Labridaedicted
Wrassetastic
Hey gang! I've been doing some brainstorming and could use some help from the hive mind.
So, my autofeeder presently discharges it's effluent line just above the return pump intake and I have noticed the mysis feast I entering the tank very chopped up so alot of waste seems to be generated since there are small pieces of carapace and such that the fish aren't interested in. The other foods don't get beat up but that's due to their size. My idea is that I could maybe plumb a t into my return line beyond the pump and perhaps get the food delivered much more whole. If anyone is interested in seeing the above mentioned auto feeder, check out these build thread in my signature. I did a post there describing it.
So, now for the logistics: my return pump is a Jebao dcp15000 (3962gph max (at output, based on calcs, I assume total of 1800 gph))(I know, but it was affordable for now, haha) which I run at about 2/3 strength except when I blast the tank to stir up detritus once a week or so. The return feeds to the tank via 1.5" schedule 40. The feed pump for the sump/frag/manifold (including autofeeder) is another jebao (max flow 1300gph) which I run fairly low. I would estimate that the output at the top of the rack feeding into the fuge is about 200 gph (since I made the poor decision of using 1" overflows). This is fed by 1/2" braided hose.
I was thinking I could t in the braided hose to a 1.5 to .5 (which I have and was surprised actually existed) barbed t. I have concerns that with the pressure on the main return, it will force water backwards through the smaller pump. However, being that it's going through 1.5 inch pvc to a similar height of the .5 inch (that is admittedly closer), it seems like the water would be likely to continue through the 1.5 rather than through the more restrictive .5 inch hose against the flow of the other pump in any great quantity. Especially since I can increase the flow of the smaller pump since all other feeds off of it are valve controlled. I attached some rough sketches to help visualize the setup and what I would like to do.
What do you guys think? Sometimes these things don't work in reality the way I envision them because fluid dynamics are weird.
So, my autofeeder presently discharges it's effluent line just above the return pump intake and I have noticed the mysis feast I entering the tank very chopped up so alot of waste seems to be generated since there are small pieces of carapace and such that the fish aren't interested in. The other foods don't get beat up but that's due to their size. My idea is that I could maybe plumb a t into my return line beyond the pump and perhaps get the food delivered much more whole. If anyone is interested in seeing the above mentioned auto feeder, check out these build thread in my signature. I did a post there describing it.
So, now for the logistics: my return pump is a Jebao dcp15000 (3962gph max (at output, based on calcs, I assume total of 1800 gph))(I know, but it was affordable for now, haha) which I run at about 2/3 strength except when I blast the tank to stir up detritus once a week or so. The return feeds to the tank via 1.5" schedule 40. The feed pump for the sump/frag/manifold (including autofeeder) is another jebao (max flow 1300gph) which I run fairly low. I would estimate that the output at the top of the rack feeding into the fuge is about 200 gph (since I made the poor decision of using 1" overflows). This is fed by 1/2" braided hose.
I was thinking I could t in the braided hose to a 1.5 to .5 (which I have and was surprised actually existed) barbed t. I have concerns that with the pressure on the main return, it will force water backwards through the smaller pump. However, being that it's going through 1.5 inch pvc to a similar height of the .5 inch (that is admittedly closer), it seems like the water would be likely to continue through the 1.5 rather than through the more restrictive .5 inch hose against the flow of the other pump in any great quantity. Especially since I can increase the flow of the smaller pump since all other feeds off of it are valve controlled. I attached some rough sketches to help visualize the setup and what I would like to do.
What do you guys think? Sometimes these things don't work in reality the way I envision them because fluid dynamics are weird.
