First Mod - Aquapod 24

[KMP]

so i got to thinking about good circulation. after much searching and input/examples of what others have done, i am ready for a new mod which will increase circulation and help with reducing heat in the tank.

currently i am running the stock aquapod pump [290gph - 32w] and a rio 600 [200gph - 9.5w]. that's a combined 490gph - 41.5w which exceeds the 10 - 20x circulation rate for a tank my size.

i'm going to purchase the wavemaker system from dr foster&smith which includes the wavemaker powerstrip and 3 maxijet 900 pumps [leaves me a spare]. the maxijets have the best reputation [from all my reading] on the boards for being quiet, powerful, and a good pump for wavemaker. this will give me a combined 460gph - 17w. that's a 69% reduction in watts which equals less heat.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113782


both pumps will be installed in the second chamber [aquapod 24 only has 2] on the side wall using the magntic fastners one above the other [normal return bottom - wave maker pump top]. i'm then going to use asiankidds [member of nano-reef.com] great mod idea [which i've also seen here on larger tanks] and install tubing around the top of the tank [4th and 5th picture on attached thread] with directionals attached:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...howtopic=71227

i've spent about 12 hrs reading up on this. and until i found asiankidds post i had planed on 2 rio 90's with a maxijet 1200 which would have been a combined 465gph - 25.6w. the downfall to this set up [even though i had lowered the watts] was; 1) 3 pumps [2 inside the tank], 2) rio's aren't as good as the maxijet's, 3) the 3 pumps combined with the wavemaker cost [which i would have to buy seperately] more than the wavemaker and 3 maxijet 900s from foster and smith as a package deal.

another benefit to this set-up; i will have 460gph being sucked through the filtration chamber instead of 290gph.

pretty excited about this. thanks for getting the wheels spinning so i could figure this all out. if you foresee any downfalls - please advise. won't be orderng until tonight.

question for those with maxijets: does the maxijet use 1/2" or 3/4" tubing?

[blue_eyes53813]

Wow sounds like you did some studying.... Sounds good.

[Stevenmi]

Sounds like a good start..think about your substrate however. I learned that you can create quite a sand storm if you are indeed going with sand. Also, make sure you leave the flexibility to direct your water flow. I am running about 325gph in my 12 and it is working out great but I direct half the flow behind the rocks.

PS....only half my flow is throught the chamber....the overflow or lower vent gets blocked and you can end up with a dry sump if you are in need of a top off that day...they are not really designed for that volume.

Steve

[KMP]

i hear ya...the rio i currently have made for some nice wavy sand. the plan is for the nozzles to be in either corner up front [as pictured in the second link above] pointing towards the rocks. it looks as if you can adjust the flow on the maxijets and i am putting a ball valve at the end of the tube that will encircle the tank and finish in chamber 2 [filtered water] to preclude that sump running dry. thereafter, it's just a matter of tuning it in.

[Stevenmi]

[KMP]

does anyone know if the outlet on the maxijet pump uses 1/2" or 3/4" tubing? i haven't been able to find that info.

thanks.

[Stevenmi]

1/2" id...

[KMP]

thanks.

[KMP]

Well, I'm half way home.

Got the tubing and fittings needed today. Took out the Rio pump and put a new MJ900 in the rear chamber. Took about 2 hours to modify the fittings to my liking and then hooked up all the hose.

First impressions - B+. The power wasn't quite as strong as I had anticipated therefore I've pretty much concluded [still have to tinker with it] that I won't be using the wavemaker. It was a pleasent surpise, however, to see my frogspawn gently swaying and when I tossed in some food I could see that there is a nice gentle current that isn't overpowering, therefore, the substrate is not affected. Since there is an outlet in both front corners, the two currents meet right in the middle of the tank. I also have the hydor wavemaker spinning on the factory outlet.

Appearance - A. The Rio pump is gone! The 1/2" tubing I used encircles the tank around the top rim with only about 1/3 of the tube exposed. The suction cups are probably the main distraction if any. I have two on each side and two in the front. It's possible I could forgo the suction cups up front since the loop is snug enough on the sides that the tubing would probably stay in place in front.

Overall - I'm very pleased so far. As expected, moving the second pump to the rear chamber with the stock pump brought down the water level to about 2/3 full. The pumps are still well below the surface of the water though so no problems there. I'll be monitoring this, and if necessary, I did put a ball valve on the end of the tube so if water level becomes a problem I can open that up a little.

Next step, replacing the stock pump with the other MJ900. I've been looking for a 3/4" [stock outlet] to 1/2" reducer [MJ outlet] with no luck. I keep seeing folks say they just put the 1/2" tubing inside the 3/4" hole exiting the 2nd chamber to the main tank so I'll give that a try tomorrow. Once I swap out that pump I will have achieved my 69% reduction in powerhead wattage and can then monitor the tank for a while to see the impact of swapping out the factory pump for the MJs.

[KMP]

Got some pictures:

This is a before picture. Note Rio pump in left corner:





This is an after picture. Rio pump gone. Circulation loop around the top rim of the tank. The perimeter is dark, but you can see the two nozzles pointing downward in either corner and to the outside of each spout [if you look closely] you can see the clear suction cups. The white thing in the top left corner is my mag-cleaner.







This is a top down look of the circulation loop:





This is a top down look while the Hydor wavemaker is circulating towards the surface of the water:





This is a picture of my recently installed Nanocustoms.com 4.36 Lighting System. 144w - (2) 10K Days, (2) Actinic, R2 Moonlights [small tube at the top of picture]. Great upgrade, lots of light, much crisper.

[lcstorc]

Nice work. Looks good. I"ll have to save this thread. If I get the bigger tank I want for my seahorses, I may look into something like this for my aquapod. Mine is fine for the seahorses (except too small), but love what you have done to improve it.
Keep up the good work.

[Shells]

i've got a 150 gal tank with a 40 gal long sump, and have been thinking about doing something like
this.
How much of a pain would it be to convert my systems to a closed loop??
and how much down time would be invovled??

[KMP]

for a tank that size, something to consider would be using pvc pipe...i've seen that done on here. i would think the 1/2" tubing i used would work also.

regarding down time - there was no down time [pumps turned off]. i cut the t-fittings and dremeled the inner part of the suction cup sleeves prior, then cut the lengths of tubing needed. assembled everything, attached the pump, and turned it on.

i completed this project last night by replacing the stock pump with another MJ 900. in doing that, i had both pumps off for about 20 minutes. the MJ 900 seems to put out as much force as the stock pump did...the difference, however, is a reduction of 21.5 watts.

i also had to remove 1 of the 4 gates in front of the sponge filter since the ouput of the pumps exceeded the resistance of pulling water through the filtration. it's now operating with about water 3/4 full in the chamber where both pumps are located.

hmmm...now, what to do next...

[KMP]

well after a week running this set up i have concluded that my water temps are 2 degrees lower. with an ambiet heat of 78 degrees, i maintain a tank temperature of 80 degrees.

[rdmpe]

Very nice setup so far. I have a 24g aquapod for my office that I'm just starting to work on and your thread has given me some ideas. Nice aftermarket light setup, I'll be looking into that. Did you replace the stock fan or do any airflow related mods? I think I'm going to replace the stock fan (loud) with two quiet fans. I saw a thread on RC where the guy put in two fans blowing out and had fair results. But then he switched one to blow in and the other blow out and it worked better. I would think that you'd have to do some cooling mod with that 110 watts of lighting.