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Spray Bar Holes
- Thread starter jimroth
- Start date
So you're going to put this spraybar under the rock? How far up the pipes will these spraybar holes go, and how are you planning on stopping the back siphon? Have you tested this to see if the theory will work? I'd be very nervous about having a multitude of holes at the bottom of my tank like that.
Besides the pump is going to have to be massive to fight the back pressure of being under all of that water... no? There was a thread here with similar intentions from last week. Similar to that thread, I'm thinking this isn't such a great idea...
But that's just my 2c!
Besides the pump is going to have to be massive to fight the back pressure of being under all of that water... no? There was a thread here with similar intentions from last week. Similar to that thread, I'm thinking this isn't such a great idea...
But that's just my 2c!
I did read that thread, and I didn't want to comment about it because I wanted an answer to my simple question. But, here you are, with your 2 cents and everything.
Yes, that was an excellent observation in that thread. I WAS going to tie into my return for the spraybar feed, and it IS an excellent observation that that would be an effective way of transferring the water in my tank to the garage floor. Depending on a siphon break or check valve would be a great way to insure a fun surprise at some point in the nebulous future, probably during that dream vacation to Paris.
I AM, however, building the aforementioned rock-supporting structure, and I think it would be better to have it set up to be a spraybar before I put hundreds of pounds of live rock on top of it, as the alternative is to drill the holes afterwards, using a tiny remote controlled Dremel Tool Submarine, purchased as CIA surplus for $500,000. If I instead do it beforehand, I would have the option of testing the advantages of a spraybar at a later date.
Do you really think it takes that much pressure to push water to the bottom of the tank? Maybe I could use a submersible pump like the hated RIO or something that won't electrocute me and just mount it under my horizontal gutter. I just wants to stir up the detritus
Yes, that was an excellent observation in that thread. I WAS going to tie into my return for the spraybar feed, and it IS an excellent observation that that would be an effective way of transferring the water in my tank to the garage floor. Depending on a siphon break or check valve would be a great way to insure a fun surprise at some point in the nebulous future, probably during that dream vacation to Paris.
I AM, however, building the aforementioned rock-supporting structure, and I think it would be better to have it set up to be a spraybar before I put hundreds of pounds of live rock on top of it, as the alternative is to drill the holes afterwards, using a tiny remote controlled Dremel Tool Submarine, purchased as CIA surplus for $500,000. If I instead do it beforehand, I would have the option of testing the advantages of a spraybar at a later date.
Do you really think it takes that much pressure to push water to the bottom of the tank? Maybe I could use a submersible pump like the hated RIO or something that won't electrocute me and just mount it under my horizontal gutter. I just wants to stir up the detritus
If these spray bars are in a closed loop configuration they would not have any back pressure. On the downside....every time I have used spray bars (with 1/4" holes)the holes become clogged with tiny snails, algae etc. etc. This will not be a big deal iof you make the spray bar easy to clean, but if you are attaching rocks to them, I wouold say you are in for a big head ache!
In a closed loop type setup this might work the way you inteded. I'm not sure what size the holes are in the spray bar in my Ca reactor, but those look like a good size. Anyone know what size MRC made the Ca reactor spray bar holes?
FWIW, Bluestraveler (the guy who owned our tank before us) had vertical drops in the tank under the main returns. Since the main returns were at the top of the tank they broke the siphon for us. The back pressure at the bottom of the tank prevented them from being of much use, I'm afraid. All the water came out at the tops. We took them "out of the loop" when we re-scaped the tank.
FWIW, Bluestraveler (the guy who owned our tank before us) had vertical drops in the tank under the main returns. Since the main returns were at the top of the tank they broke the siphon for us. The back pressure at the bottom of the tank prevented them from being of much use, I'm afraid. All the water came out at the tops. We took them "out of the loop" when we re-scaped the tank.
This is going to be a 2-dimensional PVC support, that's its main job, just to keep the rocks off the bottom. I don't know if it needs a huge amount of flow, I just want to push the detritus out from under the rocks. Hey if I could figure a way to alternately suck and blow through the spray bar, that would be cool too.
I think no matter what size the holes something is going to clog it. There must be some type of switching valve to change from inlet to outlet. You will deffenitly get more flow closet to the pump. I know in the greenhouse for irrigation they have little prssure regulating valves so you get the same amount of water close to the supply as well at the end of the line. i wonder if something like that could be used to equalize the output? Think they are made by netaform or something like that. If you want i could look it up
Hey Jim just as a heads up when I had my spray bar running across the bottom of my 8ft. tank I noticed that the 1/4 holes that were the farthest from the pump received the least amount of flow. So you might want to think about drilling smaller holes closest to the pump and gradually increase the size as they move away from the pump. this way you will get a more even distribution of flow across the spray bar. I hope that made sense :
Spray bars IMHO work well if on a closed loop.
What I've done in the past is break them up into separate feeder sections (manifold) so each section gets the same amount of flow. This way you don't run into the problem where the holes closest to the pump get the most flow and those farthest from the pump get the least amount of flow. The downside to this arrangement is the use of separate feeder pipes.
Just something to think about,
Carlo
What I've done in the past is break them up into separate feeder sections (manifold) so each section gets the same amount of flow. This way you don't run into the problem where the holes closest to the pump get the most flow and those farthest from the pump get the least amount of flow. The downside to this arrangement is the use of separate feeder pipes.
Just something to think about,
Carlo
I posted about the spray bar going across the bottom of my tank. no clogging yet. siphon hole yes. clossed loop yes. I did smaller holes in the first 4 ft. working well for me.