Idea for a Spraybar in a nano tank..

Here is an idea that i came up with for a spraybar in a nano tank powered by a powerhead , Is this possible or not..

Your comments are most welcomed..

It’s not quite clear what you have going on here. Are there holes in the tubing?

I see where you're going.

I mean I don't see why it wouldn't work, the problem i guess is where the water goes at the end...having a big hole would decrease the pressure of the little holes before it. having a "dead end" might make things crazy.

very good rendering btw

Originally posted by CU_Reefer

It’s not quite clear what you have going on here.  Are there holes in the tubing?

hi CU_Reefer

Yes , its the same hole that is in the ehiem spraybar, thats where i got my hole size from and the hole spacing measurements from.

regards from Len.

Originally posted by mineralrock

I see where you're going.

 

I mean I don't see why it wouldn't work, the problem i guess is where the water goes at the end...having a big hole would decrease the pressure of the little holes before it. having a "dead end" might make things crazy.

 

very good rendering btw

Hi Mineralrock

Thanks , well at this stage its an idea that i have , so i thought that i would do a picture of it and get some feedback from other people, i may change the spraybar as it all depends on what type of nano tank that i'll eventually get.

Thanks for the comment on my rendered picture..

regards from Len

i think the real question is why do you want a spraybar? you like cleaning clogged holes? they dont do much and are a PITA to make work properly.

Originally posted by pyrrhus

i think the real question is why do you want a spraybar? you like cleaning clogged holes? they dont do much and are a PITA to make work properly.

Hi Pyrrhus

Well the Spraybar option has always worked for me in the past, so i cant see why it shouldnt work for me again..

Regards from Len..

I used a spraybar on a powerhead in my old 10 gallon nano, didn't have an elbow but went along the whole back glass. it worked well and never got clogged. i thought it worked well in pushing out denitrus from behind the rocks.

After 6 weeks running my new setup, I can say that yes, it can be done in a Nano. It's a simple spraybar made out of 1/2 std pvc. it's located at the back bottom. The two holes you see are anti-siphon holes. If your sump is located under the tank, YOU NEED THEM! Live rock sits on black egg crate. Return from sump is done thru the spray bar with a Mag3. There's about 1/4in of aragonite sand at the front and sides. Maintenance is easy because all the sediments get pushed to the front...

here's a small pic of my 20G high.

Originally posted by ODOG

I used a spraybar on a powerhead in my old 10 gallon nano, didn't have an elbow but went along the whole back glass.  it worked well and never got clogged.  i thought it worked well in pushing out denitrus from behind the rocks.

Hi ODOG

Thanks for the reply.. My idea was to have one of the spraybar pointing in one direction and the other spraybar pointing in the other direction.

Well thats the idea so far..

regards from Len

Originally posted by Sly

After 6 weeks running my new setup, I can say that yes, it can be done in a Nano.  It's a simple spraybar made out of 1/2 std pvc.  it's located at the back bottom.  The two holes you see are anti-siphon holes.  If your sump is located under the tank, YOU NEED THEM!  Live rock sits on black egg crate.  Return from sump is done thru the spray bar with a Mag3.  There's about 1/4in of aragonite sand at the front and sides.  Maintenance is easy because all the sediments get pushed to the front...  

 

here's a small pic of my 20G high.

Hi Sly

Oh nice tank that you have there..

I never thought of using the spraybar on the bottom of the tank or having the rock sitting on egg crate..

regards from Len.

sly - nice tank..

i think you have more rock than i do- if that is possible....

good work :-) the more rock- the merrier...

Thanks matt and Nanite for your comments.

matt, there's actually less than 30# of rock in the tank. That's the illusion eggcrate creates. I'm using one piece for the bottom and three small pieces slanted at the back. It provides good circulation behind (AND UNDER) your rocks and allows your fishes to swim. You drill a few holes on the back and top of the spraybar to prevent accumulations of detritus.

I gotta tell you the whole story tho. Nothing is perfect... If you want a tank with a nice 360 degree view, it's not the way to go...But for someone who's setting up a new tank and want a nice front view with an ease of maintenance, it might be worth giving it a try... If you don't like it, you will have spent 25$...

/Sly.

30# in a 20 w/ egcrate. hmm

i got 45 in my 25 high. lol you ar eright- it is an illusion. still it looks good though.

can you provind behind the tank pics, under the eggcrate pics? it is hard to fully understand exactly what you did.. more pics will help

Maybe a small powerhead on each end of the pipe would work better as opposed to one ph on only one end?

Matt,

I didn't want to reveal all my secrets at the same time... But since that you ask. Now i gotta show you the less than perfect pics hum...

Robert Metelsky is hosting the pics for me right now. He deserves credits for that tank "configuration". Although he would NEVER keep a tank of less than 55G, I decided to use his book and apply all the concepts to a Nano. I encourage anyone interested in this concept to get his book. Everything about setting up a reef is explained in plain English. Rare in this hobby IMHO.

That's the book I've read in the last three years with "The Reef Aquarium" volume 1 - a classic.

sorry for the image quality, it's an old sony 1mega pixel, still, it should be enough to give you a great idea...

Here's the link:

20G High Nano

/Sly

nanite--

Your spraybar will work much better if you cap the end. This will increase the amount of water that flows out of the little holes. You can also drill a hole in the end too. When you drill the holes, make sure they're in a bunch of different directions. I've been running a spray bar in my 29 gallon for a year with no problems. It does an awesome job keeping the back of the tank clean.

NOT MEANT TO HIGHJACK THE THREAD!

Sly, that tank is going to be AWESOME! The eggcrate idea is something I've been pondering for sometime, and the one main thing thats been holding me back is the fact that all the eggcrate I've seen is white. Where on earth did you get it in black? Do you know if there is a place in the states that carry it? again, it's going to be awesome, good luck!

oh yea, I'm going to be building some spraybars as well.

(also) NOT MEANT TO HIGHJACK THE THREAD!

Sly, love your setup man! Everything about it is great, will probably copy extensively...Hey, you got plans for how you made your float switch? Also the skimmer?

I'm also looking for black eggcrate, if anyone knows where...

Oh, back to the thread topic...

Nanite, so would the open end point up -or is the whole thing laying down in the substrate?? (Sorry, diagram looks nice, but little confusing.) Is the ratio of holes to pressure supposed to be enough that there's not much pressure at the end -or maybe just shooting out at high pressure??

Glad you like it Smokin-Reefer and wreaphan.

As I told you, Meltelsky answers all those questions in his book (about the eggcrate). He even has something about black eggcrate on the FAQ on his web site.

In the US, he gives Modern Plastics for a contact.

Check this out:

Metelsky FAQ

If you can't find black, it's not the end of the world. Black eggcrate improves the look during the first two three months only.

After that, its gonna be all covered with coralline algae anyways. It's important that you select your rock carefully. The first few pieces need to "overhang" the eggcrate...

wreaphan: a lot has been said (almost everything i guess) about the switches and skimmer.

For the skimmer, Budda is the pimp with his nanomora:

Nanomora

For the "snail proofing" look at qfour's (scroll down a bit)

switch

And for the switch itself, i STRONGLY suggest to use switch model number 2A554

from www.grainger.com (they have many locations in the states)

And also, At least one fire has been reported when using those switches with 110V. Please guys, use a relay box! It's a nice DIY electronics project. (it was my first project!)

Here's a design i like:

box

And oh, guys, if you have questions regarding this setup, i suggest we start a new thread...

/Sly

Originally posted by yodahart

nanite--

 

Your spraybar will work much better if you cap the end.  This will increase the amount of water that flows out of the little holes.  You can also drill a hole in the end too.  When you drill the holes, make sure they're in a bunch of different directions.  I've been running a spray bar in my 29 gallon for a year with no problems.  It does an awesome job keeping the back of the tank clean.

Hi Yodahart.

SO far i've only had the holes going in one direction and i alyays cap the end of the spraybar.. i'll try your suggestion in my new setup.

Regards from Len

Originally posted by Nanite

hi CU_Reefer  

 

Yes , its the same hole that is in the ehiem spraybar, thats where i got my hole size from and the hole spacing measurements from.

 

regards from Len.

I don't have access to an eheim spraybar, just curious what the hole size is and how far apart you're putting them?

Originally posted by Cake Fan

I don't have access to an eheim spraybar, just curious what the hole size is and how far apart you're putting them?

Hi Cake Fan

ok the hole diameter is 3mm and the hole spacing is 15mm.

regards fron Len

Thanks for your reply

Would the hole spacing be affected by the size of the tank? What I'm wondering is would you have them 15mm apart if it were on a 10 gal or a 25 gal, how would you determine spacing? and what size powerhead to run it? I like this idea, very nice

Originally posted by Cake Fan

Thanks for your reply

Would the hole spacing be affected by the size of the tank? What I'm wondering is would you have them 15mm apart if it were on a 10 gal or a 25 gal, how would you determine spacing? and what size powerhead to run it? I like this idea, very nice

hi Cake Fan

Well you can make the hole spacing 10 mm apart or even 5 mm apart, Seeing that my Nano tank plans have changed, what i was origionally going to get was a jebo 80 litre tank, but i would have had some problems in fitting my prizm skimmer to it, so now i'll be going with a 3ft aga tank with canopy and cabinet, i've already decided on what sort of lights to get for it, i'll be using Power compacts, as with this tank i have more options, looks like i have some Painting to do too soon.

As to the powerhead, any one will do as long as its strong enough to produce the currents that you want i'll be using an Aquaclear Powerhead 101 , but i have a really big one that i'll use for the main current in the tank.

regards from Len