R.Weller
Active Member
The first time I saw a surge device in practice, I knew this was something that I wanted to add to our system. My earliest plans including the device began 2 years ago, & we realized the goal last January when we upgraded our display to the 300gal. Now after 3+ months of operation, this device is my favorite feature 2nd only to the livestock that it supports.
It starts with the surge tank. We used an 17.5gal bucket from our local farm supply store. It is made of heavy plastic that is food grade.
There are two holes drilled into the tank. The first is a few inches from the top of the bucket & the other is on the bottom. They are 2 1/2" & designed for Uniseals made for 1 1/2" PVC. After trying several other bulkheads designed for rain-barrels in other applications, these Uniseals are amazing.
After creating the design on paper (I'm a big fan of graph paper), we built a prototype. The prototype does not include several necessary elements, but it did demonstrate that the concept would work with the materials. One of the videos at the bottom of the thread show how effective the prototype was.
After our successful prototype, it was time to install the device into our fish room in the stair-well behind the display. The tank is secured to a reinforced shelf that is 6.5 ft off the ground. The water intake pipe is 1", & is 8.5 ft above the water source. We are using a Jabeo DCP-6500 running at 60% to overcome the head pressure caused by the elevation. The stand pipe in the middle is an emergency drain should the siphon drain fail to activate for whatever reason.
This is a 'modified CSD' as it does not include a gas break line that would otherwise be drilled into the top of the elbow on the bottom-center. I decided not to glue the fittings inside the tank, & there is a small hole drilled between the coupling & the elbow above the surface to allow a tiny amount of air to 'breath' into the siphon. There was some tuning required to find the right amount of air to enter into the pipes. To much air, & the pipes will drain preventing the siphon from starting. To little, & water will fill above the siphon pipe & overflow into the emergency pipe. This is why the gas break line is important & perhaps the most frustrating part of the project. The DC pump helped in finding the right flow rate for our design.
The install is a little busy, but this provides an idea of the elevation, reinforced shelving & the three pipes in the surge device.
The surge pipe drops 26" before making the turn & going through the wall to the display tank. Everything outside the surge tank is glued.
Coming through the wall, the siphon pipe then drops to 6" below the water line. It's important that this end is submerged for there to be a siphon.
When the surge is running, we have a tremendous amount of air being injected into the water column. This provides for a significant amount of gas exchange, which helps keep pH high. Clearly, I welcome micro-bubbles in the display.
In retrospect, I must have some type of PVC addiction. This is the return chamber when the surge device is running. The pump on the left is the DCP-6500 for the surge tank, & the two on the right are DCP-8000's for the display (running at 30% & 35% respectively). The 1/2" pipe is a kalk gravity drip from the 20gal Brute pictured above. Because the surge is running from ~7am to ~10pm, an automatic top-off will not work for us. However, the evaporation rate rarely changes, so using a constant drip is equally effective & requires one less device that can / will fail.
For 23 watts, we have ~12 gallons of water surging into the display every 3:30. This is augmenting the two OW-50 wavemakers on the sides of the tank that are also running at 25%. Here are a few of the benefits from this approach:
Here's few videos that hopefully show both the prototype & the device in operation.
It starts with the surge tank. We used an 17.5gal bucket from our local farm supply store. It is made of heavy plastic that is food grade.
There are two holes drilled into the tank. The first is a few inches from the top of the bucket & the other is on the bottom. They are 2 1/2" & designed for Uniseals made for 1 1/2" PVC. After trying several other bulkheads designed for rain-barrels in other applications, these Uniseals are amazing.
After creating the design on paper (I'm a big fan of graph paper), we built a prototype. The prototype does not include several necessary elements, but it did demonstrate that the concept would work with the materials. One of the videos at the bottom of the thread show how effective the prototype was.
After our successful prototype, it was time to install the device into our fish room in the stair-well behind the display. The tank is secured to a reinforced shelf that is 6.5 ft off the ground. The water intake pipe is 1", & is 8.5 ft above the water source. We are using a Jabeo DCP-6500 running at 60% to overcome the head pressure caused by the elevation. The stand pipe in the middle is an emergency drain should the siphon drain fail to activate for whatever reason.
This is a 'modified CSD' as it does not include a gas break line that would otherwise be drilled into the top of the elbow on the bottom-center. I decided not to glue the fittings inside the tank, & there is a small hole drilled between the coupling & the elbow above the surface to allow a tiny amount of air to 'breath' into the siphon. There was some tuning required to find the right amount of air to enter into the pipes. To much air, & the pipes will drain preventing the siphon from starting. To little, & water will fill above the siphon pipe & overflow into the emergency pipe. This is why the gas break line is important & perhaps the most frustrating part of the project. The DC pump helped in finding the right flow rate for our design.
The install is a little busy, but this provides an idea of the elevation, reinforced shelving & the three pipes in the surge device.
The surge pipe drops 26" before making the turn & going through the wall to the display tank. Everything outside the surge tank is glued.
Coming through the wall, the siphon pipe then drops to 6" below the water line. It's important that this end is submerged for there to be a siphon.
When the surge is running, we have a tremendous amount of air being injected into the water column. This provides for a significant amount of gas exchange, which helps keep pH high. Clearly, I welcome micro-bubbles in the display.
In retrospect, I must have some type of PVC addiction. This is the return chamber when the surge device is running. The pump on the left is the DCP-6500 for the surge tank, & the two on the right are DCP-8000's for the display (running at 30% & 35% respectively). The 1/2" pipe is a kalk gravity drip from the 20gal Brute pictured above. Because the surge is running from ~7am to ~10pm, an automatic top-off will not work for us. However, the evaporation rate rarely changes, so using a constant drip is equally effective & requires one less device that can / will fail.
For 23 watts, we have ~12 gallons of water surging into the display every 3:30. This is augmenting the two OW-50 wavemakers on the sides of the tank that are also running at 25%. Here are a few of the benefits from this approach:
- Randomized flow (when used in conjunction with the wavemakers)
- Promotes gas exchange
- Low power consumption
- Excellent way to broadcast phyto & zooplankton
Here's few videos that hopefully show both the prototype & the device in operation.
