CREATING THE ULTIMATE FILTRATION AND EVOLVING WITH YOUR FISH!!!!!!

[David R]

I think where your drains are in the overflow will effect how much water they flow too. I'm planning on running two but having one ablve the other, rather than side by side, so that the bottom one will run as a full siphon and the top one will handle what is left. A drain running as a full siphon will move a heap more water than one sucking air in. When I set up my 1400L and flicked on the pump for the first time I thought it was going to overflow, but as soon as the drains we submerged and no longer sucking in air they very quickly emptied the overflow box.

 

[HULON]

I think where your drains are in the overflow will effect how much water they flow too. I'm planning on running two but having one ablve the other, rather than side by side, so that the bottom one will run as a full siphon and the top one will handle what is left. A drain running as a full siphon will move a heap more water than one sucking air in. When I set up my 1400L and flicked on the pump for the first time I thought it was going to overflow, but as soon as the drains we submerged and no longer sucking in air they very quickly emptied the overflow box.

Bingo!!!!!!

 

[DB junkie]

Do you have strainer on your bulkhead?

You mean a strainer on the overflow? Sure do..... Cut all the teeth out and replaced with egg grate.

IF that was the restriction then the water level in the overflow wouldn't raise would it?

 

[aldiaz33]

The different numbers posted around the web for drain flow are very inconsistent.

Reefcentral has a 1.5" drain at 1,300GPH - http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php/drainoverflow-size-calc
Flex PVC has a 1.5" drain at 2,100GPH - http://flexpvc.com/WaterFlowBasedOnPipeSize.shtml

I think the inconsistent numbers are all the more reason to go with one size larger for the most conservative number you are able to find. You can always valve something down, but increasing the size of your plumbing would be a royal PITA.


I think this link should be required reading for anyone setting up a filtration system: http://www.reeflopumps.com/images/tips.pdf

Just because a pump has a 1.5" inlet and/or outlet, does not mean you should use 1.5" pipe. Reeflo recommends using at least 2" pipe on their Hammerhead pump.

You mean a strainer on the overflow? Sure do..... Cut all the teeth out and replaced with egg grate.

IF that was the restriction then the water level in the overflow wouldn't raise would it?

John is talking about a bulkhead strainer. They definitely reduce/slow flow:

(Did I just agree with John? The apocalypse must be near).

 

[kendragon]

great guy huh?? lol huh, dont YOU have the same name??/ lol

Maybe he's his Brother Ken Lim!!!

Alright....alright, That great guy is me but WLim is not my dad!.

First stop this morning 7:00am.
This pond confirms DBjunkies comment about having all the fancy filters and still have crappy water. They paid more than a pretty penny and the water was so green you can't see past an inch. UV bulbs were not changed and unplugged. Pumps were on a timer. Filters were not backwashed. Case load of chemicals/algacides were dumped in.
After the first week the 6 new UV lamps kill all the algae. Next couple weeks the filters were backwashed weekly. Settling chambers have to be hosed down because they would be so dirty.
Today is week 5 and the water is crystal clear.
My instructions to the owners is:
Pumps must stay on 24/7. All three pumps are wlim high efficiency pumps so they are not saving that much turning them off.
UV must stay on.
Ultima and settling chambers must be drained/backwashed weekly.
Auto fill must be adjusted because the current level is too low allowing the last settling chamber to be so low in water that the pump is sucking air. Not efficient, damages the impeller and defeat the whole purpose of allowing particles to settle.

Underground filter room.










4" gravity inlet


Second chamber - brushes


Third chamber - mats. Water level too low because hydraulic pressure from the pond is too low.


The pond 40,000 gal


15" HiFin


Auto fill


First chamber - water spinning causes the pond junk to settle off the the side. Bottom have been drained but junk is not close enough to the bottom to be drained out.


Water is clear. Some of the kois. They even found the bottom drain cover floating around the bottom. Wow.


I got other pond filters to show but gotta go back out to finish a few more by end of day.

 

[cjfrontlovr]

dang, your a wealth of knowledge ken! mfk is lucky to have you! and WOW, look at that $6500 rolex your wearing to do pond maint..must be rough!

 

[HULON]

The different numbers posted around the web for drain flow are very inconsistent.

Reefcentral has a 1.5" drain at 1,300GPH - http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php/drainoverflow-size-calc
Flex PVC has a 1.5" drain at 2,100GPH - http://flexpvc.com/WaterFlowBasedOnPipeSize.shtml

I think the inconsistent numbers are all the more reason to go with one size larger for the most conservative number you are able to find. You can always valve something down, but increasing the size of your plumbing would be a royal PITA.


I think this link should be required reading for anyone setting up a filtration system: http://www.reeflopumps.com/images/tips.pdf

Just because a pump has a 1.5" inlet and/or outlet, does not mean you should use 1.5" pipe. Reeflo recommends using at least 2" pipe on their Hammerhead pump.



John is talking about a bulkhead strainer. They definitely reduce/slow flow:

(Did I just agree with John? The apocalypse must be near).

View attachment 824144

Ya i realize that AL i was trying to make the point that 1 1.5 inch drain depending on how it is hooked up can have a tremendously different flow

 

[pacu mom]

Especially if you have a closed loop system what ever the pump is rated for pulling with 1.5 is what gets pulled like a reeflow hammerhead if is is set up to pull directly from the tank and it pump 5500 gph the input and pressure side are 1.5 so a single 1.5 drain directly in the tank hooked directly to a hammerhead will then have 5500 gallons per hour go through it because it is NOT relying on gravity But the pumps power to produce the flow!!!!!

Love my hammerhead pump. Almost whirlpool conditions in my little 300 gallon tank. My big fish love the swift current. Am planning to use a barracuda pump to return water from the sump back to the main tank. With four 1.5" drains from the overflow boxes, I think we'll be ok..will have valves in case we have to lessen the flow. The one thing I hate doing is drilling tanks. Plan on placing PVC pipe straight down into the sump tank to draw water up from the bottom. Had eleven holes drilled in the top of the main tank to accommodate my mechanical filtration. W will have six 1.5" pipes (poop sucker pipes) coming from the top of the tank to just off the floor with two more uptakes near the top for our closed loop mechanical systems.

Two hammerheads and a barracuda pump on three closed loop systems and another barracuda returning from the sump...husband thinks it's going to be too much current time will tell who is right.

sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX

 

[kendragon]

Picture is worth a thousand words.
14,000g koi pond with closed loop system.
Water is pulled by a single pump and pushed through (3) mechanical filters. Followed by (3) bio bead filter then through a two bulb Wave UV before going to the waterfall.
Evolution of this setup were the addition of a UV, replacing the lava rocks with beads, and replacing (2) out of the (6) pool element style cartridges with wlim element.
Pond before was green and stagnant. Once mechanical clogs water would stop flowing completely. Today filtration runs with no noticeable flow change throughout the week. I know these are pond filtration but similar ideas can be used for certain tanks. Obviously, not all tanks would need something like this.

Clean filter elements.


The pond with a lot of kois.


The filtration


Dirty filter


Comparing the pool element vs wlim element


Truck load of dirty elements....Honey, I'm home.

 

[gangster]

Too cool Ken!
Looks like you have a fun job.
Any of those ponds have aro's in em?
With all the $ spent on some of those you would think a nice green house w/ a tropical theme would work great. And then throw some cichla in the pond and you have the amazon in a socal backyard.