Rob A

That's how we got all of our cats, lol. They just show up.

Here is what happens when you accidently dose a whole liter of vodka into 270 gallons worth of water after making a mistake with your apex programming... everything died. Here is the "before" pic

Time to start stacking rock. My live rock that is in the holding tank is going to go in the sump for awhile and I'm going to start over with dead rock in the display.I have about 130 lbs picked out so far on the table. The stuff on the far left came from the National Aquarium - I won it in an auction at a WAMAS meet. Then I have another 100+ lbs of smaller pieces. I'm aiming for 150 lbs minimum. Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

The pump is the Reeflo Dart hybrid but I'm not sure which impeller it has (2,500 or 3,500 GPH) since I bought it used. I wrote to Reflo to see if they could tell me what the 2 different impeller dimensions are but they never wrote back. I had actually intended to run the 1-1/2" line closer to the tank but I figured that first I would stop it just past the manifold and see what I got then if it wasn't enough i would run it farther. I would have to move the tank away from the wall to repipe the back of it and since the flow was okay I decided not to. I thought about trying to do a flow test with all 4 manifold valves open at the same time, just for fun, but right now that just sounds hard. I was getting tired of buying and then having to cut out fittings and valves so the ones installed on my manifold are threaded (so they can be reused if i have to redo the piping again) which means they probably have even less flow than the socket style valves. The threaded adapters seem a little narrower inside compared to the pipe but I didn't actually measure it. In other news I got my Apex out of the box where it has been sitting for the last two-and-a-half months and the display wouldn't work but after fiddling with it for the last two days ir finally started working.

Flow rates are in. The tests were conducted by shoving a 5 gal bucket under the flowing water and hitting the stopwatch button. The flow to the display tank was measured at the return lines after the water level had remained steady for a few minutes. The first test (a few days ago with all 1 inch piping) yielded 850 gph at the tank with manifold valves all shut, or if I closed the line to the tank then I could get 1,300 gph at the manifold. That was with only one of the manifold valves open. If I tired to open one manifold and the tank valve at the same time there wasn't enough water going to the tank to make it flow properly so I didn't try measuring it. I didn't try opening multiple manifold valves as the system had already failed to provide enough flow. Now, with 1-1/2" lines running to just past the manifold I can get 923 GPH at the tank AND 1,176 GPH out of the manifold at the same time, for a combined approx output of 2,100 GPH. I don't know what I would get with more manifold valves open, so that measurement is with the flow coming through a single 1-1/2" x 1" Tee. I guess it would be useful to see what comes out at the manifold with the tank valve closed to compare that with the very first test but the flow must max out at some point so that info might not be useful. I'll try it though. I hope this makes sense...here is a picture

Okay, no problem.

I've reconfigured the pump output and manifold to be 1-1/2". Flow test pending. I only have the one bent pipe installed but it has 2 bends, which does away with the 3 45s I would have had to use. Here is a jig where I practiced the main bend coming off the pump Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

I made this a couple years ago for a return for a frag tank that I didn't want to drill. I burned a little spot on it with the heat gun.... I did't have the bending springs so I filled it with sand and built a form to bend it around. The frag tank is no longer set up but this pump and pipe rig is still in use, running my holding tubs. This was the config (drain line not shown) Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

Me too! Taking the 1-1/2" to 1" reducer off the pump will probably make a big difference. I'd like to do flow tests with the pipes set up in a few different configs, like using elbows vs using bent pipe. I'm also going to reconfigure the return lines on the back of the tank (lot of elbows there now) but maybe they would be fine now that I'm enlarging the pump outlet piping. I'd like to test multiple configs there as well but time and money are at stake. We'll see how I feel over the next few days. Now that I think about it...Since I really only need 750 gph or better at the tank and I had 850 maybe that piping behind the tank is fine. I just couldn't open any lines on the manifold without it dropping the tank flow below the 750. Upping the line size to the manifold might solve that problem. If I do that AND improve the piping to the back of the tank too much then the flow to the tank will just have to be throttled back, which is already kind of being done by all the elbows back there. Thanks, yes I used a heat gun to make it soft before bending. Based on what I can find online, supposedly the deadly part ( chlorine ) in the PVC will only be released by combustion, like if the PVC is actually on fire. I didn't notice any fumes from using the heat gun but I suppose other fumes could still be released. I have heated it in the garage and also on the back porch but it's probably best to keep the garage doors open when inside. Plus if it accidentally did start on fire you would want to escape to clean air. I have to open the garage doors when cementing the PVC because that stuff stinks!

Haven't finished re-piping yet. I hope to have it done by the weekend and will post the new flow numbers.

A new manifold, now with 1-1/2" x 1" Tees. I could have bought a few nice fish with the $$ I've spent on all this pvc... Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

I received my spring benders. Here is the first bent piece. A 5" inch offset in 1-1/2" pipe

I don't know how soon you need it but if you can get it to Stafford and leave it with me I will look at it. I'm an HVAC tech but I've been reluctant to reply to this thread because I recently moved (locally) and I'm up to my eyeballs in work so I didn't want to make any promises...but if you think you can leave it here for a week or two I can fit it in. I can leak check, braze any cracks/leaks and recharge for free. There is the possibility that it doesn't have a leak and that the compressor is just worn out. They have reed valves that can get weak/leaky. So if it needed something like that then you'd have to decide if you want to buy a compressor but I wouldn't charge to replace it.

If you cut the fins down the chances of it remaining balanced are pretty slim which means it could have some crazy vibration. Also the motor will ramp up to a higher RPM which may or may not cause some issue with the unit, premature wear, more likely to seize up, etc. Can you wrap the intake area with some filter foam or needlepoint screen? That would slow down the flow.

The items in your tank might just be consuming the nitrate, making it hard to get a reading higher than you are getting.

Okay, it's about to get weird up in here. I've ordered some spring benders from pipe Viper and I'm going to do some hot bending to get rid of some elbows. I don't know if it will make a ton of difference but we'll see. http://www.thepipeviper.com

I plan on making it 1-1/2 from the pump to possibly the point where the line splits to go to the two tank returns. I don't know why I made it 1 inch...I was replacing the coupling and check valve fitting left behind by the previous owner and didn't think for myself, I just copied the part he had screwed into the pump which was 1-1/2" to 1" reducer.

It's fine for the display and similar to the flow rate I had on my 220 - about 5 times turnover - but I need to have some reserve capacity because I also want to run water through a frag tank and have water available for reactors and whatnot. Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

I did a couple of flow tests and they were pretty pitiful. With everything wide open to the tank there's about 850 GPH going to the tank. If I close off the line to the tank and just run it straight to the sump I get about 1,300 GPH. I have the Reeflow Dart / Snapper pump which is a 2,500 - 3,500 GPH depending on which impeller is in it. I assume it must have the 2,500 GPH impeller in it but I don't know for sure because I bought it used. So, I'm going to check with Reeflow to see if they can help me figure out which impeller I have and if I have the small one I'll order the bigger one to try out. I'm also going to redo some of the piping to see if I can increase the flow rates.

Thanks! I just trimmed the line where it enters the sump and it works great!

Thanks!! So far the leak test has been mostly successful. I had to cut out one joint near the pump and redo it. The pump had a small leak in the case joint but that has stopped... I'm going to order a seal kit for it anyway. Now that I have the system idling I realize I should not have reduced the pump output from 1-1/2 to 1, I was just copying what the previous owner of the pump had done without thimking. I should have left it at 1-1/2 all the way passed the multi valve manifold. I'd also like to get rid of some elbows as well. Maybe some flex pvc is the answer. The red handled valve will feed a frag tank that I want to set up over top of the pump area.

Yes! The main siphon is the top line closest to the wall, with the secondary siphon just under it. The longer drain line is the overflow. I did have a problem after a power loss test...the siphon wouldn't restart. It was vapor locked. Based on what i read online I either need to lower the main siphon piece in the overflow or trim a bit off the drain line that is in the sump (or both) and someone else suggested drilling a vent hole in the drain pipe just above the water line. I'm also open to other suggestions.

Flow test in progress... Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

"Gluing" the baffles in the sump. All the water lines will run through that hole in the wall on the far left. The outlets with the yellow wire are 2 separate dedicated circuits, plus there is one on the display side of the wall. Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

Thanks for that onfo! I'll give it a try. Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk