Hi Folks,
So this is basically a duplicate from an entry in my river tank journal, but I figure I will get more responses here. I'm looking for input/pro's/con's and other suggestions on how to best create a river like flow in my project tank, a 265 gallon, 7' long tank. The design is going to come down to this plan, or an overflow that i am going to be working on sketching out this afternoon. I have rejected an internal river manifold setup because, after looking around at powerheads, I won't be able to achieve the flow i need in this size of a tank. There is just too much water for that kind of setup.
So with that in mind, for your consideration, here is plan one!
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So this is some "high tech" graphics work in Microsoft Paint, so don't hold it against me. lol. What we are looking at here is the top down view on top, and then the side view below it.
The red baffle that would run most of the length, and the entire height. I didn't fill it in with solid color on the lower pic, but imagine that's an acrylic wall (or other material).
The green dotted lines on either end of the baffle would be either single or double lighting egg crate from Lowes/Home Depot. This would be for two reasons....first, to keep fish and most stuff out of the baffle area. 2nd is to help straighten the flow, so its more even. This is similar to how they control air in a wind tunnel.
I would like to put in 2 corner pieces (brown/tan) to sort of shape the flow and encourage the water turn a little bit. Maybe not necessary, but I think it will help efficiency.
The blue-gray pieces are a stand I would create to mount a pair of pumps. For pumps, in this plan, I am thinking about a pair of the Jaebo DCT series that have the speed controller. Then I would scheme up some nozzles to spread out the flow a bit, and send it down the backside of the baffle. Additionally (not pictured) I would use this space to hang the intake and outlet of a canister filter (or two).
Pro's:
Con's
Discussion Points
So what do you think? Do the pro's outweigh the cons? I'll post back here later this afternoon with the overflow design thats rattling around in my brain.
Here's a link back to the build thread: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/1168201-mackinaw-river-tank-265-gal.html
So this is basically a duplicate from an entry in my river tank journal, but I figure I will get more responses here. I'm looking for input/pro's/con's and other suggestions on how to best create a river like flow in my project tank, a 265 gallon, 7' long tank. The design is going to come down to this plan, or an overflow that i am going to be working on sketching out this afternoon. I have rejected an internal river manifold setup because, after looking around at powerheads, I won't be able to achieve the flow i need in this size of a tank. There is just too much water for that kind of setup.
So with that in mind, for your consideration, here is plan one!
--------------------------------------------
So this is some "high tech" graphics work in Microsoft Paint, so don't hold it against me. lol. What we are looking at here is the top down view on top, and then the side view below it.
The red baffle that would run most of the length, and the entire height. I didn't fill it in with solid color on the lower pic, but imagine that's an acrylic wall (or other material).
The green dotted lines on either end of the baffle would be either single or double lighting egg crate from Lowes/Home Depot. This would be for two reasons....first, to keep fish and most stuff out of the baffle area. 2nd is to help straighten the flow, so its more even. This is similar to how they control air in a wind tunnel.
I would like to put in 2 corner pieces (brown/tan) to sort of shape the flow and encourage the water turn a little bit. Maybe not necessary, but I think it will help efficiency.
The blue-gray pieces are a stand I would create to mount a pair of pumps. For pumps, in this plan, I am thinking about a pair of the Jaebo DCT series that have the speed controller. Then I would scheme up some nozzles to spread out the flow a bit, and send it down the backside of the baffle. Additionally (not pictured) I would use this space to hang the intake and outlet of a canister filter (or two).
Pro's:
- Safer than an overflow system in terms of leaks and power loss.
- Simpler to build
- No tank drilling required
- No sump (extra cost of a ~90 gallon tank) required, so more space available for storage in the stand. I have found this to be surprisingly important.
- Variable flow for seasonal changes
- No powerheads or pumps visible
Con's
- Baffle area eats up real estate
- I can't contour the rocks and gravel higher on one side, creating a pool on the other, as it would implead the flow.
- Potential for fish/gunk to hide and/or decay behind the baffle.
Discussion Points
- What am I missing? Surely there are some other con's with this plan!
- Right now the river is at its seasonal low flow, of around 250 cfs at a specific measurement point. How do i go about converting that to a lower end of flow rate through the tank, and then adapt that to an appropriately sided pump? https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?p...gif_mult_sites
- Because there is such a discrepancy between the size of the baffled area and the display portion, would i need to consider one or multiple recirc pumps along the right side of the tank? Or just running water at a higher velocity through the narrower section would be sufficient?
So what do you think? Do the pro's outweigh the cons? I'll post back here later this afternoon with the overflow design thats rattling around in my brain.
Here's a link back to the build thread: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/1168201-mackinaw-river-tank-265-gal.html