320 gallon display with equipment shed

[cilyjr]

Posting up my FTS for Feb
I should try to do this monthly.

 

[cilyjr]

It's funny to me how small it looks in a picture.

 

[cilyjr]

In wanting to add more water movement I bought 2 laminar flow pumps. I bought Cheapos for now.

There are 2 obstacles for me.
1. I did not want to obstruct the viewing panels. Meaning nothing on the front and sides.

2. I want a clean look over the top as there is a floating canopy.

the solution I arrived at was mounting the pumps to the cross braces. This allows for a completely open side panel.

I put them up for a week and decided they did not bother me.

When I decided I was ok with that I had to deal with the cables. I just printed up these guys.

They attach to the cross braces and hold the cable tight enough to not bother me.

Top fits right over and the cable holders block the gab between the overflow and the brace.

I may print something that grabs the black trim and holds the cable there but I'll have to see if it bothers me as is...

Would those pumps bother you where I mounted them?

 

[Jimbo327]

That's really slick. I didn't know they will reach into the water when it is mounted from the top. Won't bother me at all. It looks better than mounting it on the side.

I got them MP40's on the side of my tank, so it's pretty noticeable. The only thing about these gyre pumps is if you have a lot of baby snails, they get into these gyres, and will completely stop them. I have lots of baby trochus after the adults spawned, and I have to unstuck the gyres about 3 times per week.

 

[cilyjr]

I didn't know they will reach into the water when it is mounted from the top. Won't bother me at all. It looks better than mounting it on the side.

It will vary from tank to tank. I printed these little blocks that slide between the weir teeth to raise the water level some as well.

 

[McPuff]

How do you keep the kalk from flowing back into your RO reservoir? I was using the same reactor but had a problem with it not handling pressure and backflow into RO reservoir. Tried to install a 1 way flow valve but it wouldn't actually push through it.

 

[cilyjr]

How do you keep the kalk from flowing back into your RO reservoir? I was using the same reactor but had a problem with it not handling pressure and backflow into RO reservoir. Tried to install a 1 way flow valve but it wouldn't actually push through it.

It's through a peristaltic pump and it's lower than the pump and reservoir.

Mine does not go through the top off. That is a separate loop.
The kalkwasser is controlled through the apex Trident monitoring system and the apex dos for more precise dosing.

That said, I do not love the unit. And would probably have gone with one of the ones with a paddle stirrer if doing it again.
At leaked from the inlet valve so I had to reseal it. Even at the lowest speed, the bead that is for stirring would come off of the magnet and fly to the edge pretty regularly in the beginning.

It is simply not the quality that ice cap from the '90s and early 2000 had. I know it is no longer the same company.

 

[cilyjr]

I made this video.

 

[areefer01]

In wanting to add more water movement I bought 2 laminar flow pumps. I bought Cheapos for now.

There are 2 obstacles for me.
1. I did not want to obstruct the viewing panels. Meaning nothing on the front and sides.

2. I want a clean look over the top as there is a floating canopy.

the solution I arrived at was mounting the pumps to the cross braces. This allows for a completely open side panel.

I put them up for a week and decided they did not bother me.

When I decided I was ok with that I had to deal with the cables. I just printed up these guys.

They attach to the cross braces and hold the cable tight enough to not bother me.

Top fits right over and the cable holders block the gab between the overflow and the brace.

I may print something that grabs the black trim and holds the cable there but I'll have to see if it bothers me as is...

Would those pumps bother you where I mounted them?

Are you alternating the blade and cage direction so you get water moving both directions? Since you have a pair it would be easy to do and allow you to properly make use of reverse and anti sync functionality.

Good job btw.

Edit: btw I agree with the snails. I have strombus grazers and they get lodged in mine often.

 

[cilyjr]

blade and cage direction so you get water moving both directions? Since you have a pair it would be easy to do and allow you to properly make use of reverse and anti sync functionality.

I'm not sure. What does it mean to reverse the blade and cage?

They are both pointed outward, meaning the left hand one pointed toward the left and right towards the right.

I just have them set on a slow pulse.

I have the 4 MP40s on the back wall too.

 

[areefer01]

I'm not sure. What does it mean to reverse the blade and cage?

They are both pointed outward, meaning the left hand one pointed toward the left and right towards the right.

I just have them set on a slow pulse.

I have the 4 MP40s on the back wall too.

I don't know which Gyres you have, sorry, but you will see some that have colors (red, green) or alpha characters (A, B). This is so you put the Gyres back together the way you had them. If you look at the colors or characters blades and put them side by side you will see what I mean. They face different directions. Cages are similar.

By running A, B, or Red, Green combos and face the cage properly you can push water forward when the motor spins normal. When it spins in revers now the one blade pushes the water while the other, spinning, is not cutting through the water but is a gentle nudge.

Hard to explain but next time you clean them you will see what I mean. So in your setup you get water moving forward, and backward, in laminar patterns.

Mine are installed at the moment otherwise I'd take a picture to try and show you. I'm sorry I don't have it. You can search on Maxspect Gyre 300: alternating Gyre Mode which is on FB I believe. I took a screen cap of it below.

Basically in order to get "actual" water movement that you can feel the blade and cage has to face proper direction and reverse features used.

 

[cilyjr]

I don't know which Gyres you have, sorry, but you will see some that have colors (red, green) or alpha characters (A, B). This is so you put the Gyres back together the way you had them. If you look at the colors or characters blades and put them side by side you will see what I mean. They face different directions. Cages are similar.

By running A, B, or Red, Green combos and face the cage properly you can push water forward when the motor spins normal. When it spins in revers now the one blade pushes the water while the other, spinning, is not cutting through the water but is a gentle nudge.

Hard to explain but next time you clean them you will see what I mean. So in your setup you get water moving forward, and backward, in laminar patterns.

Mine are installed at the moment otherwise I'd take a picture to try and show you. I'm sorry I don't have it. You can search on Maxspect Gyre 300: alternating Gyre Mode which is on FB I believe. I took a screen cap of it below.

Basically in order to get "actual" water movement that you can feel the blade and cage has to face proper direction and reverse features used.

Thanks for that.
Actually I wish I had known about that when I was mounting them because I wanted the cable piece very close to fit into those brackets. I had to do some maneuvering to get it to fit the way I liked.

I did a bunch of turning of the cages to get it to push the water the way I wanted it to and then I noticed one of them was burning the tips on my anacrapora on the top left.

This information will be helpful when I am spending a little time positioning them better.

 

[areefer01]

Thanks for that.
Actually I wish I had known about that when I was mounting them because I wanted the cable piece very close to fit into those brackets. I had to do some maneuvering to get it to fit the way I liked.

I did a bunch of turning of the cages to get it to push the water the way I wanted it to and then I noticed one of them was burning the tips on my anacrapora on the top left.

This information will be helpful when I am spending a little time positioning them better.

You are welcome. Just remember that it is both cage and blade. The blade has to face the proper direction for it to work in reverse.

In any case thank you for sharing your build. After stumbling upon it going back and reading. Keep up the great work.

 

[McPuff]

It's through a peristaltic pump and it's lower than the pump and reservoir.

Mine does not go through the top off. That is a separate loop.
The kalkwasser is controlled through the apex Trident monitoring system and the apex dos for more precise dosing.

That said, I do not love the unit. And would probably have gone with one of the ones with a paddle stirrer if doing it again.
At leaked from the inlet valve so I had to reseal it. Even at the lowest speed, the bead that is for stirring would come off of the magnet and fly to the edge pretty regularly in the beginning.

It is simply not the quality that ice cap from the '90s and early 2000 had. I know it is no longer the same company.

That makes sense. Thanks for clarifying. I've got a much larger stirrer in mine so it stays put... though I may have burned the motor. Argh. I have heard the same from others that the stirrer is the way to go. Thanks.

 

[cilyjr]

I've got a much larger stirrer in mine so it stays put...

Where did you buy it? That's a good idea. It never occurred to me to change it out.

 

[McPuff]

Where did you buy it? That's a good idea. It never occurred to me to change it out.

Actually it was the guy that owned it before me who installed it. I can't remember where he got it but I'm sure you could find them at any scientific supply store/site. And likely amazon too.

 

[Denzx]

Where did you get the rocks to cover your overflow?

 

[cilyjr]

Where did you get the rocks to cover your overflow?

Lowes outdoor dept. If you sort through them you will find packs that are broken. Since you need to break it up anyways by these as they will sell them to you at a discount.

Here is a thread better covering the construction.

Thread 'Unorthodox overflow cover' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/unorthodox-overflow-cover.1030624/

 

[cilyjr]

Just saying out loud that I miss metal halide lights.
Don't get me wrong. I'm okay with what I've got, but if I knew the radium bulb was going to be manufactured indefinitely and I could get better heat exchange in that room I would be running them.

 

[cilyjr]

I did decide to put the gyre flow pumps on the back wall after all.
They still move water across the tank while the mp 40s are moving it perpendicular to the gyre flow and they are less obtrusive.