300 gallon stock tank

Are you sitting down? You posted this publicly so I assume you are ready for critique, right?


 
That corrugated RV pipe is going to terribly slow the flow from that powerhead and the custom "U" tube is going to break its siphon almost immediately.

I work for frags, if you would like me to come consult on this project.

Aloha,
Mark

the system has been running for two hours now . . . fingers crossed.
the level of the refugium goes up and down 2 inches as it gets to the higher part it chugs water through the siphon fast taking it to the bottom of the pipe fills up again and then redoes it,

if I added a "U" joint to the top side would it stop that?


Edited by simpleyork - February 19 2014 at 8:40pm

simpleyork wrote: the level of the refugium goes up and down 2 inches as it gets to the higher part it chugs water through the siphon fast taking it to the bottom of the pipe fills up again and then redoes it,

Ahh yes. It's acting as a Carlson Surge Device. It still worries me though. Have you experimented/tested the system by breaking the siphon to see how much water gets pumped out of the tub and up into the 40 gal? Does it overflow the 40? If it comes close to overflowing, the return powerhead will need to be raised higher or placed inside a skimmer box.

Aloha,
Mark

I would put in an extra overflow for the unforeseen chance that one fails.

Another overflow, set to come into play in case the water level rose would require more stuff alongside the surge. I've used a surge device, seen Adam's various devices/dump buckets and the big ones at MSM locally and at Waikiki.  My opinion is that they aren't all that necessary. Plus, they are NOISY. The Poormans Wavemaker is much simpler and better IMHO. Of course, it depends on what simpleyork wants to do in the long run.

To keep Seahorses, the suction at the siphon intake needs to be diffused/spread out over a large area.
To keep the upper tank water level from fluctuating the surge will need to be forgone.
To make the siphon dependable requires one of three options:
- raise the siphon output to the elevation of the water level in the upper tank,
- use a standard overflow box, or
- use a connected water reservoir with a standpipe drain leading to the lower tank.

I hope to be able to vist soon. An Urchin is good substitute for a frag.

Aloha,
Mark

That's it, in principle. That's a good first draft design

I have an overflow box.

well here is the redo, I drilled the 40 gallon tank then that lead into a "filter" zone where it is only around one inch deep(keeping fiddler crabs in this area) then there is an over flow that goes back to the main tank.

the dust storm is from all the new sand I placed in it Saturday evening, I rinsed till the water looked clearish but I think the power heads are stirring it up too much , may turn them off for a few days
 


Edited by simpleyork - February 23 2014 at 1:15pm

Ahh, yes of course. High flow will easily stir new Oolitic Sand. I usually cover it with a thin layer of larger particle sand and a deeper layer in areas where it is blowing the worst. LR rubble, spread 3-4" around the powerhead on the sand keeps it from being picked up by the suction. In time a bacterial film and the growth of worm tunnels will hold it together quite well.

Thinking about your setup, to protect the Rays tails from being sucked in, I might place 4-6 tall pieces of LR or clean Utah Rock strategically around the powerheads on the sand with space between them for incoming water channels.

Next thing I would do is to get a large basketball sized clump of Chaeto and light it really good 24/7 from now until after the first Ray gets introduced. Although it is a risk to add a large fish too soon, it is possible if sufficient Macroalgae and LR are used sooner rather than later. Adding a bottle of start-up bacteria is also a good idea.

Aloha,
Mark