you have a power cut then how is your return pump going to work???

[Anthony]

its not unless i hook it up to somes batteries

[Aquatopia]

anthony - you may have misunderstood - the SCWD is still powered by a pump, but its not an integral part of the product, thats all. Ultimately with a power outage or if you turn it off, you will have no flow anyway - unless you install a UPS (uninterupted power supply), so thats not a consideration. The more important thing is what Brianemone just said and that is $ for $ the swirl is better cos it doesnt restrict flow - and thats something i was not aware of till he just said it.

Dont get too bogged down with the 90 degree angles. Yes they restrict flow but in your setup its only small so the effect would be far less than say in Pies or Chimeras setup if they had tonnes of 90 degree bends - (althought they have the most amazing F*%£*$* pumps which would probably counter and problems raised by a plumbing elbow.

Your second diagram is technically better by the use of 45 degree elbows but you would be better off using a larger sump and having to put up with 90 degree elbows as the greater water capacity would outweigh the effect of the plumbing.

I hope thats clearer than mud.

[Anthony]

yea that helps

but so it doesnt matter if i have like 5 90 degree angles?

[Anthony]

afe is this ok

[Aquatopia]

afe is this ok

Its OK - but why not have the outlet from the pump running straight out to the left as far as it needs to, to go up towards the tank - that way you dont have a 90 degree immediately the water leaves the pump - and you end up with ONE not TWO 90 degrees under the tank.

Also - is there any reason why the width of the sump is so significantly less than the width of the tank? Why not make the sump a bit larger?

[Anthony]

the sump is not to scale and the idea of running the pipe stright up is so i can use the space next the the sump but it doesnt matter if its the best for my tank

this new pic this is how i want it

the MH hanging from the steel stand

the skimmer sitting on the side of the sump

[cookie extreme]

put the metal halides a bit closer together