I'm Bubble Free

[Ltspd]

Well after a long and hard battle with the plumbing on my tank I am bubble free so far. I just plumbed in the closed loop on the re-circ side and it is producing no bubbles at full throttle (ampmaster 3000 @ 6ft head). Needless to say I am thrilled! [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
I still need to take care of the siphon break http://www.reefland.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/008598.html
Then I can determine if my water level is correct in my sump or not. I have (had) the sump running bubble free once I dropped the flow rate down to around 1000gph estimate. I had to tie both drains together and they will be feeding the sump. Its a waste of drain capacity but its working well. This has enabled me to push 3500-4000 gph through the tank which is close to 20x turnover.

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Paul C
Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler.
Einstein

[Coraltank]

Monty Python:"And there was much rejoicing."

[golfish]

Paul,
Don't look at it like a waste of drain capacity, look at it like you have plenty of room for snails and such to clog the drain before your tank overflows....Glad to hear things are improving[img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Mark

[Barry N.]

I am still getting some bubbles in the tank. I am also using the ampmaster 3000. I put a stand pipe in my overflow box and that still burbed so I took it out and drilled some holes below the "t" and that seem to help. I also have a problem when power outage the water drains back through the lock lines into the sump. I do not know what you mean by closed loop?

Barry

[myreef]

I have had 2 closed loops for several months now...and they rock! With my closed loops I am getting between 22-34 times turnover rate on my 150.

Barry, there are pics on my site in the DIY section...if you have any questions email me.

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My Reef
Calcium Reactors
myreef@aol.com

[Aragorn]

Thanks Ltspd!
I just called a pool place here in town and they've got the diameters I'm looking for. Gonna buy some today. Thanks again buddy!

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One Ring to rule them all. One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all, and in The Darkness bind them.

Tahoereefs.com

[golfish]

Barry,
I thought we talked about this that Sunday you called me at 6AM and woke my wife up, She still wants to kick your A$$ for waking her up[img]/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

Your probably going to have to use the AM3000 on a closed loop and run a smaller pump for sump return. I tried pushing 2300 GPH through my sump for a month or two and it just doesn't work unless you have a 100 gal sump or use lots of sponges and micro bags. One good thing about a closed loop is you don't have to worry about water siphoning back to the sump. It would probably work out better for you cause you can use the returns you have now and not worry about back siphon then hook up a sump return line up and over the back of the tank and put your siphon break there......give me a call if you need more info.

Mark

[This message has been edited by golfish (edited 05-04-2001).]

[Barry N.]

Ok folks, I drilled more holes in the stnad pipe and I think that has cured the burping sound mostly. The problem with those other things that I saw on your Andy is that I have no more room in the overflow and it is a oversized box. The stand pipe is 2" as the blukhead is 2" and beside I have 2 x 3/4 returns running back up inside the overflow box with lock lines out side the box.

Mark, I have never called or even been up at 6Am in years [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img] maybe 6:45 LOL Tell the little lady that I am sorry [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img] And I guess I understood what you were telling me about closed loop but I guess I didn't. I don't understand simpilcity [img]/ubb/frown.gif[/img]
We need to talk again.

Barry

[Aragorn]

Ltspd,
Very cool. Plumbing can be a pain sometimes, eh? BTW, where'd you get that type of flex hose? Can you glue it to PVC? I don't think I've ever seen it. Anyway, glad you got it "dialed in".

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One Ring to rule them all. One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all, and in The Darkness bind them.

Tahoereefs.com

[Ltspd]

Aragorn, I got the flex PVC from a pool shop. I paid about 1.00/ft which is cheap and it glues to pvc fittings great, same stuff. HD sell the stuff but they are mucho high, about 2.50/ft. It works well but I felt like Jim on Marlin Perkins wrestling a albino anacondia at times.

I will be posting some shots tonight of the whole setup so far.

toptank, A closed loop means it pulls water from inside the tank and puts it back in. The pump doesnt pull any water from the overflow drains. I think this is where my problem was (thanks to Golfish for helping me) I was pulling water from a drain that was sucking air. This air never burst like it should in a sump before it was spewed back into the tank. The ampmaster just chopped the bubbles up more. I will post pixs which will hopefully explain what the heck I've done and clear things up.

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Paul C
Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler.
Einstein

[golfish]

Barry,
You need to get your a$$ up here so I can show you what you need to do. I know your going to be getting more LR from Jeff.

What kind of return pump are you using on the 90? That's probably what your going to use for sump return on the 180

I was kidding about the wife....

Mark

[Barry N.]

MArk, I am using a Quite One pump on the 90 but I wouldn't have one again, as it has big time heat tranfer. I have noticed with that pump and the amp master,they run 2 degrees different at night with no lights ot heater.

I think you need to come south and spend some time in our nice city, sea world, san diego zoo, wild life animal park, beautiful beaches, and lots of great golf courses [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img] and we can fit in some time to work on the 180 [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

BArry

[golfish]

Barry,
You need to use the AM3000 in a closed loop and run the Quite One for sump return. If you used it on the 90 it will be even better for the 180....trust me buddy, the AM3000 is too much pump for your sump.....

Mark

[Ltspd]

Barry, see this post. http://www.reefland.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/008637.html

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Paul C
Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler.
Einstein

[Barry N.]

Ltspd thanks for the site .

Mark, I have throttle the amp master down and it is starting the clear up a little. The sump is handling it ok, it is a 50 gal sump. I don't want that quite one on this reef as it makes the water to warm, I don't even have to use a heater in the 90 with it. On the other hand I have a heater for the 180 as this 3000 puts out no heat transfer at all, after running it for 46 hrs the temp was 74 so turn up the heater to 78.

Barry

[golfish]

Barry,
That's the problem, why spend 300.00 on a pump that puts out 3000 GPH and throttle it down to 1000 GPH. You plan to keep SPS, right? Your going to have to turn the tank over 15-30 times and unless you want a bunch of powerheads using up more electricty...... you can do it now or do it later but I can almost guarantee your going to wish you did it NOW.....

[Ltspd]

I agree with Mark on the throttling down. I am using my re-circ wide open, but not the sump pump (ampmaster 3000) of which I have 1/2 throttle. I plan on re-designing my sump (with help) and seeing if I can utilize more of the pump. I am pushing a lot of head coming up from the basement, but still I am having to hold the pump back. If I cant I will sell the Ampmaster and buy a weaker pump I can run closer to fully open.

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Paul C
Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler.
Einstein

[golfish]

Paul,
IMO, any other pump you buy will use more electricty than the AM3000. These pumps are made to run at any GPH rate you want. I know it sounds like I'm contradicting what I told Barry but he doesn't have two of them, if he did I would tell him to use the other one on a closed loop. I'm affraid he thinks he's going to get away with using the pump balls out with his 50 gal sump and we both know that's not going to work......

Mark

[Barry N.]

Ok Mark, I did some modification to my plumbing and overflows and now am able to run wide open. I increased my return lines from 3/4 to 1" and that made all the difference in the world. My drain from overflow to sump is 2" and now the pump is full open. I am going to extend a few of the lock lines ( I have 4 ) for better performance.

Barry

[Barry N.]

Oh, I forgot . I couldn't see spending that money on a amp master 3000 and not beable to use it for what I intended to use it for. I just had to sit down and look what I had and what I wanted to accomplish a make a few changes. As far as the burbbing sound from the stand pipe I am going to add a few more holes below the "t"
Barry