How to set up flow in 90 gl. tank

revrick3

revrick3

Member
New 90 gl. going through cycle with no life put in yet, listening to you guys and goins slow with cycle and stable tank. It is set up with 360 Marineland cannister filter, AquaC REmora Skimmer, Skimmer is set on left side of tank and canister intake in center at bottom in back with cannister outflow on right side of tank pointing toward front glass, looking at it from the front. I have 2 Koralina powerheads a #1 and #3. One on left side about 10 inches from back wall pointing across length of thank. The other on right side near top and rear pointing toward live rock on back wall. My question is how do you determine directions of flow. I have plenty of flow in tank with all of this, about 2800 GPR total flow. How do you guys set up the flow pattern? Thanks I am learning so much,
 
aquaguy24

aquaguy24

Active Member
i set up my powerheads on opposite sides blowing at eachother..this creates a nice wave effect for me..u can also point them at the surface to get more surface aggitation..or u can point them at the glass so water bounces off the glass which also creates a nice wave effect...its totally up to u and ur preference..i have 90g aswell with 3580gph turnover rate not counting my protein skimmer pump...
 
sly

sly

Active Member
I have my power heads blow against the rock. This disperses the flow and creates random eddies in the system. Basically, look at the particles floating in the water. You want to see a gentle, random movement. If you see an area where there is no movement, then add a small power head to that spot.
Another thing to consider to increase your water movement is adding a spray bar. I added a spray bar to mine and it creates a gentle downward current across the whole tank. Then I use some power heads to add some randomness.
 
sly

sly

Active Member
My spray bar is a 1" PVC pipe that is capped at one end and has a threaded fitting on the other. I drilled 1/4" holes all the way across the pipe with about 1" between each hole.
I removed the return tube where the water comes out by unscrewing it and I screwed the spray bar in its place. I wrapped the threaded end of the spray bar with teflon tape to seal it up and I rotated it until the holes faced downward. It's pretty simple really. It's just a PVC line with holes in it to direct the water flow more evenly across the tank...
 
keebler

keebler

Member
Originally Posted by Sly
http:///forum/post/2771147
My spray bar is a 1" PVC pipe that is capped at one end and has a threaded fitting on the other. I drilled 1/4" holes all the way across the pipe with about 1" between each hole.
I removed the return tube where the water comes out by unscrewing it and I screwed the spray bar in its place. I wrapped the threaded end of the spray bar with teflon tape to seal it up and I rotated it until the holes faced downward. It's pretty simple really. It's just a PVC line with holes in it to direct the water flow more evenly across the tank...
I am thinking of doing this, how big was the tank and how much was the gph of the return pump? How high do you put it up? can you see the spray bar or does it sit above the water line?
 
floridacatfish

floridacatfish

Member
Cool ... Sounds like another trip to Home Depot for more PVC. After this and fixing up the plumbing under the tank and building a Durso Standpipe, I'll have a PVC shop in my garage.
Now I just need to figure out how to make it black so it blends into the background. Hmmm.
 
revrick3

revrick3

Member
Okay guys, I am a newbie, I can grasp the pvc idea and also want to know do you put it at top or bottom of tank or does it matter, could I put it on bottom behind rock to get flow there? How can you get it black also is good question. Another is I have a cannister filter under cabinet with power heads and HOB skimmer, Do I need a separate pump for this or can I connect it to the return of my cannister filter? If I use separate pump how would I set it up. I dont have a sump? Thanks great idea.
 
sly

sly

Active Member
Originally Posted by revrick3
http:///forum/post/2771291
Okay guys, I am a newbie, I can grasp the pvc idea and also want to know do you put it at top or bottom of tank or does it matter, could I put it on bottom behind rock to get flow there? How can you get it black also is good question. Another is I have a cannister filter under cabinet with power heads and HOB skimmer, Do I need a separate pump for this or can I connect it to the return of my cannister filter? If I use separate pump how would I set it up. I dont have a sump? Thanks great idea.
A spray bar replaces your return nozzle. You just take it off and replace it with a PVC pipe with holes drilled in it. In other words, it hooks directly up to your main system pump. You can mount them anywhere you like. I have mine mounted at the top of the tank, directing water downward. You can mount them across the bottom but you need to make sure they don't clog up with sand or whatever... You don't want things falling down in the holes to clog them up.
If you want black then you can use ABS tubing rather than PVC. ABS is cheaper and will work just as good as PVC.
 
grue

grue

Member
On my setup I put a y with 2 eductors. One blowing across the back, the other twords the front of the tank. I also have 2 korilla 4. They used to be pointed at each other. They are halfway down the tank at a 45 deg up. Problem with that was it kept blowing all the sand out of the middle of the tank. Where the 2 streams of water came down they created a fricken nice down draft in the middle of the tank. Was way cool to watch at feeding times. Or watch a piece of alge or air bubble get caught and forced down then up and sometimes stuck in the middle of the water columb. I changed it and they now are still at a 45 halfway down on opposing ends but now they blow to the back accross the live rock. I am noticing that they still force the sand out but I am cool with the flow ensuring nothing gets stuck behind the rocks. Good luck.
Grue
 
floridacatfish

floridacatfish

Member
I did find some black pvc online. Will have to look up ABS tubing & where to get it. But the pvc online is easy & cheap, and I don't have to run out.
 
revrick3

revrick3

Member
Thanks guys, this is starting to make sense. it will spread out the flow instead of one return across the surface you can branch into a couple. One question though, what is an eductor? not sure what that is. Also what size pvc is best to use? and what size holes to drill? Thanks Rick
 
revrick3

revrick3

Member
where did you find black pvc online, is it safe for aquarium and do you use standard glue for joints? Thanks
 
sly

sly

Active Member
My return nozzle going into the tank had a 1" s-crew on fitting and so I used 1" PVC.I glued a cap onto the end of my PVC and then I measured the tank. I cut the PVC to a little bit narrower than my tank. Then I glued the s-crew on fitting to the other end of the PVC and wrapped it with teflon... So basically the spray bar is nothing more than a 1" PVC line with a cap on one end and a fitting on the other to s-crew it into my tank's return line.
I drilled 3/8" holes evenly across the whole pipe. Here is a picture of part of my spray bar. I drilled one hole on the side to both show me that there was water flow and to break the siphon if the main pump should turn off. The clowns love to snuggle in that corner as they think the bar is their anemone...
 
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