Jestersix

starting up my 210 build again

Ski43

Ski43

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ok guys and gals. i'm starting up my 210 build again. at one time this tank was running. never had flow right. so i moved everything to an AGA 90 and decided to start over.
so that said, here's what Ive got to work with.
210 AGA dual overflow 6' x 2' x 30" (with stand and canopy. haven't decided if i'm going to use them or not.)
70 truview sump/fudge ( already has bubble traps put in it. ) still working on this
3 x 400watt 20k SE (i only have 2 laminar mini reflector hoods) wondering if i can get away with just 2 or should i buy another mini
coralife pc, moon led all in one 36" for sump or a 36" t-5 set. haven't decided which way to go on this yet.
about 200lbs live rock of various types (spread across 3 tanks at the moment till i get this thing done )
20 truview (i'm looking to making this a surge tank)
mag 15 pump
mag 7 pump
i have mixed reef corals ( softies, LPS, SPS )
at this stage i'm in the middle of building the sump/fudge.

could use some food for thought on the whole surge tank idea. making it wont be hard. (standard carlson design) just haven't decided how to incorporate this.
should i be having it sweep in one direction across the whole tank, drop through the middle and sweep in two directions.
thanks in advanced for and help and or idea on best practices on how to do this.
 
Have you done the calculations on that surge.
That 20 gallons needs to empty pretty fast, to create a real surge in a 200 gallon tank.
You are probably talking 3", maybe 4" pipe for that beast.
I can just imagine the noise and bubbles. Plus, starting max siphon can occasionally be
problematic on larger pipe.

Given a 6' tank, and how big everything gets, you really might consider doing two.
One half size surge on each end.
Might be some really interesting flow patterns over time, since frequencies will not match.
 
yes i thought of that too one on each side. i forgot to mention that this build in completion will be displayed through a wall with all the noise is the garage. i'm not too worried about the noise. ( yet )
i was considering doing 2 x 5-10gallon surge devices. i was just trying to work with what i already have. i may even just do three. one on each end and one in the middle.
my idea was to use power heads to create current. and use the surge(s) to get that crazy flow. my main concern would be if the overflows could handle the inrush of up to 15 - 30 gallons.
i do agree about needing big pipes to run it. i was considering 2x 5gallon surges with 2 1/ 2" pipe.
if i did 1 surge in the middle, it would branch off from 3 1/2" down to 2" pipe.
what i'm looking to get is the whole wave "crash" motion.

thanks for the extra ideas. i'll definitely have to rethink it a bit. 2x does sound better. thinking i might have enough room for three 5 gallon devices.:)
 
The overflows should not really be an issue.
You need enough distance above water height to handle the surge wave, including occasional peak reflections.
That wave will slosh over the overflow, filling them, but who cares. Tank level just goes up a bit
until they catch up.

The problem with 3 is that it will be rare when they all sync up and create a big wave.

If you really want a crash, use a dump bucket design.
I have heard of people using a dump bucket, into a small separate tank, with large pipes from that to main tank.
Moving the noise, and eliminating some "flushing" effects.
 
I've done 20g surges on 220's using 2" and found the surge to be more then enough. FWIW I used to work for the only computer operated surge company (COSA sysem... Advanced Tidal Systems), our installs started at 1/4 million dollars :)
 
I have 2X250w se fixtures above the same tank.
I put them on a light mover to get the coverage.
Corals seem quite happy.
 
I can attest to his corals being happy and you really don't notice the lights moving.
 
@ Jar, the problem i have with just using 2 lights is that the bracing on this tank splits the tops into thirds. 2x 400 20k should be enough light. i just think the bracing will cause shadows. I've never heard of a light mover. what is that?
@ GreshamH, so you think that i could get away with just a 20 gallon surge? i was kind of hope in so. the tank ( when i acquired it) was already drilled for a sump/fudge. the guy i got it from had it drilled in the back and on one side. so turning that into a surge will be easy.
though i do agree one on each end is better. do you think that a 15 gallon dump about every 3 min would be enough to keep SPS happy? ( because that where i'm having problems now.) i can get everything to grow crazy big and its been hit or miss on those. my thinking was that a surge would keep them happier. the lock-line never quite got the flow right.
@ Rygh i'll have to look up what a dump tank is, and how it works.
thanks guys for all your input. if you have any other suggestions please feel free.
 
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