reef octopus varios 4 flow

[Neo Jeo]

Hello Reefers!

Does anyone know the flow % of the 1,2,3,4,5?

5/5 is max
2,3,4/5 is normal operation
1/5 is ECO mode

I contacted BRS, they don't know and they said the manufacture doesn't know lol...

Anyone do any tests on this?

Im running my tank with 1 overflow dorso. When I have it on 2-5/5 it creates a surge. I now have it on 1/5 ECO mode and it runs smooth and quite. Is that ok? I have a 120G tank

Thanks

 

[BoSalman]

Following, wondering the same thing (varios-6 here).

I always took a guess as (max flow / number of leds) and then took that as the flowrate +/- head.

Let's see if anyone actually measured this.

 

[harthag12]

Curious as well, I have a varios 6 on my 100, I can't get my overflow dialed in quietly because the pump seems to surge, my setup is currently incredibly loud; it's a bean animal.

 

[Neo Jeo]

Curious as well, I have a varios 6 on my 100, I can't get my overflow dialed in quietly because the pump seems to surge, my setup is currently incredibly loud; it's a bean animal.

I had a gate valve on my tank and I closed it half way. Quited it down but then it got clogged. Now I will have it always opened. Now I get surges. I can run it on 1/5 and it works but I hope its enough flow

 

[Sleepydoc]

Hello Reefers!

Does anyone know the flow % of the 1,2,3,4,5?

5/5 is max
2,3,4/5 is normal operation
1/5 is ECO mode

I contacted BRS, they don't know and they said the manufacture doesn't know lol...

Anyone do any tests on this?

Im running my tank with 1 overflow dorso. When I have it on 2-5/5 it creates a surge. I now have it on 1/5 ECO mode and it runs smooth and quite. Is that ok? I have a 120G tank

Thanks

Not sure what you’re asking - are you trying to figure out what the maximum flow is for a Varios 4? That depends on the head height. Coral Vue has a graph here. If you’re looking for the flow when it’s dialed back, that depends on your plumbing as well. Head loss is non-linear; the flow depends on the resistance and the resistance depends on the flow, so there’s no way to answer the question. The two ways to get a definitive answer in terms of GPM would be to do a bucket test (see how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket) or to get a flow meter like Neptune has for the Apex.

In terms of flow for your system, in general a setting of 1 would be pretty low, but it also depends on the powerheads, wavemakers and other flow devices you may have.

You said you have a Durso overflow - what size pipe? Durso’s can’t handle a ton of flow quietly, but they should be able to handle more than the lowest setting.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Curious as well, I have a varios 6 on my 100, I can't get my overflow dialed in quietly because the pump seems to surge, my setup is currently incredibly loud; it's a bean animal.

Do you have a gate valve? Unless the pump is too big for your plumbing you should have no problems.

 

[Neo Jeo]

Do you have a gate valve? Unless the pump is too big for your plumbing you should have no problems.

Thanks for jumping in. I have a gate valve. It’s open all the way. A year ago someone told me to install a gate valve on my Durso to slow the water falling. It would cause back pressure. It worked well until the gate area got clogged.

Now I open my gate the flow is super fast. It’s splashing all over in my sump and creating a surge of water in my overflow. Going up and down fast. I turned my return pump down to stop the surging up and down in my overflow.

I was wondering what the GPH is on my 1050GPH pump on level 1 out of 5.

My only option might be to install a Hurbi but I would have to do some pipe running and extra work.

 

[harthag12]

Do you have a gate valve? Unless the pump is too big for your plumbing you should have no problems.

I have a gate valve on my overflow bean animal; I don't have one on the return. The pump is a 1.25" that I have reduced & split off to the pair of 3/4" returns; the pump is definatly overkill but I didn't know / think that would cause surging & thus me being unable to tune it in.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I have a gate valve on my overflow bean animal; I don't have one on the return. The pump is a 1.25" that I have reduced & split off to the pair of 3/4" returns; the pump is definatly overkill but I didn't know / think that would cause surging & thus me being unable to tune it in.

Ya. I don’t have an emergency drain so I don’t want to use my gate valve. My tank almost overflowed when it got clogged

 

[Neo Jeo]

@Sleepydoc Hey, did you see any of my responses? I don't know if you where sleeping

The flow seems to be steady. The tank is quite. I hope its enough flow on settings 1/5. It seems like a lot of work to do a bucket test.

 

[Coastie Reefer]

Just thinking out loud, but does it really matter? As long as you have steady flow going through your sump you should be fine. The flow in the display shouldn't rely on the overflow/return at all.

 

[harthag12]

The only reason I could see it mattering is you're running a Triton method & want high turnover or you have a manifold Tee'd off the return & need the flow; both of which have work arounds with an extra pump in the sump.

 

[Neo Jeo]

Just thinking out loud, but does it really matter? As long as you have steady flow going through your sump you should be fine. The flow in the display shouldn't rely on the overflow/return at all.

IDK. I have a small refug and the flow now slowed down. Dose it matter with the skimmer? More flow the more it picks up? IDK.

 

[Coastie Reefer]

IDK. I have a small refug and the flow now slowed down. Dose it matter with the skimmer? More flow the more it picks up? IDK.

I’d say the more flow the more water bypasses the skimmer...

 

[Neo Jeo]

I’d say the more flow the more water bypasses the skimmer...

That’s a interesting view. People say more flow the more contact.

 

[Coastie Reefer]

Faster flow does mean more overall water makes it into the skimmer section but does that necessarily mean more water is skimmed?

My rationale is that the skimmer pump can only intake x amount of water. If the water flowing through the skimmer compartment is traveling faster than the pump intake then some water is flowing by the skimmer without actually getting pulled into the skimmer.

I’d almost say the optimum flow would be somewhere close to what the skimmer pump can handle.

I’m not an expert by any means and this is just how I “visualize” the process.

 

[Neo Jeo]

Faster flow does mean more overall water makes it into the skimmer section but does that necessarily mean more water is skimmed?

My rationale is that the skimmer pump can only intake x amount of water. If the water flowing through the skimmer compartment is traveling faster than the pump intake then some water is flowing by the skimmer without actually getting pulled into the skimmer.

I’d almost say the optimum flow would be somewhere close to what the skimmer pump can handle.

I’m not an expert by any means and this is just how I “visualize” the process.

This hobby is mostly opinion. I like your thought process . Makes me feel like running it low will be ok

 

[Sleepydoc]

That’s a interesting view. People say more flow the more contact.

How much flow is necessary through the sump is open for debate. Typically, the sump houses things like heaters, mechanical filters, the skimmer and dosing pumps. You want enough flow to more or less equilibrate the conditions in the sump with those in the tank. For example, the water coming up from the sump needs to supply heat at least as fast as the display tank is losing it, otherwise the temperature will drop. In a similar manner, if the flow in the sump is too low, the dosing pumps will tend to cause precipitate.

The exact mechanism of action of skimmers and optimal conditions are not really known, to my knowledge. The skimmer does not remove 100% of the proteinaceous matter with each pass, but if the flow is too low it will remove more from the sump than from the display so you want enough flow to keep things close to equilibrated between the sump and the display. The exact answer relies on some differential equations, as well as the (unknown) efficiency of the simmer. I would say a flow of 1-2x the skimmer would be adequate. A bigger reason for more flow is increased surface skimming from the display tank.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Thanks for jumping in. I have a gate valve. It’s open all the way. A year ago someone told me to install a gate valve on my Durso to slow the water falling. It would cause back pressure. It worked well until the gate area got clogged.

Now I open my gate the flow is super fast. It’s splashing all over in my sump and creating a surge of water in my overflow. Going up and down fast. I turned my return pump down to stop the surging up and down in my overflow.

I was wondering what the GPH is on my 1050GPH pump on level 1 out of 5.

My only option might be to install a Hurbi but I would have to do some pipe running and extra work.

A Durso should not have any valve. A Durso is basically a modification of an open standpipe to allow it to handle more flow while still remaining quiet, but even at that they can't handle a ton of flow. Adding a gate valve will only reduce the amount of flow it can handle and make it more likely to clog and flood.

What is your overflow setup? How many pipes do you have and what sizes? Does the outlet empty above or below the waterline? It sounds like what was happening was the flow of the return pump was too fast exceeding the durso's capacity. As the level in the overflow rises the durso will start to siphon, increasing the flow and rapidly dropping the level in the overflow.

Like all single standpipe systems, Dursos are at risk for flooding because they have a single point of failure. All it takes is a critter plugging the standpipe to completely block it and stop all return flow to the sump. A Herbie is an improvement in terms of safety since you have a second standpipe to take over in case the first gets clogged. If you only have 2 bulkheads in your overflow (like with most corner flow tanks) it means you have to run the return pipe up over the back.

 

[Neo Jeo]

A Durso should not have any valve. A Durso is basically a modification of an open standpipe to allow it to handle more flow while still remaining quiet, but even at that they can't handle a ton of flow. Adding a gate valve will only reduce the amount of flow it can handle and make it more likely to clog and flood.

What is your overflow setup? How many pipes do you have and what sizes? Does the outlet empty above or below the waterline? It sounds like what was happening was the flow of the return pump was too fast exceeding the durso's capacity. As the level in the overflow rises the durso will start to siphon, increasing the flow and rapidly dropping the level in the overflow.

Like all single standpipe systems, Dursos are at risk for flooding because they have a single point of failure. All it takes is a critter plugging the standpipe to completely block it and stop all return flow to the sump. A Herbie is an improvement in terms of safety since you have a second standpipe to take over in case the first gets clogged. If you only have 2 bulkheads in your overflow (like with most corner flow tanks) it means you have to run the return pipe up over the back.

This is my overflow.

If I did a Herbie, I would have to run plumbing to the right and up the right side of the tank. I could not do it right behind as its 1/2" away from my wall. I will no be moving my tank.

Right now if I turn my return pump on 2+/5 the overflow goes up and down and creates a loud noise. If I run it on 1/5 its quite and smooth. My heaters seem to be running fine only my refug prob has low flow now. Due to the small refug in the Eschopp r-200