how to keep things from getting sucked into the CL intake

[murph145]

ok as the title says how do u keep from having your lil animals sucked into the closed loop intake cone filter
i have a closed loop setup running a Dart 3600gph on my 180 and so far ive lost a banded pipe fish and my skunk cleaner shrimp due to them getting to close and it sucking them onto the bulked screen and the suction would advenutally kill them even though it didnt suck them in
any suggestions or somments?
thanks

 

[ktsdad]

Hey Murph!
I surrounded my intake screen as close as possible with rock.
I did it mainly to hide the intakes, but the fish can't get close enough to get sucked in so it works for both reasons.
Good Luck!

 

[granny]

or put a piece of foam/sponge over it which reduces the suction, filters debris and avoids that problem.

 

[murph145]

hmm i do understand about the foam filter but i dont wanna have to take it off everyday to clean it from build up that will restrict my CL performance
i may try it ill have to see
yeah the rock work does seem like a good idea maybe ill try to do that and see what happens but as of now im outta pipe fish and cleaner shrimp

 

[granny]

The problem is that shrimp can get around and into anything. Unless the rock work blocks the screen intake completely, you cant eliminate the suction-only divert it.
You probably wont have to clean the sponge every day, but at least every few days. Actually now that I think of it, there is stiff prefilter material that is used in overflows that allows a little more water flow and wouldnt need cleaning so often. The intake suction would probably hold itin place.

 

[murph145]

hey do u think it would work if somehow i could mount a piece of PVC or some kind of make shift cage that would be larger than the intake screen ... cuz the further away from the bulkhead hole u get the less the suction would be... u know what i mean??
see the intake screen is small and cone shaped like a normal one... lets say i make one that is bigger and that way the suction would be spread about more openings in more water decreasing the surface suction ...
hmmm i dont know how to explain it well but i think i know what im talkin about lol

 

[bigb]

like this?

 

[dogstar]

Yes a larger strainer should reduce the force. You could put a T or a Y fitting at the bulkhead and use 2 strainers and that would reduce each one by half.

 

[murph145]

yeah very cool thanks big b where did u find that email me if possible
murph145"at"aol.com
and dogstar if i dont use that i think what u mentioned would be a great idea too!
thanks for the help!