Kool Reef DIY 687 picture heavy

[joekool]

Looks awesome!!!

Thanks man. I'm working on it every day.

 

[prsnlty]

Looks awesome!!!

+1!!! Love it [emoji16]

 

[najer]

Great work, following.

 

[joekool]

Looked in my box of pond shield sky blue yesterday and the instructions and thickness gauge were not in the box.
Amazon sent me a free replacement without having to return the other box. score! now I have double and now worries about running out.

 

[joekool]

Now I have to order 1.5 Gallons of black pond shield for the sump.

 

[jsker]

Follow along for the ride.

 

[joekool]

I have at least 7 working days for my glass so I want to get the sump built and epoxied. Some sections like the cryptic zone I'll do separate and place into sump. The cryptic box will be low flow with almost all the water flowing under the box. I will have only a few holes for water to flow in at top and then a few underneath to make sure the water flowing underneath pulls the water through. I have the 4300GPH Super Dart impeller in my Reeflo pump. I will scan and post the info from reeflo on pipe sizing.

 

[joekool]

Follow along for the ride.

Awesome. Always good to see you around jsker.

 

[jsker]

Awesome. Always good to see you around jsker.

Thank you.

Man you have some major plumbing going on.

 

[joekool]

Here is the pipe size chart and instructions for the pump.

 

[joekool]

Thank you.

Man you have some major plumbing going on.

You think so lol.

Yes I wanted to have more and not need it for the drains you know In case I get a bigger Reeflo hehe.
Dual 2'' siphon drains and dual 2'' emergency drains. Should have no issue draining.

I'm drawing up the overflow plan which will contain the return inside it. It will extend from the back left corner in a coast to coast fashion and along the left side. Should be awesome.

 

[joekool]

Here is the pipe size chart and instructions for the pump.

Post # 30
If I'm reading this correctly than my intake and out let need to be bigger to keep friction loss down. Hard to find 2.5'' anything so I'll just use 3'' for the return after a 1.5'' outlet and union to prevent cavitation in the pump. Inlet will be sealed right to the sump so barely any space before the inlet. pictures to follow for sure.
Am I wrong in reading these instructions from Reeflo????

 

[joekool]

When figuring out the flow for my siphon drains and sizing I read this.

Yes water is pulled by gravity. It (for our purposes) behaves like a solid when it is confined by a pipe, so the further it falls, the faster it falls. It pulls on the water above it as well. I will leave it to you to research if the "pull" is created by surface tension or displacement

In any case we use the basic Bernoulli equation to explain how much water falls how fast.

Lets take the 2" SCH80 Bulkhead with a 1.913 inch I.D. and 48" of head.

h = "height" and denotes the head (water height) above the hole.
g = "gravity" denotes the free fall of an object here on earth.. (32ft/sec)squared

So we find the velocity and then plug it into the basic formula:
Q = A * V

Lets do some math:
2" SCH#80 PVC pipe I.D. = 1.913 inches.

So:
h= 6" = 4'
A= 2.873" sq. = 0.01995' sq.
g= 32f/s sq.

Find the Velocity:
V = sqrt(2* 32f/s^2 * 4f) = 16f/s

Find the flow rate (Q):
Q= 0.01995f^2 * 16f/s = 0.3192 Cubic Feet per Second.

The Result:
0.3192 Cubic Feet per Second = 143.25 Gallons Per minute
143.25 Gallons per Minute = 8595 Gallons Per Hour.

Long drop, lots of pipe and fittings... lets say 7250 GPH

Now... the larger the drop, the more friction and turbulance affect the velocity and therefore, the overall flow. Also note that "terminal" velocity is reached much faster due to the friction and turbulance and that cavitation can occur if the pressure drop (caused by the water falling through the pipe) exceeds the surface tension of the water itself....

(‘’Credit Beananimal on reef central”)

 

[joekool]

Also have this chart for rough idea as well.
the "head height" is the total distance from the intake pool level to the discharge pool level or pipe exit (if the pipe exits above water).

The "bulkhead diameter" refers to the narrowest section in the drain.

 

[joekool]

 

[joekool]

 

[joekool]

Getting there.

 

[joekool]

This panel is cut and fitted and is the bottom of the sump. Now I’ll take it out and build the sump on it. More pictures to follow.

 

[joekool]

Plywood is secured to top and then I routed out the channel for the glass. Next I’ll mount the glass supports to the stand and then fiberglass any gaps and screw holes before I epoxy it.

 

[joekool]