parkesg Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Hi Richard, In the diagram you have put the top tank outlets on the outside and the bottom outlets on the inside. This would add to cost when plumbing, are you planning on using pvc? Also would add difficultly on the return plumbing, and the efficiency of water flow. I would make the tank outlets all in the inside and use pvc, t-joints etc and plumb them into the sump. Have the top and bottom tanks (right hand side) feeding via 1 pipe into the sump and the same for left hand side. Am I making sense? How many pumps are you planning on using? If only one I would (assuming you are plumping as I described above) place the sump in the middle of your rack and plump the return along the same path as the pvc. This gives the pump the most direct path to return your water. Baz is right - a bit difficult to explain, where I could show you in 60 seconds..... Anyway, HTH Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted July 26, 2007 Author Share Posted July 26, 2007 Hi Richard, In the diagram you have put the top tank outlets on the outside and the bottom outlets on the inside. This would add to cost when plumbing, are you planning on using pvc? Also would add difficultly on the return plumbing, and the efficiency of water flow. I would make the tank outlets all in the inside and use pvc, t-joints etc and plumb them into the sump. Have the top and bottom tanks (right hand side) feeding via 1 pipe into the sump and the same for left hand side. Am I making sense? How many pumps are you planning on using? If only one I would (assuming you are plumping as I described above) place the sump in the middle of your rack and plump the return along the same path as the pvc. This gives the pump the most direct path to return your water. Baz is right - a bit difficult to explain, where I could show you in 60 seconds..... Anyway, HTH Grant Yep kinda making sense there Grant. So you're saying rather than joining all four tanks up at the end i should just join up two and have two pipes running down into the sump? I will move the sump onto the middle of the rack. How would the return then work? I'm picturing a pipe up along the middle of the stand with breaks going left and right for the bottom tanks and breaks going left to right on the top. Make sense? thanks for the help Richard Edit. Just looked at it again and i can't move the sump into the middle as its blocked by the metal strut bar but i've positioned the sump so the pump side is to the middle section of the rack. I will be using one pump which is a 7200l/ph Resun submersible pump. Hopefully that will be enough? PVC pipe is what i'll be using, still have afew pieces lying around from the previous owner so only need afew pieces to finish it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkesg Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Richard, pretty much right on what i am saying, if you are doing this make the single pump a lot bigger that planned, you lose a lot of flow by splitting 4 ways and the head hieght about 1.5m. e.g 4 * 4by20by20 is approx. 1200 litres = turnover at about 4-5 times per hour = about 6000 - a pump about 6000ltrs/hour. IMO you'd need to go much bigger than this as you lose a lot of efficiency. You can get taps from Bunnings in the irrigation section to control flow, they are green and are cheap. I have gone off these and don't recommend them without a little work. Reason being is that even when you turn them onto full-flow the taps still have a grill inside, this impends water flow a lot. I have thought above drilling the grill out, and will try when I find time. Alternatively the ehiem taps are better (but more $$) as when they are on full flow there is no restriction. Also, on your return tubing use a thinner tube as there is less pressure on the pump, a wider tube means moving more water upwards, more pressure and less flow. Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Miller Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Damn! How did I miss this? To quote Cobaltcraig: I have since put "Bates" in the side walls and roof which have had a big effect Craig has now fitted so many Bates he is a master at it. I guess that makes him a master Bater Do not fit Bates in shorts and Tshirt as it itches like hell No wonder it itched, you're supposed to fit the Bates in your roof not in your shorts Sorry, I know it's unbelievably late but I just couldn't help myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricyellowz Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Just another question. For those who have painted the backs of your tanks. What type of paint did you use and also was it easy to apply? I'm set on getting the backs of the tanks painted black so want to get this over with before i fill the tanks up. I just applied a flat black spray paint straight onto the back of my tank and have had no problems over the 6 or so months it has been up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricyellowz Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I guess that makes him a master Bater Late but still good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaZ Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Sorry, I know it's unbelievably late but I just couldn't help myself Lee it's never too late for a good master bater joke and following it up with some in-shorts action was just the icing on the cake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Hi richard, I agree WIth Grant Swap the bottom tank over sides and have them draining from the same sides( ie the extreme left and right hand sides respectively). But if you are joining tank outlets together just make sure that you increase the plumbing to the next size up to break the vaccum. What I mean by this is if the water is coming out via 25 mm PVC pipe get a 25 to 32mm expansion joiner so it eventaully drains into the sump via 32mm piping instead of 25mm. Also I was also told that is is best to drain from furthest points and pump the water in via closest points. I don't really have time to do up diagram but if you have further questions just PM me cheers rosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 Thanks for that Rosco. Still very unfamiliar with the whole pipe size and all, but will get to there soon. I was thinking maybe change the top two tanks over having all the holes come into the centre? Will the flow be maximised by this or is it better to have the holes on the outer of each side. Anyway i've drawn up my new idea. The blue is the drained water and the red is the return. I've drawn up some taps as well, will these be necessary? I think the only thing wrong with my return desgin is that the water will be split into four directions hence as Grant said return rate might not be sufficient unless a stronger pump is used. Here is the drawing of the other plumbing proposal I guess the pro with this idea is that the return plumbing will be alot easier, and as apposed to the other plan the return water will be coming from the opposite side rather than the same side as the holes. cheers, Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Here is the drawing of the other plumbing proposal I guess the pro with this idea is that the return plumbing will be alot easier, and as apposed to the other plan the return water will be coming from the opposite side rather than the same side as the holes. cheers, Richard The second proposal is the way to go . This is way I have done it and it works quite nicely. When you get to the plumbing side of the project, just ask away I should be able help as I have quizzed the best to get mine going. Just beware if your outlet piping is drainig from the backof the tank at the top and joining up you will need leave some space behind the system. If it drains from the side it si not as clean but takes up less room. I seem to recall seeing a picture of the plumbing that Baz uses on his Baz racks it would help visualise it a little better. cheers rosco cheers rosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkesg Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 Hey Richard, just one thing with design two, is the direction of water flow. It would be pushing straight towards the outlet. With the first design the water is pushed away from the outlet towards the opposite end of the tank, creating a circular flow around the tank. Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurch82 Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Just to add my two cents worth. Diagram two in my experience works fantastic especially if you are still thinking on using the spray bar return method. I have a stand like yours only with 4 4x2x2's on it and that is precissely how i have it plumbed (all be it 2 drain holes not one) and it has been working gr8 since day one. I find with the spray bar at the opposite end its stirs the water up to a greater extent with all debris then exiting the drain hole resonably quickly as it is at the opposite end. Good luck to you on setting this up it is really a great exercise until your missus finds out what its costing lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 4, 2007 Author Share Posted August 4, 2007 Hey guys, Thanks for the input guys, I'm taking all considerations in don't you worry. I've drawn up another plan, but not sure if it will work aswell. (i.e. drainage speed, return rate for bottom two tanks.) Anyway here it is. So as you can see, the top two tanks drain into the bottom two, which then meet into one pipe down towards the sump. What im worried about is the drainage speed as it all goes into one pipe at the end. Also for the return i know i have to get these deadset even orelse it will effect the amount of water each tank is recieving. So can i just cap the return and drill holes in to slow the speed if needed? Not sure if i am making any sense Also what bits and pieces will i be needing? I was thinking the following. 1 length of 25mm PVC pipe (6m) Afew elbow pieces After T-pieces 1 Forcet piece for return. 1/2 length of 15mm PVC pipe for return. cheers, Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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