more CLS questions

jamessp01 · 01-25-2008, 12:09 PM

Hello CLS experts.

Well, im getting ready to start on a simple CLS for my tank and I have a few basic questions. (tank is 120gallon 48x24x24)

My goal with this cls is to try and keep detritus clear from under the rock and keep it suspended long enoph for there to be a reasonable chance that it will get pulled into the corner overflow, without having static high velocity flow.

my current plan, untill you all talk me out of it.

Is to have one 1.5" input a couple inches below the water line with 4 1" returns via a OM 4way near the bottom with flow directed tword the front of the tank.

my questions are

How much flow do I need to keep the detritus out from under the rock and suspended for a reasonable amount of time?

based on the answer to my other question, will a single 1.5" input cover it? I would assume the calculations for this would be different than the standard ones sinse its not really gravity fed?

What is the quitest and most energy efficent pump available to power this? I didnt really want to plumb the cls all the way to the basement if I can avoid it.

motorslave · 01-25-2008, 12:12 PM

First off, how big is your tank? Substrate?
The plumbing size will depend on the pump housing. Have you thought about a spray bar?

Hop · 01-25-2008, 12:19 PM

Quote:

my current plan, untill you all talk me out of it.

Is to have one 1.5" input a couple inches below the water line with 4 1" returns via a OM 4way near the bottom with flow directed tword the front of the tank.

Um, you want the intake much, much lower

You will draw air in from the water surface that high and when you shut the return pump off, you wont be able to run the closed loop. Mine is 10" off the bottom...

Quote:

How much flow do I need to keep the detritus out from under the rock and suspended for a reasonable amount of time?

Completely depends on more factors than we could calculate for... Structures, flow directions etc... I have 1700 on my 190 to 2 spray bars, and it's about the bare minimum. I'll be upgrading in the next year or three

Quote:

based on the answer to my other question, will a single 1.5" input cover it? I would assume the calculations for this would be different than the standard ones sinse its not really gravity fed?

You lost me

What pump are you thinking?

Quote:

What is the quitest and most energy efficent pump available to power this? I didnt really want to plumb the cls all the way to the basement if I can avoid it.

What are you looking at?

jamessp01 · 01-25-2008, 12:21 PM

tank is 120g, 48x24x24, no substrate, just a sheet of hdpe.

I had not really given much though as to what would connect to the bulkheads inside the tank yet. with 4 returns evenly spaced across 4 feet im not sure Ill need them or not, sounds like another question to add to the list.

jamessp01 · 01-25-2008, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hop

Um, you want the intake much, much lower

You will draw air in from the water surface that high and when you shut the return pump off, you wont be able to run the closed loop. Mine is 10" off the bottom...

OK, so the input needs to be low enoph to stay well submurged when the sump pump is off, gotcha.

Completely depends on more factors than we could calculate for... Structures, flow directions etc... I have 1700 on my 190 to 2 spray bars, and it's about the bare minimum. I'll be upgrading in the next year or three

You lost me

What pump are you thinking?

well, i dint have a specific pump in mind, something like a dart or amp master I guess based on how much flow Ill need.

What are you looking at?

motorslave · 01-25-2008, 12:26 PM

I have a 150 with a a Barracuda as a pump for the CLS it ha two 1 1/2" intakes and 6 3/4" retruns, 4 at the top of the column and 2 along the bottom that feed the spray bar running the entire length of the tank. It is also a BB tank. The spray bar works awesome at keeping the area under and behind the rock clean. The pump is very quiet also.

motorslave · 01-25-2008, 12:26 PM

The dart would be a great pump.

jamessp01 · 01-25-2008, 01:25 PM

would something like this work OK

If I put in 4 1foot spraybars powered through an OM 4way, each spraybar should get about 1400 gph when the OM has 2 of them on. (I dont really know if thats accurate, i dont know how much headloss the spraybars will cause) does that sound like sufficient flow across the bottom?

motorslave · 01-25-2008, 01:36 PM

It would work, match the pump to the OM, call them and they will be glad to help. They have great customer service! For a spray bar you only need one. Consider hat this will be unreachable so the simpler the better. Two bulkheads feeding one spray bar with two more outlets higher in the tank would provide flow throughout the entire water column. Personally I don't think there is a need for random flow with a well designed spray bar, I would use the random from the OM in other places of the tank.

jamessp01 · 01-25-2008, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorslave

It would work, match the pump to the OM, call them and they will be glad to help. They have great customer service! For a spray bar you only need one. Consider hat this will be unreachable so the simpler the better. Two bulkheads feeding one spray bar with two more outlets higher in the tank would provide flow throughout the entire water column. Personally I don't think there is a need for random flow with a well designed spray bar, I would use the random from the OM in other places of the tank.

OK, I have two tunze 6101s and a wave controller for them that I thought would be sufficient for flow in the mid and upper levels of the tank, do you think thats the case? If so, its probably not worth going through the OM at all and really simplifing this. perhaps cut it back to one input and 2 outputs powering one long spraybar? If I do that do you think i could get away with a snapper?