Alright, I might see about turning one of the return lines into a USJ (under sand jet) system. Shouldn't be too hard to do. Then I'd have the USJ, plus a return at midlevel and a return near the surface. That should be more than enough water flow for a 220g.
220g filtration plumbing?
- Thread starter Conner
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I sketched up a quick USJ diagram in MSPaint. It's going to be 3/4" pvc, with 8 different jets opening out of the line. The ends will either be the Lock-line outlets, or else just pinched pvc, not sure on that yet.
Tell me what you think.
Tell me what you think.
As this is a wide tank what about adding one length of tubing from the jet setup the length of the tank in the middle and drilling a bunch of holes in it.
As it sets now I think all the mulm would accumulate in the middle.
I am not a big fan of jet set ups as I haven't seen one that worked very well. With out the jets sticking out on the open all the time. But a well planned jet set up would have its benefits. IMO
As it sets now I think all the mulm would accumulate in the middle.
I am not a big fan of jet set ups as I haven't seen one that worked very well. With out the jets sticking out on the open all the time. But a well planned jet set up would have its benefits. IMO
Well, my idea for these jets was more for water movement than keeping mulm suspended, although it will work for both. The problem I have with this tank is that the drains and returns are all concentrated in the overflow at the one end of the tank. If I do a jet system (like the one above, or possibly altered somewhat) it will help spread the flow around the tank better, which is my main goal.
If it helps keep mulm from settling on the bottom, I'll just consider that as a bonus...
If it helps keep mulm from settling on the bottom, I'll just consider that as a bonus...
A R-UGF will work with sand, but the trick is to find a way to evenly and slowly distribute the flow. I've heard some people to have claimed to solved it on their tank and they were very satisified with the ersults, but the bulk of the people (myself included) haven't been so lucky at finding the balance.
I've toyed with a lot of USJ systems, and currently do not run any...
The ones that have worked best for me have been small (2~3 jets) systems powered by a powerhead.
I've made at least 3 different large inserts powered by larger pumps. They have always been far more of a pain than they would ever be worth even if I could get them working right...
I've made one with almost the exact design you have shown above. The flow was exceptionally unbalanced. The vast majority of the flow will come out of the two jets the farthest to the left, with a little bit of flow coming out the two jets farthest to the right and almost no flow coming out the 4 in the middle...
To try to achieve balance in my system, I reworked the plumbing and added a large plus of pipe to the middle of the fixture. On your system I would expect this to simply move the vast majority of the flow to the right side.
The only USJ's I've ever been happy with are when each jet is equidistant from the pump with an equal amoutn of bends in the pipe... which is easiest made with a small system powered by a powerhead. But then I have a clunky powerhead in the tank...
I've also found that fish that dig frequently expose the burried pipes of a USJ which looks horrible. I would expect your rays to do the same.
Lastly, if you do a USJ system as the return from your sump, make sure to protect yourself from turning that return into a siphon when the pump is turned off. You could do this with a one way valve, but if that one way valves fails your in deep trouble... another option would be to plumb a Spray bar into the same return line so it can suck air (breaking the siphon) when the pump is turned off.
I've toyed with a lot of USJ systems, and currently do not run any...
The ones that have worked best for me have been small (2~3 jets) systems powered by a powerhead.
I've made at least 3 different large inserts powered by larger pumps. They have always been far more of a pain than they would ever be worth even if I could get them working right...
I've made one with almost the exact design you have shown above. The flow was exceptionally unbalanced. The vast majority of the flow will come out of the two jets the farthest to the left, with a little bit of flow coming out the two jets farthest to the right and almost no flow coming out the 4 in the middle...
To try to achieve balance in my system, I reworked the plumbing and added a large plus of pipe to the middle of the fixture. On your system I would expect this to simply move the vast majority of the flow to the right side.
The only USJ's I've ever been happy with are when each jet is equidistant from the pump with an equal amoutn of bends in the pipe... which is easiest made with a small system powered by a powerhead. But then I have a clunky powerhead in the tank...
I've also found that fish that dig frequently expose the burried pipes of a USJ which looks horrible. I would expect your rays to do the same.
Lastly, if you do a USJ system as the return from your sump, make sure to protect yourself from turning that return into a siphon when the pump is turned off. You could do this with a one way valve, but if that one way valves fails your in deep trouble... another option would be to plumb a Spray bar into the same return line so it can suck air (breaking the siphon) when the pump is turned off.
I might just add 1 or 2 Koralia powerheads at the opposite end of the tank as the overflow... that should be enough to keep good flow throughout the tank. And if I aim them along the bottom a few inches up, that should help keep debris suspended a little longer (hopefully).
Again, still not decided, as I haven't even started building the sump or drilling holes yet...
Again, still not decided, as I haven't even started building the sump or drilling holes yet...
Well, I drew up a new sump design quick. I'm not 100% sure on measurements of the dividers yet, so I didn't include any.
Basically the twin overflows will be split into 4 outlets which will filter through 4x 100 micron filter socks in the sump.
The water will flow under a divider, then up through some foam pads (either poret or AC sponges).
Then fall over the next divider onto a drip plate, drip down through scrubbies for biofiltration (~7.5g worth).
Next it will flow under a divider, then into the heater section. This section may also house some plants for hydroponic filtering.
The heated water will flow over another divider, then under one last divider (for bubble control), and then be pulled through a bulkhead in the side of the tank to the pump.
What do you think? The sump is 36"Lx18"Wx18"T.
Basically the twin overflows will be split into 4 outlets which will filter through 4x 100 micron filter socks in the sump.
The water will flow under a divider, then up through some foam pads (either poret or AC sponges).
Then fall over the next divider onto a drip plate, drip down through scrubbies for biofiltration (~7.5g worth).
Next it will flow under a divider, then into the heater section. This section may also house some plants for hydroponic filtering.
The heated water will flow over another divider, then under one last divider (for bubble control), and then be pulled through a bulkhead in the side of the tank to the pump.
What do you think? The sump is 36"Lx18"Wx18"T.
The sump on my 240 fresh water tank is set up very similar to yours minus the foam. I have a Rio pump that probably does about 1000gph after head and fittings. I run 2 100 micron socks and personally love them. My water is always crystal clear. The only time I ever have a problem is if I don't clean the socks every week they spill over. Which is a non issue to me because I have a bunch of socks and switch them out during weekly maintenance whether they look like they need it or not.
