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View Full Version : water flow options/equipment


crvz
03/23/2006, 10:36 PM
i want to change the flow in my tank over the next few weeks and was hoping for some suggestions on different methods of doing so. I am not sure a closed loop is in the cards (or to be honest, what all the details are for a closed loop, does anyone know of a good link explaining this idea?), but i've just taken out my sand bed and want to make a few hardware changes. My current 58 gallon tank has a number of maxi-jets and a return flow from the sump, but thats it. I would like to eliminate the maxijets entirely and get something of higher quality.

My return pump is a mag-drive 18, which is likely giving me about 900gph after head loss (through a chiller). With that, i was thinking of adding a couple of Seio to run flow across the bare-bottom and then maybe a Tunze Stream pump to supply flow across the midway section of the tank (blowing into the return flow). I currently dont have much in the way of corals in the tank, but hope to add a few various frags (keeping in mind that the flow i'm thinking about in this size tank is potentially extensive). Does anyone have recommendations for these products. And if anyone has experience with both, is the price of the Tunze Stream equipment justified over the Seio brand? I'm tired of buying low quality equipment only to upgrade 6 months later, so if one thing is substantially better than the other i'd much prefer to buy it from the start. Let me know if my inquiries are not clear, i'll be happy to clarify!

hig789
03/24/2006, 12:57 AM
i would recommend 2 seio 1100's, i have 2 820's in my 90 and wish i had 1100's or 1500's. if an 1100 is too much flow then you can dail it down. but if you buy too small of one then you can't do anything about it.

dhnguyen
03/24/2006, 02:28 AM
1. Tunze pumps are great if you get the controllale ones with the controllers - again very expensive

2. Vortech pump - Great flow and ingenious design--Again expensive and you cannot redirect the flow (it can only be mounted against the sides of the tank)

3. SEIO pumps, they're hit or miss. Some people have good experience with them while some wouldn't start from right out of the box. There are numerous reports on RC about SEIO's failing to start after a time. You also cannot use these on wave timers.


4. Another cheaper yet very effective alternative is DIY. Since you're a mechanical engineer by trade, this should be a piece of cake for you. This works much better than the SEIO pumps and you can also use them on wave timers.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=717034

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=790770

Be forewarned, they are very long threads but well worth your time reading.

Here'a little video someone made of his DIY Maxijet-streams
http://photobucket.com/albums/y175/zapata41/?action=view&current=maximod017.flv

Not too shabby for a couple MJ1200's. Believe it or not some people have actually replaced their Tunze pumps with these. :)


D.