Flow reduction is by all means not the only reason to have one. The main benefit of a spray bar is to distribute the flow evenly over a larger area to avoid dead spots where junk might settle (flow reduction is a side effect of this). That was my main objective with the spraybar on my FX5. To spread the flow out for more efficient filtering, and it was a trial and error to get the wholes sized right to avoid mounding of my sand.
DIY FX5 Spraybar
- Thread starter 08trdoffroad
- Start date
I made a spray bar for my 75 gal with tht FX5 it pushed all my sand to the back of my tank. My spray bar is about 40" long. I may have to make the holes bigger.
Nice job! I like it. Is it OK with noise & turbulence?
Maybe I should try that style, too. My sad DIY attempt created too much turbulence for high flow, so I redid it a few times. I ended up drilling many rows of 1/4" holes in an open-ended 1" PVC pipe. The 12" length seemed to do the trick. Shorter lengths didn't slow the water enough for the little fishies. It makes good circulation without turbulence, but mine is not a pretty sight.
Maybe I should try that style, too. My sad DIY attempt created too much turbulence for high flow, so I redid it a few times. I ended up drilling many rows of 1/4" holes in an open-ended 1" PVC pipe. The 12" length seemed to do the trick. Shorter lengths didn't slow the water enough for the little fishies. It makes good circulation without turbulence, but mine is not a pretty sight.
Nice job!! Im thinking about making a spraybar as well but I have a question for you. You said:
I also have a 90 gallon tank and I need a way to get feces off of the sand without adding powerhead(s) etc. I only see forward facing holes in your spraybar. So youre able to get the feces off of the sand just by the spraybar water hitting the front of the tank and traveling down the front glass?
08trdoffroad;3857606; said:Just wanted to update. After I added sand back into my tank, the flow was mounding up the sand and making bare spots. So....I made a spray bar 36" long and drilled 5/16" holes. Flow is nice and gentle and spread out well across the whole length of my 90 g. No waste sitting anywhere on top of the sand either!
I also have a 90 gallon tank and I need a way to get feces off of the sand without adding powerhead(s) etc. I only see forward facing holes in your spraybar. So youre able to get the feces off of the sand just by the spraybar water hitting the front of the tank and traveling down the front glass?
Yes I am able to get the feces off the sand most of the time with just the forward facing holes. The water flow rolls down the front of the tank, across the sand, lifting the debri with it, and up the back and rolls it in a circular motion in the water column until it is collected by the filter intake. However, occassionally after my fish mound up the sand I get low spots where the debri will settle, I just level out the sand again and those problem areas disappear again until my fish mound the sand up again. The debri will be removed from the sand and tumble in the water column until picked up by the intake, this can take quite a while to happen so I wanted to speed up the process so I use a 405 positioned in the opposite corner of the FX5 intake with the output at a 45 degree angle to the side and back panels spraying towards the center/opposite end for overkill filtration and water movement to accomplish this. You may be able to drill a couple holes in the end cap to accomplish the same thing.236LittleRiver;4859652; said:
What would the point have been to purchase such a large filter if I was going to throttle its performance/output back with the aqua stop valves?Jgray152;4860727; said:
It would have been pointless to spend the money if I were to choke the flow with the valves, I should have just bought a smaller filter if I was going to go about it that way. By building the spraybar I can still experience the full filtering potential of the filter without punishing my fish with the flow from the stock output nozzles. Which is a WIN/WIN!
I think I now know what you meant in this post..... You wanted to slow the exiting water velocity down..... I first thought you meant slow the flow rate down
You should do a flow test in a bucket without the bar and with to see if you have restricted the flow. I know the velocity may be down but its spread out too so you might not see the reduced flow at all if any
Exactly, I wanted the full flow of the filter, but not at the velocity/pressure it came out of the stock output nozzles.Jgray152;4860759; said:
I will have to experiment with that. I will do it when I do my next water change.
