Sea Swirls

[lostcreekreefer]

I'm just going to throw this out here...I know Charlie has (likes?) his Sea Swirls. How many do you have on your 300 any ways, Charlie? Does anybody else have them, like them, detest them, have ideas & pointers? I'm looking to do some tweaking of my system; I have set up a temporary/quarantine tank, a 40 gal w/ a 10 gal sump, but the return is through a single tube Sea Swirl. It is very interesting to see how much this oscillating return really stirs up the water and how it varies throughout the tank over the cycle. Just curious about these things, what kind of return pumps to use, any options to get on them or better pieces of similar equipment. I have a 270 gallon 6' long X 30" deep X 3' front to back acrylic tank with a central overflow in the back of the tank, 125 gallon sump below (35 gal refugium is part of that, probably 80gallons of water in that volume, total). Thanks!

[Ninong]

You didn't say which size Sea-Swirls you're talking about.

I used two 3/4" Sea-Swirls on my 120-gal tank, one in each rear corner of the tank. I was only running about 500 gph through each unit, although that size is rated up to 850 gph.

I would recommend two 3/4" Sea-Swirls for a 6-ft long tank. Since your overflow is in the center of your tank, I would put one Sea-Swirl in each rear corner. Their 90-degree arc will cover your entire tank from that location. You don't need any options on them. As for a pump, just use something capable of pushing about 700 gph through each one. That will give you more than enough turbulence throughout the tank from top to bottom. Position each nozzle about 1.25" below the surface pointed straight ahead. Turbulence at the surface transfers all the way to the sand bed at the bottom. Surface turbulence is best for lots of reasons, including air exchange and prevention of any oily surface film.

I don't think I would use the 1" size unless the tank was more than 6-ft long.

P.S. -- If you are really gung-ho and since your tank is an acrylic tank that is 36" front-to-back, in addition to the corner Sea-Swirls, mount a single 3/4" Sea-Swirl (with or without the Y attachment) through the acrylic top at the front center of the tank aimed straight at the center of the overflow. You might want to experiment with the position of the nozzle on this one. It might be good to angle it just slightly down -- not much, just a little. I would probably go with the Y attachment on this one to reduce the force of the flow through each side of the nozzle.

P.P.S. -- When you order these, be sure to specify the correct attachments for your acrylic tank. I'm assuming you will drill the top of the tank to accomodate the units and not stick them at the edge of the acrylic, which would be way too far forward.

[lostcreekreefer]

You didn't say which size Sea-Swirls you're talking about.

I used two 3/4" Sea-Swirls on my 120-gal tank, one in each rear corner of the tank. I was only running about 500 gph through each unit, although that size is rated up to 850 gph.

I would recommend two 3/4" Sea-Swirls for a 6-ft long tank. Since your overflow is in the center of your tank, I would put one Sea-Swirl in each rear corner. Their 90-degree arc will cover your entire tank from that location. You don't need any options on them. As for a pump, just use something capable of pushing about 700 gph through each one. That will give you more than enough turbulence throughout the tank from top to bottom. Position each nozzle about 1.25" below the surface pointed straight ahead. Turbulence at the surface transfers all the way to the sand bed at the bottom. Surface turbulence is best for lots of reasons, including air exchange and prevention of any oily surface film.

I don't think I would use the 1" size unless the tank was more than 6-ft long.

P.S. -- If you are really gung-ho and since your tank is an acrylic tank that is 36" front-to-back, in addition to the corner Sea-Swirls, mount a single 3/4" Sea-Swirl (with or without the Y attachment) through the acrylic top at the front center of the tank aimed straight at the center of the overflow. You might want to experiment with the position of the nozzle on this one. It might be good to angle it just slightly down -- not much, just a little. I would probably go with the Y attachment on this one to reduce the force of the flow through each side of the nozzle.

P.P.S. -- When you order these, be sure to specify the correct attachments for your acrylic tank. I'm assuming you will drill the top of the tank to accomodate the units and not stick them at the edge of the acrylic, which would be way too far forward.

Ninong- thanks for the thoughtful reply. This is interesting to contemplate....

I did not say which size SS i was thinking about cuz i didn't know what was available, did not know about 1" dia. 3/4" is pretty much what I'm thinking about & have seen on tanks in the size range of mine.

So, talking about application to an acrylic tank with Euro-bracing (partial top on the tank with 2 openings, about 6" of horizontal acrylic around the edge and 8 - 10" across the center), you are talking about drilling through the acrylic, correct? No problem, I think I can accomplish that; any warnings or caveats in drilling acrylic?...the tank was not free, ya know! Next question is actually installing the SSs on the tank. The SSs are set up to clamp on to a vertical wall of a tank so what does one do with all the unnecessary hardware on the bottom/back of the SS if the pipe is going through a hole in the top of the aquarium? also can you buy extension pipes that snap on/off to get from the SS on top of the acrylic top, thru the acrylic, down through 1-1.5" of air between the acrylic & water surface?

I think I saw the "Y" fitting you mentioned for a hypothetical front SS, I very much like this idea. I have seen several large tanks wit some sort of front return, usually in the form of some sort of fixed manifold (large dia. pipe) with multiple returns. I like the front discharge, I really like the idea of the moving, variable nature of this idea.

Again, many thanks for the response, I'll let you know what I do!

KevinD

[Ninong]

...i didn't know what was available, did not know about 1" dia. 3/4" is pretty much what I'm thinking about & have seen on tanks in the size range of mine.

The 1" size is more common on tanks that are at least 8-ft long.

...you are talking about drilling through the acrylic, correct?

Yes, you drill a hole large enough for the outlet to poke through. The nozzle part is detachable and you sim0ply stick it on to the outlet from underneath the acrylic. The motor housing simply sits on top of the acrylic. The 3/4" plumbing line from your pump has to get to the Sea-Swirl, which is no problem for the rear-mounted units but it does present some challenges for the front-mounted unit. You can find lots of examples online of how other guys have solved that issue without creating a lot of unsightly plumbing on top of the tank.

No problem, I think I can accomplish that; any warnings or caveats in drilling acrylic?

I've never done it. Check online for advice on how to drill an acrylic tank. Don't let any of the acrylic shavings fall into your aquarium -- assuming it's inhabited at the time. If it's empty, no problem.

The SSs are set up to clamp on to a vertical wall of a tank so what does one do with all the unnecessary hardware on the bottom/back of the SS if the pipe is going through a hole in the top of the aquarium?

Sea-Swirls are available with a variety of mounting options and a variety of plumbing connections. You can check with Sea-Swirl's official website in case your vendor is being hardheaded about this. The acrylic mounting bracket they show on their website is designed for attaching at the edge of the acrylic bracing, which I don't like. Many people drill holes in the acrylic bracking so that they can place the Sea-Swirls closer to the tank's wall. Check various hobbyists' websites for examples of this. Maybe they just glue the motor housing to the acrylic bracing?

Anyway, you don't have to purchase the stock units that the online vendors sell. You can get almost anything you want. All you have to do is call or email Sea-Swirl directly for assistance. They are easy to talk to.

...also can you buy extension pipes that snap on/off to get from the SS on top of the acrylic top, thru the acrylic, down through 1-1.5" of air between the acrylic & water surface?

Place a phone call to Sea-Swirl and talk to them so that they can answer ALL of your questions directly. Phone (843) 546-0431

Don't talk to the guys who work for the online vendors because they all want you to take whatever they have in stock. It's easier on them that way. Get the units EXACTLY the way YOU want them.

[Ninong]

You might be able to use Velcro to attach Sea-Swirls flat on the surface of an acrylic tank's top?