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| Believe it
or not, there are Six separate circulatory systems
operating independently in my reeftank.
I'll try to explain this. Hang on:
CS (Circulatory System)
1
Water exits the tank via two corner overflows,
each equipped with a Durso-type standpipe constructed
of 2" PVC to handle the volume;  ("thanks,
Rich")
estimated to be over 500 gallons an hour. From
there, it flows into a 125 gallon
mess of a sump where it is first filtered of
gross particulate matter by a 16" micron
sock. From there, it may take a side trip to
either the skimmer, UVs, refugium, or 'monitoring
station' (more on this later) before being
returned to the tank by two Iwaki 100 RLTs. The
reason for the two Iwakis becomes evident when
noted that there are actually two return lines
that leave the sump. Each connects to one end
of a PVC 'pipe' that runs the entire
length of the tank at the top. From THIS pipe,
a total of 7 bulkheads have been drilled into
the back of the tank for returns, each bulkhead
accommodating a Y nozzle. This
results in 14 separate and adjustable little "powerjets" that
run the whole length of the tank. I point most
of these nozzles at
each other to create eddies and more chaotic
water flow
around the "sps"
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colonies
but I'll also blast a newly fragged acro
directly to aid in healing. Hopefully,
the accompanying images will make this
much more clear. If you understand all
this without the images, my congratulations.
The rest will be a piece of cake. |
CS 2
Water exits via six (6) intakes drilled through
the floor of the tank (and hidden in the rockwork)
and is sent directly to the chiller(s) which are
in a pump room on the other side of a wall (more
on this later too). It is then pumped back to
the tank through it’s own return pipe and
through 4 bulkheads
which have been drilled along the length of the
tank along the bottom (also hidden behind the
rockwork), by an Iwaki Walchem Model MDM-400.
These bulkheads also terminate in Y split nozzles
creating in effect 8 more separate returns. Hopefully,
this assures water movement into every nook and
cranny (whatever a cranny is) behind the reef
structure. |
CS 3
This is the Wavemaker Loop. Rather than using
conventional powerheads which must protrude into
the tank, my ‘waves’ are made by an
electric actuator unit (George
Fischer-Model EA 20) which is also located behind
the wall because it’s fairly noisy... |
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