DIY closed loop circuit with Calfo-style return manifold ...

[20 20]

I've got a AGA 125 gallon that I'm setting up as a reef, I bought a cheap glass drill bit on eBay (about $9, including shipping), drilled two 1.5" holes, plumbed them together to the input to a Barracuda pump, and have the output going to a Calfo-style output manifold over the tank, works great. I'm using 10 loc-line nozzles as the output of the manifold. Thought I'd give people a look...

Diagram of the CL circuit (doesn't show the separate overflow/sump/fuge circuit):

The back of the tank, after drilling, and painting black:

Plumbing in the back (you can't see the pump, it's in the lower left hand corner):

The return manifold:

The manifold, on the tank:

'Running' pics (no, that's not my final aquascaping! .

With flash:

Without flash:

The only trouble I had with this is that the Barracude is a bit too powerful, it was blowing my substrate around a lot. So I just restricted the output with the ball valve. Per the manufacturer, that won't hurt the pump, and will actually save electricty. If I had to do it again, I'd get the Reeflo Dart, a 3600 gph pump, rather than the Barracuda, a 4500 gph pump.

 

[Hara]

You did a FANTASTIC job..thanks for sharing.

 

[steve r]

pretty slick!

steve r

 

[melosu58]

That was very informative and great Job. I`m impressed.

 

[Speakerman]

Sweet that's the same tank that I have. Where did you buy those overflows? or did the come with the tank. I was just going to build some overflows out of acrylic but I'd rather buy them for looks/strenth/reliability.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Wow...very, very nice!

 

[20 20]

Thanks, everyone. I had never done anything like this before, did a bunch of reading, and gave it a shot. I'm happy with the way it came out. The overflows came with the tank, it's a standard reef-ready All-Glass 125 gallon aquarium. If I ever do this again, I think I'll get a non-reef ready tank, and drill my own Calfo-style overflow. Here's a thread showing an internal overflow:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=473152&highlight=horizontal+overflow

Here's a thread showing an external overflow, takes up NO space in the tank:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=444094

 

[ellisz]

Drilling your own holes is scary to me A local guy did the Calfo style CL design. He likes it as well.

 

[krap101]

wouldn't the lights get damaged from the splash/evaporation?

 

[20 20]

There isn't really any splash from the closed loop, so that's not that big of a concern. T5HO lights are usually placed 4 to 6 inches over the water surface, so yeah, 'normal' splash is a concern. That's why I bought the waterproof endcaps, to help with that. Some people run them bare over the water like I am, some use a shield of some sort. I had considered putting in a clear acrylic shield, but decided against it for now. I just need to wipe down the bulbs and reflectors periodically.

 

[afishyonados]

Simply beautiful.

 

[afilter]

Thanks for sharing.

I am considering a closed loop for my system to get the 2 PHs out of the tank. I am not planning to drill since my tank is established and just doing 1 input and 2-3 HOB outputs. It looks like you have 9 outputs do you find a reduce flow with only one feed line and being in serries?

 

[20 20]

There are actually 10 output nozzles, each end has one, one of them doesn't really show up in the pictures. As far as output for each nozzle, you need to design the system based upon how much flow you want, and what type of pump you use. I'm using the Barracuda pump, which puts out 4500 gph. But it's a non-pressure rated pump, meaning that it's good a pushing a lot of water, if there isn't a lot of restriction. That's why I used large 1.5" PVC thoughout the return, it doesn't restrict the flow much at all. With the ten 3/4" nozzles, I'm probably getting a total of 3800 - 4000 gph. If you use a pressure rated pump you could probably get away with a smaller diameter pipe (but I'm not an expert, remember! ). The fact that the manifold is totally closed keeps the pressure fairly even throughout the whole thing. With a manifold, you don't get a couple of very strong linear water streams, but more of an even strength flow throughout the whole tank, which from what I've read is the best way to set up the flow. And with the nozzles from the front colliding with the nozzles from the back, the flow is quite random, also.

 

[MT79]

Better to have too much flow than too little. A few good size coral colonies can really block a lot of water.
Looks great and I bet it works even better. Very nice work!