Diy 330 gallon project

[wednesday13]

kinda surprised no one mentions using a powerhead/water pump in addition to air for their moving beds... i run 2.2 cu.ft. of k1 in a stadard 55 gallon tank and it is powered 90% by a reg 600gph submersible pump. i use 1" airstones in the corners to keep it spinning in a circular direction and it turned over very well from the start seeded or not. Since u guys are using barrels id think u wouldnt need much of a pump/powerhead to make a k1 "tornado" lol... directions of ur intake/outakes can help the boil/spin also.

 

[millerkid519]

kinda surprised no one mentions using a powerhead/water pump in addition to air for their moving beds... i run 2.2 cu.ft. of k1 in a stadard 55 gallon tank and it is powered 90% by a reg 600gph submersible pump. i use 1" airstones in the corners to keep it spinning in a circular direction and it turned over very well from the start seeded or not. Since u guys are using barrels id think u wouldnt need much of a pump/powerhead to make a k1 "tornado" lol... directions of ur intake/outakes can help the boil/spin also.

Yes it would for sure lol. I have heard of people doing this but how do you keep the k1 from sticking to the inlet of the pump? I used to use a powerhead to help circulate the k1 in my old sump but it always stuck to the inlet or got stuck in the mount and ended up in a huge ball of k1

 

[wednesday13]

not the best pic @millerkid519, but my pump is behind eggcrate/poly with drilled holes/divider with just the tip of a hose coming through into the media chamber. i see ur point of the media collecting on a powerhead in a barrel now tho lol...didnt think that through. id guess a piece of poly/acrylic could be rigged up as a shield somehow to prevent clogging. or maybe place the pump on the bottom of the barrel with a straight pipe and elbow coming up mid or surface level. since the k1 floats it would keep clear. my bed spins more that it boils but the media is turned over very well.

 

[rke]

I've seen a few different setups and in my plans I'm having k1 in it own barrel separate from the main pump going back up to the tank my inlets are cut in to long cuts to allow less k1 to get stuck to it as it funnels into the main pump barrel! The main pump barrel is setup with small to medium size holes from the bottom being the smallest the middle being medium and the sides being the biggest drilled holes this should in theory provide a separation and allow a decent drip system over the sponges and filter flouse. Meaning I'll have a k1 media and a wet dry filter all in 2 different barrels. Then I have anot her barrel for a power outage overflow that will help if more of the tank drains then I prefer during a power outage. This will work great in my opinion and should be a care free system not needing cleaned other then the flause.

 

[millerkid519]

I like how you hooked the sumps together most people do it out the sides but I like how you did it out the front panel.
I have to redesign my 125 sump I might pm you for some ideas
I have a sketch somewhere

 

[rke]

So does anyone know if it's a bad thing to use 90° elbows on your return to the tank? I just watched a youtube video and some guy said it's a bad idea and will definitely slow down your flow!!! It doesn't seem like it would slow much if any to me considering your always going to have to do a 90° on your tank anyways. I just want someone who knows if it will slow down my flow 2 much to use 3-4 90s on my return??????

 

[Niners4952]

Every bend will restrict it some, but usually you have no choice. If you can't achieve your flow rate then you would just need a bigger pump or go up in pipe size

 

[davenmandy]

Nice setup Wednesday

 

[wednesday13]

Nice setup Wednesday

much appreciated, thanks guys! just use what i have on hand, but one of my favorite/nicest filters in house. the right side holds 4 8"x32" socks it runs through before the reactor... tank is a standard 300g i bred rays in with a 25g pup tank chained in via overflow, hence the kinda overkill filtration for tank size lol...u can make out a wee sized marble to the right of the grey sump ... @millerkid519, the position of those connecting pipes helps to turn the bed over in a cirular motion, the pump further assists it in the direction it already wants to go. happy accident tho haha... i had no room to put those holes anywhere else.

 

[rke]

Got all my pvc glued and ready just waiting on my 1" reinforced pvc hose I ordered then I can start the water tests! I'm excited everything went together smoothly hope I don't have any issues with anything ! What you guys think ?