2 years of my sw tank and i have 2 big questions.. haha

[fishinsouthga]

1. powerheads or closed loop and could someone define closed loop, i see a lot of pvc and a big pump but whats the goal, setup actually doing?

2. after 2 years i still get green algea on my glass that i have to clean everyday, its like a coraline type and it lays accross my sandbed its so ugly

tank temp is 81.
water is a ok with 450 cal, 8meg dh , 0,0,0 on the nitrate cycle, and ph is steady at 8.25, salinity is 1.024-1.025 depending on my topoff system lvl.

thanks!

 

[SnowManSnow]

can ya post pics of the algae? Coraline doesn't normally sheet over sand.

B.

 

[Rob Top]

I'll take the closed loop one. A closed loop is plumbing that comes out of the tank to a pump and back. Unlike a sump that is open and could flood this has no chance of flooding and is closed. I prefer them over power heads for a few reasons. Less stuff in your tank, just the outlets not a ton of powerheads. Easier to kick up the flow. A strong pump will produce more than power heads will. You can hook one of the outlets to a sea swirl type devise and the only power head that can do that is such a pcs of junk I wont even mention it's name. If designed right nothing will get sucked into the pump where a power head can suck stuff up even with screens I have had problems with them. And the best part is PLUMBING!! I love the smell of the glue 8O . A closed loop can be hooked up to a hole in the tank via a bulk head, or you can make a suction tube that goes over the tank wall.

 

[fishinsouthga]

ok pictures in route soon as i learn how to make them smaller, and as for the closed loop system where in the tank to do you pull water from (mines an aga 90 with that super overflow thinger) and i have 4 power heads in the tank(i can't stand em) so how would you put pvc in the tank to make the water flow well??

about the picture the green you see is on the sand and also it covers the glass, i usually scrape it off with a razor and back into the tank, my po4 as of tonight is 0.1 on a red sea testor kit and my cal is 485 (little high) but its a pita to keep the green off the glass, if i don't clean it every other day you can't see the tank, my bi color blenny loves it and leaves little kiss marks all over the glass, any ideas???

thanks

thomas

 

[Rob Top]

Ok the pvc to get the water out of the tank. Use a much large size pipe than what will hook to the pump. I used 2" pvc and in a 24" deep tank had a pcs go into the tank 16". I put a cap on it and drilled a ton of holes in it. An elbow at the top glued to a "Y" instersection. The top portion is threaded with a screw in cap. Then the pipe goes down to the pump and is reduced from the 2" down to 3/4" hits a valve and union then the pump. Return plumbing is up to you. The reason for the screw in Y is so you can fill the line with water, screw on the cap and start the pump. Your intake tube must be much thicker than the actual pump inlet otherwise the pump will suck the tube dry in second. The large pipe gives more to feed your pump with.