???? OceansMotion 4 Way Set Up

[Tacticalbaton]

I presently have a 120 Gal 24" X 24" 48" set up and my intent is to strip it down and add a OceansMotion 4 Way. The pump I am using for the closed loop is rated at 793 GPH. Is this pump adequate? Also I'm looking for a design that would fit into doing everything from the rear of the tank. I will consider going into the sides if I have to. Looking for placement of the holes to be drilled and pipe placement for exhaust. Can't come up from the bottom as that the glass is tempered. Overflow for the sump/filter is on the left hand corner! I have already asked this question at OceansMotion but they don't seem to be answering the posts these days.

[kgross]

First I will say for a 120 gallon tank a 793 gph closed loop is way to small. I would suggest something in the 1500+ range, even better 2500+, depending on which drum you run.

On location of the holes. You can do it all through the back if you want to. Put your closed loop intake around the center of the tank, about 1/4 of the way down from the top, then for your strainer do an elbow pointing down with a large strainer off the elbow. For the outlets, you can put them anyplace you want. For safety, I would do 2 in the top corners of the back (one next to overflow, one in the corner), then do some lockline on these so you can direct them where you want once the rock is in the tank. Then for the other 2 outlets, go about 1/4 of the way down, then on the inside pipe them down close to the bottom of the tank, then have locline coming partway through the rocks. You could drill these down lower, but I like to keep the holes as close to the top of possible, less chance of leaks, plus if something major goes wrong, you will only drain about 1/4 of the tank not the whole tank.

Kim

[Tacticalbaton]

First I will say for a 120 gallon tank a 793 gph closed loop is way to small. I would suggest something in the 1500+ range, even better 2500+, depending on which drum you run.

On location of the holes. You can do it all through the back if you want to. Put your closed loop intake around the center of the tank, about 1/4 of the way down from the top, then for your strainer do an elbow pointing down with a large strainer off the elbow. For the outlets, you can put them anyplace you want. For safety, I would do 2 in the top corners of the back (one next to overflow, one in the corner), then do some lockline on these so you can direct them where you want once the rock is in the tank. Then for the other 2 outlets, go about 1/4 of the way down, then on the inside pipe them down close to the bottom of the tank, then have locline coming partway through the rocks. You could drill these down lower, but I like to keep the holes as close to the top of possible, less chance of leaks, plus if something major goes wrong, you will only drain about 1/4 of the tank not the whole tank.

Kim

Kim....The two returns that I bring down the back on the inside.... is there any advantage to running them down to the bottom...across to the front under the sub-straight... and venting them out towards the back but at a 45% angle up wards?

Gord:rollface:

[kgross]

Kim....The two returns that I bring down the back on the inside.... is there any advantage to running them down to the bottom...across to the front under the sub-straight... and venting them out towards the back but at a 45% angle up wards?


Good question. That can work very well, but I like having them blow out of the rocks to keep any detritus out from the bottom of the rock structure. But going out to the front will give more water movement on the face of the rocks for the corals, so if you are running a small pump, out front would be much better, but if you have a good sized pump, I think in the rocks is a better place for the outlet.

Kim

[Tacticalbaton]

Good question. That can work very well, but I like having them blow out of the rocks to keep any detritus out from the bottom of the rock structure. But going out to the front will give more water movement on the face of the rocks for the corals, so if you are running a small pump, out front would be much better, but if you have a good sized pump, I think in the rocks is a better place for the outlet.

Kim

I will be taking your advice and bumping up the pump to around 2000 GPH! I just happen to have a new 789 GPH on hand that's why I thought I would ask. Not meaning to be a pain but would there be any advantage moving up from a 4 way to an 8 way Oceansmotion. Rather spend the extra $100 then by a new 4 way at a later date. Also what configuration of barrel would be best for this system and lay out?

Thanks Gord:fish2:

[kgross]

Great questions. The 8 way will allow more outlets, but not really more flow, a second 4 way will allow double the flow, So if you think you might upgrade in the future, I would say get a second 4 way and another pump rather than just the 8 way.

With that said, the 8 way is better, since you have twice as many outlets, you could setup the tank, with 4 outlets on the back, 2 on the sides and 2 on the front ( allowing you to keep the outlets as unobtrusive as possible, but again it comes down to total flow. With 8 outlets off of an 8 way, you get more directional changes, than 8 outlets off of a 4 way, which might or might not make a noticeable difference in your tank, it really depends on the actual setup. Most of the time, I would say put the extra $100, into a larger pump and go with the large 4 way. IE move up to something like a Dart 3600 gph, and get the 4 way with the 1.5 inch inlet and outlet, and run a either version 2 or 3 drum so you have 2 outlets open at a time. If you go this route, depending on how far the OM is from the pump, I would suggest running 2 inch from the pump to the OM, so you have the least amount of friction loss.

Now with a 2000 gph pump, I would still suggest going with either drum 2 or 3. You can accomplish the pretty close to the exact same thing with either drum, just by changing which outlet is connected to which nozzle in the tank.

I hope this helps...

[Tacticalbaton]

.I hope this helps...

Kim I can not thank you enough for all your help. Now I feel that I can go make this mod with a lot more confidence........Cheers!

Gord

P.S. Have a great Christmas and an awsome New Year!

[kgross]

Glad to be of help.

Have a Merry Christmas yourself.

Kim