d.fast
Community Member
I have for a while studied and wished for a wider and more gentle flow. But I don't wish to sacrifice the power, just eliminate any "hot spots" or powerful jets. I saw a very inspirational video from the German shop Panta Rhei where they had a tank with a false bottom and a very promising flow. I have finally started constructing my own such tank. It is not fully active yet but shows a lot of promise.
Here is a shot of the front. It's a 112 liter tank, 80x35x40 cm in size. It is sunken down into the stand though. This is optional, I just wanted to have it sunk for the looks. The tank is not completely filled yet. It will be plumbed into a larger system later. Also ignore my patch by the bulkhead, I cracked the glass while drilling.
Here is a view from the top with the current switched on. The flow is provided by two Tunze 6025. The flow turnover rate will then be 44 times every hour. You can see the flow rising from the bottom on the right and it is then dispersed and flows back to the pumps, the corals will never be in the direct flow of the pumps, just the aftermath. The flow will of course change a lot with more water in the tank. It is looking very promising though. The glass pane is white to provide better reflections from the bottom to give better light.
Here is the top with the false bottom removed, please excuse the reflections in the surface. The bottom will be empty, just the streamer pumps and a clear path to the other side. There is enough space to add a third pump or put in bigger pumps. The flow will be completely one directional. A laminar flow. A cool feature to add would be to add two more pumps at the other end of the tank. Then you could switch the flow a few times every day. With controllable pumps and a computer you could also pulse the flow.
Here is a view from the side without the false bottom, there are two glass runners lengthwise which the false bottom rests upon. This make maintenance much easier, I can also adjust the length of the bottom, I may have made it slightly too short. But I can just add a small extra piece and fix that. I might also consider adding egg crate over the pumps and exhaust end in case I want to add fish to the system. But this will most likely not have any fish, I will keep mostly frags in here.
Here is the side view with the bottom in place again. This tank solution should be great for filter corals and creatures as well. Because you can add food to the water column and it will continue to flow by the corals again and again. There should be very few dead spots where food and detritus might settle. The flow to the sump will be kept a a very low level. There is no need for a high flow to the rest of the system.
Has anybody else experience with this kind of setup and any unforeseen troubles I might have to tackle?
Here is a shot of the front. It's a 112 liter tank, 80x35x40 cm in size. It is sunken down into the stand though. This is optional, I just wanted to have it sunk for the looks. The tank is not completely filled yet. It will be plumbed into a larger system later. Also ignore my patch by the bulkhead, I cracked the glass while drilling.
Here is a view from the top with the current switched on. The flow is provided by two Tunze 6025. The flow turnover rate will then be 44 times every hour. You can see the flow rising from the bottom on the right and it is then dispersed and flows back to the pumps, the corals will never be in the direct flow of the pumps, just the aftermath. The flow will of course change a lot with more water in the tank. It is looking very promising though. The glass pane is white to provide better reflections from the bottom to give better light.
Here is the top with the false bottom removed, please excuse the reflections in the surface. The bottom will be empty, just the streamer pumps and a clear path to the other side. There is enough space to add a third pump or put in bigger pumps. The flow will be completely one directional. A laminar flow. A cool feature to add would be to add two more pumps at the other end of the tank. Then you could switch the flow a few times every day. With controllable pumps and a computer you could also pulse the flow.
Here is a view from the side without the false bottom, there are two glass runners lengthwise which the false bottom rests upon. This make maintenance much easier, I can also adjust the length of the bottom, I may have made it slightly too short. But I can just add a small extra piece and fix that. I might also consider adding egg crate over the pumps and exhaust end in case I want to add fish to the system. But this will most likely not have any fish, I will keep mostly frags in here.
Here is the side view with the bottom in place again. This tank solution should be great for filter corals and creatures as well. Because you can add food to the water column and it will continue to flow by the corals again and again. There should be very few dead spots where food and detritus might settle. The flow to the sump will be kept a a very low level. There is no need for a high flow to the rest of the system.
Has anybody else experience with this kind of setup and any unforeseen troubles I might have to tackle?
