modular raceway tank (input needed)

[xxbrianxx]

I'm moving off to college in a few months and I want to keep a frag tank with just corals. And I figured making it modular would make it easier to carry to and from school.

So as of now this is my raceway design. It's not to scale but it's just to get a good idea of what's going on. So this first picture is a front view. The ats/sump is on the left and I have two raceway modules in the center and the right. I'm planning to use syphon connections as I'd prefer not to use bulkheads (for increased chance of leaking). And yes those are returns in each of the raceways, which will make more sense in a bit. The U shaped pipes are syphons.

This second pic is a back view so the ats/sump is now on the right with the two raceway tanks in the middle and left. The returns on the left sides of the tanks are all connected to one line while the returns on the right sides of the tanks are connected to another line. The two lines are then connected to two sides of a SCWD, which is connected to the return pump in the ats/sump. Basically my plan is to pump water from the ats/sump into the SCWD. It'll alternate which line it goes to, making flow in each tank very dynamic all while using one pump. As the return pump drains the water in the ats/sump, the syphons are busy leveling the water out in each tank which will still result in a modified raceway effect since water still has to travel all the way through to get to the ats/sump.

Final one is a top view so you can see the baffles directing the flow in each tank. Any input would be great! Thanks.

 

[macawmagic]

honestly I see this being something you would have to set up and see how it works. One of those trial and error things.

on a good note, there's no way of it overflowing, but if you lose siphon you could be screwed. I don't know what would happen with the water going from tank 2 to tank 1 and then sump. maybe put the sump in the middle, but then that would be a little more difficult with the plumbing. since you're going to be drilling the tanks already...why not drill a drain line and then have the tanks a couple inches above the sump. That way you're not basing all of this on the u-tubes.

I can't remember which "farm" used the idea...but theres someone who design a frag system that continually surges from one tank to the other. if you could do that I think you would get much better flow through the tanks. basically you would pump the water to tank 2 with the scwd...when tank 2 filled to a certain point it would surge into tank 1 causing crazy random flow and then tank 2 would drain down into the sump.

other thing...have you ever used a sqwd? I hated mine! and because I hate the little one so much I'm too scared to buy the 1" one. I would hope that would be better, but who knows!

hope all this rambling helps. I just finished an essay due at midnight so i'm still in the thinking/typing mode!

 

[Alpha Aquaculture]

I didn't like the sqwd either. I think macawmagic's idea for the sump in the middle is a great idea that way the first raceway tank after the sump doesn't have a low water level, only the sump will. At that point why not just lower the sump a lil so that you can have a larger volume of water in there. I've always been a big fan of big sumps. You could have the two raceways touching in front as a two tank display and have the sump in the back, or if your gonna do that why not just have a larger single raceway. Because of the idea of the modularity I remember. Hmmmm how big are you planning on making this thing? I've always been a big fan of using gravity. It seems to me that you can use it and maximize your space if your gonna be in college by using gravity and your height to your advantage, basically having the sump areas below the corals. Kinda like this. You can feel modular when you look at this drawing. I called it compartmentalized instead of modular

These are the raceways I used

If you consider this drawing here, the tanks can still be small and modular. This is a way to create the back and forth motion of the ocean. The problem with raceways is they only go in one direction. In this concept they go in two directions. Use bulkheads sizes that match a pump like tunze and put the tunze prop pump right up to the opening of the bulkhead. It will push water through but when it cycles (use tunze controller) off water can flow the opposite direction past the propellers. If your only thinking modular then this is still modular. It seems your not interested in hiding the sump below to save space so just put it right behind. Everything on the same level with increase your pumps efficiency. You will be able to access the sump from the sides.

Whatever you do please keep us updated here

 

[xxbrianxx]

lol so many good ideas, but so many limitations. I'm not sure if I'd be able to do something like the continuous surge design since I probably don't have the room for a tank that can actually withstand a giant surge like that. And I'd love to have a large sump too...believe me I've kept a few picos so I definitely know how to appreciate extra space, but this is going on my desk so it'd be a bit hard to work that in. I thought about putting it in my closet(which would give me room for a sump) but then I'd hafta find another spot for clothes and I'd also never see the tank .

So far I'm planning to make each cube 8"x8"x8", so I'll be able to have 4 cubes on my desk. The reason I designed the plumbing the way I did is because I wanted to minimize the amount of pumps used while preserving a decent amount of good, random flow and at the same time making it possible to add on extra units whenever I want. If this design works out well instead of purchasing larger tanks in the future, I think I'll just get a bunch of these made and placed on layers of shelves, since I should be able to plumb it vertically. Of course only once I get my own apartment and more room lol.

And kris it'd be a bit hard to place the sump behind the tanks because from what I've heard the standard desk is 24" deep and I still need some work space :xd:

btw how come you guys don't like scwds? I've never used them before so I dont have any experience with them

 

[macawmagic]

the original sqwd cut off a lot of flow. say your pump was about 700 gph, with the sqwd you would get about 400 gph. I don't know about the 1" model, but that's also $100ish. I know how you feel when putting fish tanks in a dorm room. I used to live in a 4 bedroom 4 bath apt at college and I was lucky enough for my roomates to let me put a 55 gal in the living room. from all the dorms I've visited in my life there's slim to none room for a fish tank in a dorm room! be sure that you're allowed to have tanks in the first place because I had friends that their RA's made them get them out and I've had friends who's RA's really liked the tanks due to nemo etc.

are you custom buiding these 8 x 8 x 8 tanks? If so...why not build one tank that's 32 x 8 x 8 and then you could actually make it a real raceway with 1 pump. 8" would be the sump and then you would pump the water all the way to the other end having it race back to the sump end.

or you could make it like a donut without the actual hole in the middle. have 2 powerheads facing opposite directions on a wave timer. have the water go clockwise for so long and then counter-clockwise for the other. I personally think you'd be much more successful with either of these ideas then with 4 individual cubes.

 

[macawmagic]

something like either of these. I drew them at 48"x8" but of course you can make them whatever size. just kinda trying to get you some ideas that I think would be easier for you than multiple tanks.

 

[xxbrianxx]

Whoa the scwd is $100?? I thought it was around $30 lol. Yes I'm planning to custom build the tanks so it gives me some more flexibility with designs. Trust me I would love to have one larger tank, but I'm probably going to have to transport this at least a few times throughout the year and at least I can't come up with an easy way to transport a 32 x 8 x 8 tank. My plan with the cubes was just to put each in a styrofoam shipper and load them onto the car. Id be able to pick them up easily enough since theyre so small. I'm not sure how safe it would be to pick up a 32" long tank, even partially drained.

If I could just find a way to preserve flow through the connections, I think it would be fine but bulkheads and syphons both really take away from it. Btw thanks a lot for the input, I really appreciate it!

and also I was doin some thinking and realized if the syphons(im using pvc to make them) leak just a tiny bit I'd be instantly screwed because the pump would be pumping around 300 gph into that tank which isn't draining from the syphon anymore.....on the other hand with bulkheads, even if it has a higher chance of leaking, it would be more gradual and I'd probably notice before it caused any permanent damage.

 

[redtop03]

I'm moving off to college in a few months and I want to keep a frag tank with just corals. And I figured making it modular would make it easier to carry to and from school.

So as of now this is my raceway design. It's not to scale but it's just to get a good idea of what's going on. So this first picture is a front view. The ats/sump is on the left and I have two raceway modules in the center and the right. I'm planning to use syphon connections as I'd prefer not to use bulkheads (for increased chance of leaking). And yes those are returns in each of the raceways, which will make more sense in a bit. The U shaped pipes are syphons.

This second pic is a back view so the ats/sump is now on the right with the two raceway tanks in the middle and left. The returns on the left sides of the tanks are all connected to one line while the returns on the right sides of the tanks are connected to another line. The two lines are then connected to two sides of a SCWD, which is connected to the return pump in the ats/sump. Basically my plan is to pump water from the ats/sump into the SCWD. It'll alternate which line it goes to, making flow in each tank very dynamic all while using one pump. As the return pump drains the water in the ats/sump, the syphons are busy leveling the water out in each tank which will still result in a modified raceway effect since water still has to travel all the way through to get to the ats/sump.

Final one is a top view so you can see the baffles directing the flow in each tank. Any input would be great! Thanks.

the sump in the middle would be the best idea,with the way you have your returns plumbed,both modules will be getting about the same amount of water from the return pump yet the module on the right is flowing into the center module which will cause the center module to have to flow more water through the U tube than the module on the right,if you get what I'm saying....clever idea though,I like it and it should work fine with the sump in the center

Whoa the scwd is $100?? I thought it was around $30 lol. Yes I'm planning to custom build the tanks so it gives me some more flexibility with designs. Trust me I would love to have one larger tank, but I'm probably going to have to transport this at least a few times throughout the year and at least I can't come up with an easy way to transport a 32 x 8 x 8 tank. My plan with the cubes was just to put each in a styrofoam shipper and load them onto the car. Id be able to pick them up easily enough since theyre so small. I'm not sure how safe it would be to pick up a 32" long tank, even partially drained.

If I could just find a way to preserve flow through the connections, I think it would be fine but bulkheads and syphons both really take away from it. Btw thanks a lot for the input, I really appreciate it!

and also I was doin some thinking and realized if the syphons(im using pvc to make them) leak just a tiny bit I'd be instantly screwed because the pump would be pumping around 300 gph into that tank which isn't draining from the syphon anymore.....on the other hand with bulkheads, even if it has a higher chance of leaking, it would be more gradual and I'd probably notice before it caused any permanent damage.

you might want to consider adding a couple of Tom's aqua-lifter pumps to the U tubes for added safety,if you decide to not drill the modules...personally,I would drill the modules,it's much safer

 

[xxbrianxx]

hmm yea that's a good point...if I eventually added more units the syphon might not be able to take that much flow. what about this? I thought it'd be like wiring an electric circuit in parallel as opposed to in series. At least that's I predict would happen. Do you think it'd pull the same amount of water from each?

And I'm going to make the syphons extend all the way down to the bottom of the tanks so if the water level somehow got that low....I think i'd already be in trouble lol. Sorry I've never actually used a syphon overflow so I'm not sure what the aqualifter would do? If the syphon I just posted doesn't work though then yea I'd probably end up drilling and adding bulkheads. thanks for your input!

 

[rygh]

Siphons are a bit scary, although you can add a small pump (aqua-lifter) to keep the siphon going.
Consider using powerheads in each tank for main current, and thus less/simpler flow to sump.

 

[redtop03]

hmm yea that's a good point...if I eventually added more units the syphon might not be able to take that much flow. what about this? I thought it'd be like wiring an electric circuit in parallel as opposed to in series. At least that's I predict would happen. Do you think it'd pull the same amount of water from each?

And I'm going to make the syphons extend all the way down to the bottom of the tanks so if the water level somehow got that low....I think i'd already be in trouble lol. Sorry I've never actually used a syphon overflow so I'm not sure what the aqualifter would do? If the syphon I just posted doesn't work though then yea I'd probably end up drilling and adding bulkheads. thanks for your input!

I don't know if that would work or not,I assume it would,but I'm not sure what you're doing there,is it with the sump in the center ? if so,I think I'd go with 2 separate U tubes rather than the 3 way,that way you could take 1 off line if need be....

here's a link to the Aqua-lifter Tom Aquatics Aqua-Lifter Dosing Pump it's just a small water pump that uses air line tubing...if you install an airline nipple in the top of your U tubes,this cool little pump will siphon out all the air and continue to pull water,thereby keeping the U tube from loosing its siphon,you'd need 1 for each U tube....

I think with this and your first design,with the sump in the center,you can make it work beautifully...normally,I'd recommend doing 1 long tank with partitions,as suggested earlier,but I understand that you want this to be somewhat mobile,if you drill the tanks and connect with plumbing,it'll require a little more work to remove but it would be safer,on the other hand,with the amount of flow you're gonna be using I think the U tubes will work great for you,and with the aqualifter it will be much safer than just the U tubes alone....this is very interesting,you have me want to try something like this now

 

[redtop03]

if I eventually added more units

I just noticed that you might add more modules later,I'm not sure how to do that,I'll have to think about it a while

 

[redtop03]

as rygh suggested,by using powerheads for most of the circulation,you could do them in a series,but with it,you'd just pump water to the farthest module and as it filled,it would flow to the next module and then to the next and so on until it made it back to the sump,you could use an even smaller return pump that way,thereby reducing the chance of an overflow even more...a maxi jet 400 or 600 would probable be plenty of flow for just filtration...and doing it like that,you could do a second series of modules on the other side of the sump.....I'm getting sleepy and starting to have wild ideas now,I also ramble on a lot too

 

[xxbrianxx]

Well no the sump is still on the left but my theory is that it'd pull the same amount of water from each of the two tanks. Plus it also gives me more room in each tank since id only need one tube in each. Ohh I see yea ill definitely add an aqualifter then.

And to add more modules id have to extend the plumbing a bit, so ill just put a threaded end cap with teflon tape on the ends instead of cementing them.

Haha good! It'd be great to have someone else experimenting with this too.

 

[PR_Reefers]

I'm thinking if you connect the tanks say a couple of inches from the bottom, by drilling using bulkheads and unions, they would act more like one and it could be simpler and less probable to have any water related problems.

 

[xxbrianxx]

yea bulkheads would probably be easier but like I said it kinda wastes some space because the "wheel" (don't know what it's called) on a 1" union is about 3" in diameter...plus if I used bulkheads with hard plumbing and someone nudged one of the tanks just a bit, I might have cracking issues