I am in the process of desiging a surge device for my 30 gallon low light 'gorgonian' tank, which will need a lot of flow.  I am not sure how big the tank will need to be or whether the siphon style or flapper is better.  I would appreciate any input/suggestions or better yet plans.

Thanks,

John

John, for my 180g, my surge is at most 10 gallons. Id say a one or two gallon surge would be good for a 30. A 5-gallon container would probably be best since only a fraction of the container actually surges. Mine is a flapper design. Its a little noisy and makes lots of bubbles.

Summertop wrote: Hmmm...Just thinking out loud...Would two surge devices work better?  One on each side of the tank.They could be timed to cycle appropriately.  This would simulate the waves comming in AND out.

Shawn, I don't think you could keep the timing the same but that could be a good thing. More random flow.

Adam,

Are the bubbles caused by the water  breaking the surface? or from the plumbing?  Thanks for the idea and congrats on TOTM!!

Shawn, I'm just thinking chaotic flow would work, however, I will keep that in mind!

The Carlson surge device is much noisier than the flapper design. There would be no need for two. The typical setup is to have a powerhead at one end running continuously and then the surge changes the water flow temporarily.

Actually, for a small tank, the simple "poor mans wavemaker" would be a better choice than a cumbersome surge device.

Summertop wrote: Hmmm...Just thinking out loud...Would two surge devices work better?  One on each side of the tank.They could be timed to cycle appropriately.  This would simulate the waves comming in AND out.

I actually thought about doing this Shawn. There is an setup at the Waikiki aquarium that has two surge devices on opposite ends of the tank. They are different sizes and fill up at different rates so the surges are random. Sometimes, surging at the same time. This sort of setup is ideal IMO, but requires a ton of room

Thanks for all the input.  My first attempt will be with 4 inch pvc capped at the bottom.  The cap will be drilled and 1/2 inch pvc will be attached (somehow) to it.  The 1/2 inch pvc will then loop up the 4 inch pvc to a desired height (to be determined).  I'll run it several times to see how close to the top I should go.  The overflow tubing and flow from the pump are still to be determined, so any suggestions will be welcome.  I'm thinking that I'll get a stronger pump and pump from the bottom through the cap.

Mark, I've been interested in trying a surge for about 4 years.  This tank is in the basement so I'm not really worried about noise or room taken up.  My real concern is trying to find something or combination of paramters/techniques? to keep a non-photo gorgo alive!  I have tried a variation of the poor mans wavemaker and in fact tried to set one up last night but the powerhead I was trying to use (on the right) wasn't working properly, so I just have one that cycles on/off every 2 hours.

Thanks,

John

Thats a great idea to use 4" PVC. The taller the water column, the stronger the surge

I'm thinking that I'll get a stronger pump and pump from the bottom through the cap.

It won't matter if you go into the bottom or top... actually it'll go better if you go into the bottom as long as your sump can handle the backflow in the event of a power or pump failure.

Mark,

????MJ?  Was that post directed at me?  I bought a RIO 600.  How does one go about hooking it up.  I've tried with other pumps (Rio2100) but they always leaked.  I'm going to hd to see what they have that may work but any advice is welcome.

John

Mike,

Thats what I thought except I don't own one or mention it.

Funny:  I opened my RIO600 (bought yesterday at BW) and found a venturi rio600 which was used.  Bird World exchanged it right away.  I only use rio pumps and thought I might have accidently grabbed the wrong box from home.

I hope you weren't all the way home before you saw the used pump

Maybe Mark is having a senior momment?  umm I mean . . . he's probably just got a lot on his mind.

I did get all the way home, but was planning on bringing in parts to take to hd to see what I could rig up

John, A poor mans wavemaker can only be done with a MJ. Since you said you tried it, I assumed that, from one of your visits to my place, you saw the one I made and that I demonstrated it for you.

It's much more fun to poke fun.  More polyps are coming out of the gorgonian which is exciting.  I'm going to have to get more of a cleanup crew for this tank now.  You working at MS today?

JP

Mike Savage wrote: MaxiJet?

Cut the nozzle completely off and put the pump on a timer. I have mine going off then quickly back on 4x/day. Each time the impeller starts up it has a 50/50 chance of spinning the other direction.

With the nozzle cut off, it sends water left one time and right the other. It's about a 90 degree difference in direction. For a small tank, this gives an amazing tidal flow effect with the water moving clockwise then couterclockwise around the tank.

It's so easy to do and only takes one cheap ungrounded timer. The tidal effect is just enough to make coral grow symetrically. They don't grow as well or as shapely when the flow is always going the same direction.

Now, about that "senior moment".

Yes, any size MJ will work. Other powerheads cannot handle the continual on/off cycle.

Well, since suctions cups lose their suck after a while , I have always found other ways to mount powerheads. Mostly I use fishing line looped around the body of the powerhead. The line is hung on the tank by a hook or toothpick stuck around on the outside under the frame or the fishing line is tied through a small hole drilled in the inside lip of the frame.

In my current setup I drilled holes and stuck a couple of nails in the wood frame that goes around my acrylic fraggin tank and hung the fishing line around the nails.

Leaving the bracket with suction cups attached to the powerhead allows plenty of opportunity to loop the fishing line around the bracket and the suction cups dampen the vibration against the side of the tank as well as stabilizing it as it changes direction. I hope this makes sense. I try to remember to demonstrate the Poor Mans Wavemaker to everyone that visits.

Thanks to Jon Finch for showing me how to make it several years ago.