huzzy Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Is it worth going 20 --> 32? The bulkhead takes a 20, so i thought one step up was sufficient. Yeah its worth it, the reason being is the back pressure of more water behind the bulkhead increases the flow. However if your spinner cant handle anymore flow then it wont make much of a different, it will only go as fast as your weakest link. I would try the 32mm first, and then the 4 arm spinner next. Lucky dreamwater has already put in all the hard work in terms of problem solving. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willo Posted May 24, 2007 Author Share Posted May 24, 2007 Thanks heaps guys for your awesome reponses. Definetly appreciated! Well, it turns out I have all the piping required to get it up to 32mm, so i'll be going 32mm reducer to 25, to 25 reducer to 20mm. I'll let you know tonight how I go. Furthermore, thanks for the advice re siliconing the holes at the top of the durso, and threading a screw in. I did it in a dodgey fashion, but it worked a treat. If i screwed it tight enough, i could even hear the air pressure escaping, which is what it should do i imagine. It also made the water level in the durso drop, so it was halfway up the T, which again is where it should be (I think). Love your work peoples, thanks. Stay tuned... Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firemike Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Thanks heaps guys for your awesome reponses. Definetly appreciated! Well, it turns out I have all the piping required to get it up to 32mm, so i'll be going 32mm reducer to 25, to 25 reducer to 20mm. I'll let you know tonight how I go. Furthermore, thanks for the advice re siliconing the holes at the top of the durso, and threading a screw in. I did it in a dodgey fashion, but it worked a treat. If i screwed it tight enough, i could even hear the air pressure escaping, which is what it should do i imagine. It also made the water level in the durso drop, so it was halfway up the T, which again is where it should be (I think). Love your work peoples, thanks. Stay tuned... Tony You're a sexy man Tony! Glad it's all working out, when can I come and check it out again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamwater Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Willo, Heres the images to go with my above info... This is the durso set up that worked for me...notice I had to trim the T piece and bend where they join so it would fit inside my weir, also the green inline screw air adjuster on the top, and the 32 to 25 reducer at the bottom... Sorry about the pic, but you can easily see where the water level sits... And this is how I connected the 4 bar 25mm spinner arm...you will note the top is actually a 32mm connection...and because of that I had to get a new top section of glass made for the sump, to fit the new spinner.... Hope that helps a little more... Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzzy Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Hope that helps a little more... Jason Thats a sexy spinner, can you please PM where i might purchase one like that. (if its a sponser feel free to post it publicly) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willo Posted May 24, 2007 Author Share Posted May 24, 2007 Thanks for the pics Dreamwater. I modified the durso today, and it's now 20mm --> 32mm. It looks much like yours, although i've only got a screw in the top of the durso - i like the look of your fancy little green thing As for the spinner - awesome! When I've access to the classifieds, i'll put a WTB up. When I was last in at Tradelink, i mentioned it to them, and they had no idea (probably my discription that led them astray!). Anyway, with the 32mm durso, there didn't seem to be any difference. I'm away for a week, but when i get back, i'll chase up the spinner side of things. If that fails, i'll try restricting the water being returned via the sump pump. What type of sump pump do you have DW? Just as an aside, am i correct in saying that you want the piping for the return to be very near the top of the tank? I noticed that when you turn the sump pump off, the sump fills up from the water in the main tank via the return pipe - like a vacuum... just curious to know if this is common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dempsey Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Hi Mate. Nice set up. Its draining the water that makes up the difference between the height of the weir and the height of the water level, which will be a couple of mm above the weir so it can filter. put something against the inner wall of the weir, to cut down noise, chinese mesh thing, (I forgot what its called) water will flow through it to get to the inner weir level, and not splash to that level. take the prefilter wool off the top section, it will create more air by splashing out the spinner onto the bio balls. Oh. And you'll want the output to be the same height as the weir, so it can only drain to that level. Cheers Karl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamwater Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Dempsey...if you have a look at previous pics Willo has posted you will see there is black plastic mesh at the top of the weir...but that is only there to stop fish from sliding over and also filter the larger stuff like plant matter etc... Using a durso that is set up correctly actually quitens it down dramatically as the fall level of water is only a few inches compared to a foot or more if you dont use the durso. Having the filter wool above the bio balls has two main benefits, firstly it stops a lot of the crap clogging up the bio balls, then requiring cleaning ( which you really dont want to do) and secondly it quitens the noise of the water splashing onto the balls....there is more than enough aeration of the water falling over the bioballs even going through the filter wool... The return is pretty much at the same height of the weir, but unfortunately to have any control over the flow direction you do have to use a small piece of pvc from the bend (which I actually crimped the end of it to produce more pressure for the flow) and since it is angled downwards there will be suction of water back into the sump when the return pump is shut of...you just have to make sure there is not TOO much going back to the sump, otherwise be prepared for water damage! Having said that though there will be pretty much no flow of water from the weir into the sump as the durso will prevent that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colfish Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 [quote name='Dreamwater' date='May 25th 2007 @ 19:30 ' post='201600 The return is pretty much at the same height of the weir, but unfortunately to have any control over the flow direction you do have to use a small piece of pvc from the bend (which I actually crimped the end of it to produce more pressure for the flow) and since it is angled downwards there will be suction of water back into the sump when the return pump is shut of... simply drill a 5mm hole in the return pipe,---- just below the water level, this will break the syphon when the pump is shut down or the power goes off no fuss no mess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willo Posted June 2, 2007 Author Share Posted June 2, 2007 Hey all - brilliant news, with the help of firemike, we got the tank working relatively smoothly today, with durso and all. As previously suggested I removed the 2 arm, spinning arm from the sump and the weir supplies the OR 6500 with enough water to prevent it pumping air. Now to find that 4 arm spinning arm... I know i keep nagging, but does anyone have any idea who I could call? (I've tried addicted to cichlids and they don't stock them, but are investigating.) I'm one happy customer. The durso is working nicely, with water half way up the T, and I couldn't be happier. A couple of quick questions. How high should the water be in my sump. Am I correct in saying the bioballs should be half in the water, half out of the water? I'm not sure if they should be submerged or not. This is the only filter media i have. Secondly, I'm looking at experiencing africans for the first time (as they are a visually attractive fish, which will keep the fiancee happy). Is an electric yellow a suitable fish (i.e. hardy) for me to introduce to my tank first? I was thinking one or two. I have also added some noodles from my established tank to help with biofilter. I'll get some photos up, as soon as the water cleans up... i had to move the gravel around which made the water cloudy. Thanks to firemike for your help today! Thanks to everyone else for talking me through the durso/sump dramas I've been having. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willo Posted June 3, 2007 Author Share Posted June 3, 2007 So not wanting to let the 4 arm spinning piping to get the better of me, i designed my own little system. Using a 25mm T-piece into a threaded connector, i was able to use 25mm piping and another 2 'T' pieces to have a non-moving arm. I drilled a bunch of holes, and after a few revisits, i have a working sump arm which doesn't restrict water flow and to the best of my knowledge works just as well. I'm hoping the advantage of this system is with no moving parts, there's nothing to go wrong... (wishful thinking?). My new arm: Here is my total tank. The water is still abit cloudy from me disturbing teh substrate, but it is coming together. I still have to alter the rock formations, and add some more, but i'm at the stage of thinking of adding a fish or two. Next on the agenda is finding some more rock, finding an electric yellow and getting some food... sounds like NLS is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firemike Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 Looking good Tony! Happy birthday little dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamwater Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 LOL good job mate....very interested in how your DIY spinner works out....! Glad you got the durso worked out....they are definately the best way to go if you have a weir..... Tanks is looking good too, cant wait to see it all finished... Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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