240g Asian Arowana Tank - Modified River Tank Manifold & Hard-plumbed FX5's

[willgalvin]

you have the most impressive tanks

 

[weirdfishlover]

Nice setup

Cant wait to see the final product

 

[Albertan]

Well, after giving it much thought, I've decided the 1" lines won't be enough for 2 FX5's. Here's my rationale. The general consensus is that the factory FX5 tubing is just slightly under 1" OD. Add to that the fact that it's corrugated, increasing resistance to flow, and I decided to use a diameter of 0.8" in my calculations. If you disagree with this assumption, you can plug your own number into the calculations.

Area of Stock FX5 Tubing = π*r[SUP]2[/SUP] = 3.14*(0.4")[SUP]2[/SUP] = .50 inch[SUP]2[/SUP]

That's for a single FX5, so therefore 2 FX5's are going to flow through an area of 1.00 inch[SUP]2[/SUP] using stock tubing.

Area of 1" ID Schedule 40 PVC = π*r[SUP]2[/SUP] = 3.14*(0.5")[SUP]2[/SUP] = 0.78 inch[SUP]2[/SUP]

Houston, we have a problem. Running a single FX5, the 1" PVC is more than enough, offering 150% cross-sectional area for flow compared to stock (¾" PVC yields an area of .44 inch[SUP]2[/SUP] btw...only 88% of stock...so you need 1" PVC to run a single FX5). But running two FX5's, the 1" PVC will yield only 78% of the area of the stock tubing. That's a considerable backpressure on filters known not to like a lot of resistance to flow. So if 1" isn't enough how big do we need to go?

Area of 1¼" ID Schedule 40 PVC = π*r[SUP]2[/SUP] = 3.14*(0.625")[SUP]2[/SUP] = 1.23 inches[SUP]2[/SUP]

Area of 1½" ID Schedule 40 PVC = π*r[SUP]2[/SUP] = 3.14*(0.75")[SUP]2[/SUP] = 1.77 inches[SUP]2[/SUP]

Area of 2" ID Schedule 40 PVC = π*r[SUP]2[/SUP] = 3.14*(1.0")[SUP]2[/SUP] = 3.14 inches[SUP]2[/SUP]

There. You're now set to build a system with up to six FX5's. I decided to use 1½" PVC for my build as the plumbing shop I was at had the necessary parts to cobble the runs together in 1½", but 1¼" would have worked as well. If you look at the numbers, you will see that 1½" would work assuming FX5's came with 1" ID smooth tubing stock, but 1¼" would be slightly small. Also remember, chances are a hard plumbed system will have 90° elbows and T's that the factory plumbing never had...so a safety factor is probably in order.

[HR][/HR]
So, lesson learned from my project to date after pretty much completing the 1" runs...


Use as a minimum 1" ID Schedule 40 PVC to hard plumb a single FX5. ¾" PVC is too small.

Use as a minimum 1¼" (ideally I think 1½") ID Schedule 40 PVC to hard plumb two FX5's into a system.

 

[Albertan]

OK, so with that little blurb out of the way I was able to whip up the 1½" runs, glue them, and paint them all this afternoon. I'm aiming for 3 coats of Krylon Fusion satin black paint before final assembly tomorrow. Here are a couple of photos I took. I was kind of in a rush to get back on schedule and the runs are copies of the 1" runs already described. So I didn't take as many pictures.

1" vs 1½" ID Schedule 40 PVC Tubing





And the painted runs drying after two coats of paint.

 

[Albertan]

I'm a sucker for neat, hard-plumbed PVC, but I can't help but wonder why? With a black background, the standard FX5 drains and returns all but disappear. This style is a bit of an eye sore, no?

I just wanted to say thanks for the feedback. After giving it some thought, I decided to paint the parts in the tank that would be visible against the background satin black, while leaving the parts behind the back glass and those buried in the white sand substrate white. It should all make sense when I take more pictures tomorrow. I'm hoping for a clean appearance to the plumbing externally while making it as inconspicuous as possible in the tank...a task made even more difficult with the white sand substrate and the black background. I probably wouldn't have gone to all the trouble without your feedback, but now is the time to do it.

 

[kendragon]

For a minute I thought you were painting headers for that offroad vehicle back there.

 

[Albertan]

I've never owned any fx5s. If they don't have built-in check valves, you might want to add some in line to prevent back flow looping if you have to turn one off for breakage/maitainence. Or at least some ball valves.

Does that make sense?

Edit: And that is something you may want to consider is in the piping putting ball valves in the itake and return lines if for any reason you need to take both FX's off and shut down flow to the entire tank. Or lets say you need to replace the aquastop valve on the FX. You can't without a ball valve.

Thanks again for your feedback regarding the ball valves. I did consider them at the outset, but never felt they were necessary until you guys raised the question and got me to reconsider. They're cheap insurance and are incorporated into the new 1½" runs.

 

[Albertan]

For a minute I thought you were painting headers for that offroad vehicle back there.

Hey Ken. That XP900 is/was 88HP stock. It's 115HP now and actually does have what would be the equivalent of headers. It regularly sees mud up to the roof on good rides. But I digress...

 

[bro]

Thanks again for your feedback regarding the ball valves. I did consider them at the outset, but never felt they were necessary until you guys raised the question and got me to reconsider. They're cheap insurance and are incorporated into the new 1½" runs.

Good call brother. Better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it.

 

[blindkiller85]

Good call brother. Better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it.

Same theory as a condom and I totally agree....just not anymore since I'm sterile LOL.

Albertan, no problem what so ever. 3 screws? Not so bad, a ball valve, better haha. Particularly when you would have to shut down the fx's take the top part out to not gravity feed and then you're still left with all that water that's in the line.

When you're doing the maintenance on the filters I would turn the ball valve(s) a few times a year maybe 1-3. Don't particularly need to use them as your sole source of water stoppage, but the gunk buildup of algae, detrius and etc will get to a point of nearly sealing the ball valve if it's never used. I've run into this many many times on irrigation and plumbing systems with houses. Get's to the point that I've broken the handles with channel locks trying to close them off, but that too has some sun damage.