Water flow question

[Mark Breithaupt]

I'm in the process of setting up my 55 gal. SW reef tank. I'll be supporting
my LR on a PVC frame.
I'm considering drilling holes in the PVC frame system and connecting an
additional power pump to circulate water from underneath and through the LR
via the PVC support frame system..
Has anyone tried this?
How did you direct the water?
Any advice against this technique?
It sounds good to us. Good water circulation through the LR from underneath
and inside the LR structure will reduce the dead areas from external
(outside the LR) powerhead flow.

We are also considering creating some or all of our substrate from extra LR
by pulverizing and grinding it up then placing it in areas of the tank to
simulate natural reef sand bed accumulation.
Anyone tried this?
What method worked best to convert your rock to sand? (We already have a
sledgehammer :-).

Lastly, How reliable or chemical water treatments for reducing chlorine,
heavy metals, and other impurities from tap water for SW tank use?

Thanx.

Mark and A

[Marc Levenson]

Hi Mark,

Mark Breithaupt wrote:

> I'm in the process of setting up my 55 gal. SW reef tank. I'll be supporting
> my LR on a PVC frame.

You can even support your LR on pieces of 2" or 3" PVC columns, which can be
shifted into new configurations when necessary. Your DSB will hide the PVC, but
if your sand is disturbed, your rockwork will not be.

> I'm considering drilling holes in the PVC frame system and connecting an
> additional power pump to circulate water from underneath and through the LR
> via the PVC support frame system..

Yes, that would work as well. Where would you locate the pump? In the tank
hopefully? Or as a closed loop, so it cannot siphon water out of the tank?

> Has anyone tried this?

Oh yeah, many have. ReefCentral.com has many posts like this one.

> How did you direct the water?

Through the rockwork to keep it detritus free.

> Any advice against this technique?

Keep the holes small, so it won't become the home for a 13 foot long bristleworm
(posted on RC)

> It sounds good to us. Good water circulation through the LR from underneath
> and inside the LR structure will reduce the dead areas from external
> (outside the LR) powerhead flow.
>
> We are also considering creating some or all of our substrate from extra LR
> by pulverizing and grinding it up then placing it in areas of the tank to
> simulate natural reef sand bed accumulation.
> Anyone tried this?
> What method worked best to convert your rock to sand? (We already have a
> sledgehammer :-).

Sounds like a lot of work. It willl be really really rough to get a fine enough
texture for DSB infauna.

> Lastly, How reliable or chemical water treatments for reducing chlorine,
> heavy metals, and other impurities from tap water for SW tank use?

Use an RO/DI filtration system, and you won't have any of those impurities to
deal with.
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/tank/ro_di.html

Marc


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