OK Egon. Late is better than never.
The original manifold was very typical to what you see when you buy them. Just a straight length of plastic/PVC with a few air valves in it. Or course, this does not optimize the air output and it isn't long enough for me to power my 40G rack. I've been running air lines over to the tanks from the past few months. I'm starting to realize that I've hit my limitations on this design. This s where the new setup is brought in.
I had to take this in sections as it is too large to get in one shot. I will start from left to right and explain as I go.
This is from the left side just about my 3x40G rack.
The bend right after the 40G rack
If you look closely in this pic, you can see where the pump enters into the system. I have the pump stashed up in the rafters so it is out of the way.
This is the other end where most of the tanks are. I will have approximately 14-15 tanks in the area.
The goal of the circular design is to distribute the air evenly across all of the outputs. You do this by pushing air in both directions across a circular manifold. This works very well so far. I have increased the number of outputs in my system which will allow me to have more tanks. I have also reduced some of the load placed on the air pump as it is operating much quieter now due to the reduced effort is takes to provide the air.
I'm sure I missed something, so feel free to ask.
Also, always remember to give yourself a few extra valves in order to bleed off any additional air. If your pump is rated for 25 outlets and you are only running 20, you may need a couple more valves that are wide open to help keep the strain down on the pump and actually increase the air flow.
The original manifold was very typical to what you see when you buy them. Just a straight length of plastic/PVC with a few air valves in it. Or course, this does not optimize the air output and it isn't long enough for me to power my 40G rack. I've been running air lines over to the tanks from the past few months. I'm starting to realize that I've hit my limitations on this design. This s where the new setup is brought in.
I had to take this in sections as it is too large to get in one shot. I will start from left to right and explain as I go.
This is from the left side just about my 3x40G rack.
The bend right after the 40G rack
If you look closely in this pic, you can see where the pump enters into the system. I have the pump stashed up in the rafters so it is out of the way.
This is the other end where most of the tanks are. I will have approximately 14-15 tanks in the area.
The goal of the circular design is to distribute the air evenly across all of the outputs. You do this by pushing air in both directions across a circular manifold. This works very well so far. I have increased the number of outputs in my system which will allow me to have more tanks. I have also reduced some of the load placed on the air pump as it is operating much quieter now due to the reduced effort is takes to provide the air.
I'm sure I missed something, so feel free to ask.
Also, always remember to give yourself a few extra valves in order to bleed off any additional air. If your pump is rated for 25 outlets and you are only running 20, you may need a couple more valves that are wide open to help keep the strain down on the pump and actually increase the air flow.
