Aggie05 Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Well after making a trip to lowes and looking at the parts I would need for the pvc overflow, I decided that it would be too bulky.(sorry wetworx) I ultimately decided to drill the tank using a dremel bit and a lot of patience. Well I got the hole drilled and it came out very nice. Now is the uncertain part. I didn't use a "bulkhead" that you apparently can only find at a pet store. Instead I used a piece of pvc that I think will work just fine and connected an elbow to it on the outside. I siliconed everything up and it seems to be a really good design. I also siliconed one of my glass baffles in although when i drilled the hole for my output I didn't consider how tall my baffle was and it turns out to be shorter than what i wanted. This basically means that I will have about an inch of water running over the baffle in order to keep the flow going. I don't know what the effect is going to be. I will take pics tomorrow when I water test it after the silicone dries. Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted February 19, 2003 Author Share Posted February 19, 2003 Well it seems to work perfectly. I water tested it today and everything checks out and the overflow works well. Now I just have to figure out how to get it 5" off the table behind may 10 and I will set it up. Here is what it looks like. I suck at using silicone so it is really messy, but since you can't see it behind the tank I really dont care. Link to comment
lizbeth Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Yeah! That's about how my silicone work looks too. Water! Water! Water! Link to comment
Wigguh Noony Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Wow. You took a huge jump from not even having a tank. You must be pretty excited. You got a really good start. Nice 'fuge, AND moonlights! Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted February 19, 2003 Author Share Posted February 19, 2003 anyone want to tell me how to get the syphon started so that the pump will pull water up out of the tank? Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted February 20, 2003 Author Share Posted February 20, 2003 and how do i keep the powerhead from syphoning out my fuge when it goes off? Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted February 20, 2003 Author Share Posted February 20, 2003 Here are the pics. The only problems I am having is that I haven't figured out how to keep the pump from siphoning the tank when the power goes out. And since I drilled the hole so high the water level in the fuge stays right up at the black line which I don't like but will try to rememdy by slowing down the flow. In order to do this I think I am going to get some sort of plastic clamp to clip on the plastic hose to restrict the amount of water the powerhead is able to draw in. The only other thing I think i am going to change is to put a 90 elbow on the output instead of the 45. But the flow in the tank is very good with just that one output so I don't think I will need another ph. Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted February 20, 2003 Author Share Posted February 20, 2003 One more of the whole system. My lights are supposed to be here tomorrow so they will cover up the fuge from view. I am also going to rework the intake line with a combo of pvc and vinyl tube. It should look a lot better. Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted February 20, 2003 Share Posted February 20, 2003 I take it you are doing a pump-in overflow out fuge. I use those on my 10 & 20. I put my pump in the main tank...pushing up and in. (Like any one of CPR's products) This does two things: One is that I dont need to start a syphon. Two, the pipe into the fuge is only a 90 degree elbow so It will only back syphon a half inch. In your case, if you want the pump to suck in...your best bet would be drilling a small hole in the tube going into the pump just under the water line of the fuge. That way, if the pump stops...the syphon will flow backwards only til the hole is exposed to air and the syphon is broken. This will mean the small hole will suck in water near the surface of the fuge when operating...but no big deal. Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted February 20, 2003 Author Share Posted February 20, 2003 Wetworx, you are my new besst friend. I have fixed the flooding problem and have at the same time reduced the flow of the pump with my new plumbing setup and lowered the water level in the fuge by a good half an inch. Now everything is perfect. All I need to do is replace the elbow on my overflow and I will be set. Yall have been very helpful and I thank you. Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted February 20, 2003 Author Share Posted February 20, 2003 Here is my new plumbing job. It makes the tube sit right where it needs to be and with the elbow pointing directly into the corner of the tank it restricts the amount of flow just enough to lower the water level in the fuge and at the same time will keep the critters from being sucked up. I think I will stick with this setup. Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted February 20, 2003 Share Posted February 20, 2003 Oh, yeah, I suppose you wanted to lower the flow anyways. Damn, Yeah, I knew that! Really, I knew it. Really, I did! Ok, I didnt have a clue. Glad I could kill two birds for ya. Did you put the hole in? BTW: Two questions: What camera are you using to take these pictures? Do you intend to put a protective screen/strainer on the pump intake? I would. A strainer for a power filter sold as a replacement part at the LFS should do. I know a whisper, eheim, or marineland intake should work. Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted February 20, 2003 Author Share Posted February 20, 2003 I did drill the hole and it works perfectly. Although if the power ever does go out and comes back on when i am not there, i guess it will burn up the pump. I am not going to get an intake screen because the elbow is pointing into the corner of the tank. It would be virtually impossible for anything to get into the hose. This is also the reason that the flow is reduced. And i am using an Olympus 4000C to take the pics. I love it and if you want to check out some more interesting pics just click the link in my sig, they were all taken with that camera. Link to comment
TheIceberg Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 I am setting up a very similar fuge for my 20. I love your set-up. But like wetworx, I am a little nervous about the intake. I would (and will) put a strainer on as well. You say it is impossible, but I say the impossible happens all too often in this hobby. They don't cost much, hell, if I have a leftover one when I am done setting up, I will send you one if you want. Better safe than sorry. Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted February 27, 2003 Author Share Posted February 27, 2003 I may end up putting one on. The problem is that the ones he is talking about will not go on this piece of pipe. i would have to use a mesh one of some sort and the one I already tried nearly got sucked into the pump. That would be bad. So like I said, when I get more time to think about it I will probably take care of it. Right now my fish don't even frequent the area so I am not too worried. Link to comment
TheIceberg Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 Out of curiosity, how did you get the water level in the fuge to stay where it was without ball valves on the pump to regulate flow? And also, did you put in the angled elbow on the return pvc in order that the return line would not suck in air like it would if the pvc was straight at the water line in the fuge? And it appears that it worked, right? Any advice on that part of it? Lastly, I also am planning one thing different. Since my fuge will be made of acrylic, I am going to have a little overflow spout above the return pvc line so that if the pvc gets clogged, the water from the fuge can flow into the main tank via that overflow spout. Do you see any problems with that? Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted February 27, 2003 Author Share Posted February 27, 2003 I am not quite sure why the water level in the fuge is the way it is but I am very happy with where it is. It seems that the water level never fluctuates in the main tank but rather drops in the fuge. Which is really nice. But the only reason I can see for the water level is that when I added the grey elbows and pointed the one into the corner it reduced the flow of the pump a little and matched the flow of the overflow. The water level dropped to where it is now when I added that elbow. As far as the elbow on the output, yes it is there to keep out bubbles. It does work beautifully as well, and it in no way reduces flow. Your plan of drilling a hole above the bulkhead sounds like a good one, although I don't really see how a 1" pipe is going to get clogged by anything that makes it through a pump. Link to comment
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