dhoffroad Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 ok so this is what I did, to solve a prob of getting flow and a heater into a pico tank, even though this is for a pico it would work for larger systems also. the pump being used is a MJ 400 (106 gph) smallest they (MJ) make. the plumbing going in and out of the tank are made out of 1/2" CPVC. the heater chamber is made out of 2" PVC with threaded caps ( and female fittings ) I drilled and taped two 1/2 " NPT ports input ( higher ) and output (lower) used hose barb fittings , hose (3/4" in, and 1/2" out ), and hose clamps to connect the MJ to the system. to install the heater into the 2" PVC chamber I drilled a hole just larg enough for the cord of the heater to go though into the top cap ( I cut off the cord end and re spliced the wires once routed thru the hole in the top cap) I tightened the bott cap totaly tight and the top cap left loose till ready to run so I could fill the chamber with water so it would prime the pump. oh yea almost forgot I also put a ball valve after the MJ so I could turn down the flow so meet my needs, and I also made a "safty" container out of plexy that the whole system sits in just in case the MJ develops a leak. well hope this helps someone I had'nt seen anyone do this before and thought is was a good idea to share. ENJOY Link to comment
Travis Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Are you using that bowl as your Pico? or is that only used for testing? Link to comment
Travis Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Oh yeah, BTW, good thinking with the plumbing Link to comment
dhoffroad Posted January 15, 2005 Author Share Posted January 15, 2005 no that is going to be my pico tank it holds 1 gal (empty no LR or sand) Link to comment
Travis Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Oh, ok. What type of lighting are you planing on useing? Link to comment
DongShenYin Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 That's very inventive!!! I like!!! (DeWalt product placement? Heh.) Link to comment
EnderG60 Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 thats pretty damn pimp right there!. I have 2 suggestions though. paint that stuff, and full the heat chamber with some live rock rubble. Link to comment
dhoffroad Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 all the plumbing will be hidden behind a false wall in the stand so no need to paint, not much room to put rock in the chamber (heater takes up most room) besides the heater needs to spin with the top cap when putting the cap on with rock in there that would be a PITA Link to comment
dhoffroad Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 a little something I did'nt mention if you are going to do this and have it set up like I did make sure the top port (inlet) is below the water line of the tank and the chamber is just above the water line of the tank that way you can fill the tank and fill the chamber (the water level will equalize between the two), then put the top cap on the chamber and it will start right up. Link to comment
ODOG Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 would there be any problem with the heater chamber emptying in a power outage and then not filling back up when poer comes back on causing the heater to explode or worse? Link to comment
Travis Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Closed loop system will NEVER loose the water on the inside during a power outage. I have tested my CLS many times Link to comment
dhoffroad Posted January 29, 2005 Author Share Posted January 29, 2005 the way the heater chamber is set up there will ALWAYS be water in it .with the input and output of the heater chamber like they are the water level will just equalize. and the heater will still be totaly submerged. Link to comment
rmhuntley Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 I"m going to try this on a 1.6g hex, but use bulkheads and drill the tank. thanks for posting pics, gave me a great idea! Link to comment
Vicious Posted September 15, 2005 Share Posted September 15, 2005 This is absolutley the coolest mod I've seen for any tank yet... What do you think of running multiple chambers? One for a heater, one as a rubble container, one a skimmer, and another one could be protien skimmer or chemical holder (chemi-pure, carbon, etc). The posibilities are endless... Hehehehe the best part of the hobby is the tinkering, and you are the master! Link to comment
DonCiscoII Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 wow, pretty amazing. Great ideas. Vicious... yup, the possibilities are staggering. Link to comment
Mickle Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Would I be able to use any old powerhead for this? I'm planning a several stage system with heating refugium and whatever else I can think of Link to comment
Mickle Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 ...If I silicone up all of the holes that is...? lol Link to comment
NanoClown Posted November 23, 2006 Share Posted November 23, 2006 you think we could put a submersable light in the chamber and toss some cheato on there? Link to comment
Mickle Posted November 23, 2006 Share Posted November 23, 2006 Defo possible, I'm going to be Heres mine so far: Still need to add the pump, it should be here within the next week, I'll post pics of the finished thing then, it will have LR rubble, fuge and a heater Link to comment
Strika85 Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Defo possible, I'm going to be Heres mine so far: Still need to add the pump, it should be here within the next week, I'll post pics of the finished thing then, it will have LR rubble, fuge and a heater I look forward to seeing that, this could get very big very fast with so many possible advantages to a closed loop like this. What are the possible cons to doing this type of system? Link to comment
Mickle Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I had it finished and working, the only problem I had with mine was noise, a way to completely empty the chambers of air is necessary. It worked well, I took the tank down some time ago now though. : Pico Reef Filtration system overview · Water overflows into the overflow box · Water is pulled to the pump · Water is pushed though a gate valve · Water flows though the heater chamber · Water flows though the live rock chamber · Water flows though the refugium chamber · Water is returned to the tank. This ordering of chambers ensures that no debris falls back into the pump the refugium is not right next to the heater as it will already be warmed via a light. The pump will always have more water flowing to it that flowing from it. The water level will only reduce inside the overflow, if need be there is room to add an auto top off device inside the overflow. The tank it was used on: Link to comment
dimitre12 Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 i am interested in doing this as well for my 10g, but i was wondering how the powerhead does outside of water. does it overheat and do you think that it is decreasing its lifespan? props on the great idea though! Link to comment
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