diy closed loop

[norway]

complete system
it uses a mag 3 and scwd with schedule 40 3/4" pvc i used black pvc from www.savko.com where it shows in my tank. i had to use a threaded

[hr]
from the irrigation section of hd to connect my mag 3 to the coupler. the couplers make it very easy to take apart and service.

 

[norway]

intake with black pvc

 

[norway]

mag3 with couplers

 

[norway]

scwd with barb and hose fittings. if you are making one of these...home depot has two different kinds of barb2thread fittings. get the kind with large threads!!! haha.

 

[norway]

spray bars. i used locline tubing from my lfs. as you can see i t'ed it so that each time the scwd pushed water to one side it wasnt just spraying out of one opening. i thought about getting complicated with it and running one opening to the other side of the tank and vice versa (spelling?) but it was too much work for not enough gain. simply it would have had a more random spray throughout the entire tank, at all times.

 

[norway]

plumbing in back of stand
the T at the bottom left is there so i can drain the entire system before i open it up at the couplers. a ball valve would be better than the screw cap that i have but i couldnt fit it into the stand. later on i will get around to plumbing this location into my fuge so that i never lose any water at all but this will do for now.

 

[norway]

plumbing inside the canopy......like a glove.

 

[norway]

spray bar in canopy

 

[norway]

during this project make sure to glue and tape the FRICKIN CRAP out of all joints and threads. not doing so will cause microbubbles hell to visit your tank. any joint under water does not need to be glued or taped unless you just want to. ENJOI.
Jared

 

[swnewb]

Nice! Work good?

 

[golfish]

I know you mentioned the black Loc line the other day to me on another thread, and I've even been to and registered at Savko but I just didn't put it together till today.
I just got through ordering all black fittings for the tank. I just wish they had 1.25" fittings in black. I'm going to have to pump up my SS to 1.5"...The price is right too.
Thanks
Mark

 

[gfk]

noob question. what exactly does this do?

 

[norway]

swnewb....works fantastically well.
golfish....glad to help. yeah i got tons of black pvc for very little $, 3/4" is the cheapest. har har.
gfk... it actually does quite a few jobs. 1... it provides great, random, alternating circulation for your tank. 2... it eliminates ugly and room consuming powerheads and in my design it also hides the hardware that is used by blending black with black. 3... it can also be taken out and be used as an intergalactic space modulator, haha.

 

[darthmatt]

Norway,
Keep an eye on those hose clamps. Since they are inside the canopy, they are probably going to get a lot of moisture and splashing. They will rust pretty quickly. I'm sure they were called "stainless steel", and they are, but the screw isn't. I just changed mine out last week, they were a mess. I didn't want to take the chance of rust flaking off into my tank. Just a thought. matt

 

[norway]

yeah, thanks for the input. i work with those a lot on towers and your exactly right. they're pretty cheap so i just bought a bunch of them and plan on replacing them when needed. is there a good alternative???

 

[swnewb]

Originally posted by NORWAY
yeah, thanks for the input. i work with those a lot on towers and your exactly right. they're pretty cheap so i just bought a bunch of them and plan on replacing them when needed. is there a good alternative???
How about plastic zipties? Not sure if they can be tightened enough, but might be worth experimenting.

 

[norway]

i dont think you could get them tight enough. plus where the head is there would be about a 1/16" gap that water could leak. maybe if you put about three and staggered the heads?

 

[norway]

one adjustment to my design guys. i noticed that i didnt update my pictures for the locline. you have to make sure the locline is underwater. not doing so creates a few microbubbles. i think that locline at a low water pressure does not have this problem.

 

[betacrash]

alternative hose clamp.
These are just called plastic hose clamps.

 

[steveoutla]

Norway- A word of caution. I didn't see any purple on your pvc so you either didn't use any primer or are one hell of a marksman with it. If you didn't use it you need to constantly check your joints for leaks. It might not be leaking now but that can change quickly. Just an FYI.