Sea Swirl size and pump size questions

[Eddie G]

I read the thread on sea swirls:
Sea Swirl Elbows.
[ Goto page: 1, 2 ] 31 IcantTHINKofONE 401 05 Sep 2002 14:39
M.E.Milz

A few of you purchased the 1" sea swirls. What would be the best pump to use with a sea swirl? About how many gal per hour can a 1" and 3/4" sea swirl handle. I have a 72" by 24" by 24" acrylic tank. With the stand it is about 4 1/2' high. I have an Iwaki 55 rlt running my filter. I just hooked up a silent one pump for added circulation. I was thinking about trying 1 seas swirl. If I like it I can always add another one. I could hook it up to the silent one pump for now. I also have a Sen 900G pump that I never used. I could maybe try that to see if it is more powerful then the silent one for now. I think my silent one only pumps about 500 or 600 gals per hour at my height.

Do any of you run both sea swirls off of just 1 pump. I was thinking that maybe later I could buy another Iwaki 55rlt or some other pump any of you suggest, and use it to run 2 sea swirls. I also read about some newer brand T4 pump that is quiet and energy effiecient. Would there be any advantage to me to buy a 1" instead of a 3/4" sea swirl. I beleive most of the pumps I have now are closer to the 3/4" outlets. So that would be lest adaptars I would have to fool with. And I don't know if the tank would handle much more then the about 1000 or so gals per hour that the pumps put out. Much more might be too much power or too much circulation for my tank. Thanks for any suggestions.

:?: Eddie G

 

[IcantTHINKofONE]

I run a mag 1800 to each of my 1" sea swirls at about 6 feet high.

 

[bpnc]

I setup a closed loop with 2 of the 3/4 inch sea swirls connected to an Ampmaster 3000...they are in a 75 gallon tank (48 x 18 inches) and I have to throttle back the output to prevent the water from going over the front of the tank! I suspect this setup would be about perfect in your tank given the difference in sizes of our tanks. I just set it up last week so I can't talk about the reliability of the pump but can tell you it is very quite..I can not hear it when it is running.

I really wish the SeaSwirls only rotated 45 or 60 degrees instead of 90. As of now only one of my SeaSwirls are rotaing because the overflow to the sump is in the way...when it goes fully 90 degrees the water hits the over flow full blast and blows all over the place. I have to move the overflow to the corner and put the SeaSwirl more toward the center of the tank to get it to rotate without the flow being disrupted.

Bill

 

[Eddie G]

partial quote:
I setup a closed loop with 2 of the 3/4 inch sea swirls connected to an Ampmaster 3000...
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Hi Bill. What is a closed loop? I was thinking of connecting the output from the pump to either a "T" or "Y" so the output would then split to two sea swirls. Would this work and is either one better?
Eddie G

 

[golfish]

FWIW, I run 2x1" SS's and an Amp Master 3000

 

[Mac1]

I've got an eheim 1060 powering my single 1" SS. Not as much flow as I would like coming out of there, but I modified my SS a little... the Nipple/nozzle tip that it came w/ was removeable (threaded). W/ the tip on there, the current had too much force, and would create waves approaching the rim of the glass. I also didn't like the affect it had on my tank (was too direct, strong, of a force, I wanted something more gentle). So I unscrewed the nozzle, and just operate the SS w/ the 90-elbow hanging in the water. Has worked great for me, and gave me exactly what I wanted. It add's energy and movement to the water, w/o acting like a jet of water that disturbs everything. I don't know if this is a possible configuration on the smaller sizes, but has worked great for me. FWIW, my tank is a 90 AGA, so it's kinda small front-to-back.

- Mac

 

[Starmstr]

I second Mac whom

modified my SS a little... the Nipple/nozzle tip that it came w/ was removeable (threaded). W/ the tip on there, the current had too much force, and would create waves approaching the rim of the glass. I also didn't like the affect it had on my tank (was too direct, strong, of a force, I wanted something more gentle). So I unscrewed the nozzle, and just operate the SS w/ the 90-elbow hanging in the water. Has worked great for me, and gave me exactly what I wanted. It add's energy and movement to the water, w/o acting like a jet of water that disturbs everything.

I am using one static return and one 1" swirl on an ampmaster 3000 the swirl is placed 20 inches from one end facing towards the back and covers about 40 inches alone. Along with the closed loop (amp) I also have a rotating spraybar and yet another static return which are powered by an mak4. Ohh yea the closed loop only has 2 ft of head where as the mak has 6.

 

[Eddie G]

Thanks everyone. My tank is a flatback hexagon. It is 72" wide (left to right), by 24" deep (front to back), by 24" high (top to bottom). Before I had 4 Maxijets in there. The 1200 or biggest size. I had 2 in each back corner. I had two facing each other along the back wall. And I had 1 in each corner facing the front. The ones facing the front would hit the angle part of the hexagon. They were connected to a wave strip. But everytime my wife cleaned the tank she would knock them down. Then it would be difficult or impossible to get them to stick back on the acrylic. And they looked bad in the tank. And they really didn't seem to produce enough water movement.

I will be purchasing 1 sea swirl now. And if I like it I will get another later when I have extra money. I will place one in each corner on the back wall. I'm thinking each will sweep the tank from the front to the rear. So they should cover the entire tank if I mount them in the back corners. I was wondering if there would be any benefit from getting 1" instead of 3/4" sea swirls. Many of the pumps have 3/4" outputs. And they put out more then 1000 gph. And I think I read they come with more parts like lock lines or something. I don't know what that is. I've read many of you have been purchasing the 1" sea swirls and I was wondering why the 1" instead of the 3/4" I checked home depot and Menards. They don't have adaptors to go from say 1/2" to 3/4" to 1" etc. I think I saw some adaptors in the Pet Wharehouse catalog.

And suggestions are appreciated. Anything at all like which size is better. Where's the cheapest place to buy them. Where to place them in the tank. What's the best pump or best size pump and how many gph to use, etc. Thanks.

Eddie G

 

[bpnc]

Eddie G,

A closed loop is setup with the intake and outlets from the pump going to the main tank. Closed loops do not use a sump, that way if electrical power goes out you do not need to worry about water overflowing on to the floor and it will start up again when the power comes on...assuming the intake remains below the water level in the tank.

As for the T or Y..I am using a "T" out of the pump with 1.5 inch flex PVC for most of the run, then it goes to short sections of 1 inch PVC with ball valves to control flow and then it is bushed down to 3/4 inch and connected to the SeaSwirl.

Do a search on the board for closed loop you will find some pictures of other similar setups.

Bill