eviltrain's Shrimp Rack Project Alpha

[monster_88]

Steady lah bro!! You are good man!!
I tried out a dummy version yesterday but didn't managed to get it to work well. Difference is I did not use check valve at the top of the U channel; I did the tedious way of charging the tube manually in a pail of water. For some reason, I tend to have a 'head' level where the actual water level is higher than the 'set' value (position of the discharge point).... .... wonder why??

[reborn4ever]

WOW... Impressive... You are really good at DIY... Thank for sharing..

[eviltrain]

Steady lah bro!! You are good man!!
I tried out a dummy version yesterday but didn't managed to get it to work well. Difference is I did not use check valve at the top of the U channel; I did the tedious way of charging the tube manually in a pail of water. For some reason, I tend to have a 'head' level where the actual water level is higher than the 'set' value (position of the discharge point).... .... wonder why??

the trick is to do dry run first ( piece together tightly first without sticking them together with glue ) then adjust it accordingly to where you wants the water to start over flow ( minimum water level ). My overflow pipes is "overflowing" a bit slow, i have to slow down the outflow in order to balance the flow rate.

my guess for your dummy version is that your pipe is not big enough to support the overflow i'm using 2cm pipes. some more its 2 siphon + reservoir flowing into 1 tube. i might need a bigger tube to flow to the lower tank. maybe a 3 cm pipe.

i will be making overflow version 3 to perfect the flowing because there's too much gas needed to escape from the rainbar for the bottom tank due to the gushing down of water.

thanks reborn4ever for viewing my thread

[alfredliow316]

Very nicely done!

[Jitticus]

I am so confused right now!! But the thing looks marvelous!

[eviltrain]

hardware as for today

3 tier rack
two now, maybe three in later dates ( 2x1x1 feet tanks with center partition, 5 cm height partition for soil
Under Gravel System Plates
Rena XP1, 950 litres per hour, 13watt )
ADA II soil
Assortment of pipes and connecters ( for inlet / outet / overflow pipe )
chiller ( still considering if i wants to continue my mini chiller DIY or not )

thanks for viewing alfredliow316

[eviltrain]

brother jitticus, why confuse?

[Jitticus]

I'm not a very hands-on person. Hence, the devices you've installed are complicated to me.

[monster_88]

My overflow pipes is "overflowing" a bit slow, i have to slow down the outflow in order to balance the flow rate.

my guess for your dummy version is that your pipe is not big enough to support the overflow i'm using 2cm pipes. some more its 2 siphon + reservoir flowing into 1 tube. i might need a bigger tube to flow to the lower tank. maybe a 3 cm pipe.

Bro, what do you mean by "slow down the outflow", is it the pump flow rate?

I used similar pipes as you I think, and flowrate of pump should be about 700l/hr.

[eviltrain]

yah, slow down the pump flow rate. mine is a 950 litre per hour rena xp1. i experience what you had before, that is why i have to slow down the pump flow rate for the over flow to react.

[shrimp999]

As seen your cad drawing layout, you probably need to adjust the cannister flowrate slower from time to time.
Because after long run, the soil will break into debris/powder hence the resistance of water flow through the soil to the undergravel filter will bigger. And the amount of water flow through the overflow pipe will be weaker.

I think the size of overflow pipe play a important role but the water resistance to flow through your soil and undergravel also need to consider.

You can add on an additional overflow pipe without going through the UGF to compensate the resistance of soil/UGF.

My 2 cents.

[eviltrain]

thanks shrimp999 for your suggestion. i actually have an idea of fixing a normal over flow pipe which skims the surface only covered with sponge. so i won't be over loading the overfow system with under gravel system.

-more diy for me-

[eviltrain]

I'm not a very hands-on person. Hence, the devices you've installed are complicated to me.

lol, i'm like that. if i'm interested in something, i will go all the way into doing it.

[shrimp999]

thanks shrimp999 for your suggestion. i actually have an idea of fixing a normal over flow pipe which skims the surface only covered with sponge. so i won't be over loading the overfow system with under gravel system.

-more diy for me-

So the sponge must cleanup/replace regularly to avoid choke.
And make sure you must oversize the overflow inlet to cope the flow. Sometimes plants may float and block the inlet.

Never consider DIY an overflow box?
At least can monitor air trap at the weir.

[eviltrain]

lol, consider before. just that i die die also wants my over flow system attached to my under gravel panels
and by the way, my pipes are transparent i can see if there's any water blockage too.
hmm, bigger pipes? acrylic pipes ??

[shrimp999]

You can use bigger pipe or box for the inlet. This is what i mean.


Not the overflow pipe but the inlet pipe/box bigger.
So more room for the water to flow in. Not to worry those objects or floating plants to block the water flow in.

[eviltrain]

I will do it this way as shown in the pdf

[bai]

wow I blur again...lol....so complicated.

[eviltrain]

haha, me and bro shrimp999 same frequency. hope that my room won't be wet when i reach home.

[monster_88]

I think what bro shrimp999 is suggesting is to add the overflow box which will sustain the desired water level. Advantage is it allows for better discharge flow, but you'll not be able to connect to your UGF.
Your design is good as it'll suck water at a lower level, but it'll still requires certain amount of control in the pump flow to sustain the desired water level which may require eventual tuning and reduced efficiency. ...