To add an extra dimesnion of flow to the reef tank i have added a surge device, which basically dumps water on the main tank in a cyclic fashion.
Here is the construction
Parts bought from B&Q (total = £20)
Most expensive part was the flush valve (with flapper style mechanism)
Box = cereal box from ASDA
Piping and fittings are push to fit
38mm drill bit (largest i had, then further opened up with a dremmel). This cereal box is ideal, as there is already a circular 38mm marking on the base of the box, so no need to guess where to put the drill!
Flush mechanism passed through the box and siliconed into place
This is where improvisation comes into place (as does wandering around B&Q opening all the packets seeing if things fit into each other).
The connector below the flush device was 'aquired' from anoother flush device packet, and allows the 38mm pipe to be locked into place. After this there is a 40mm to 32mm pressure pipe coupling, then after that, push to fit 32mm pipe.
The bends are push-to-fit. At the end of the piping in the below pic, i used a T-piece with an end cap. The end cap will have a hole drilled in it. My theory is that air will be released from there when the water rushes past, and hopefully reduce the number of microbubbles in the tank on discharge)
I'm pretty happy, just a few tweaks to make, corals seem to be loving it (especially the sps, gorgs and suncorals)
Some vids:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrBRlTKnBvk - Surge device flush
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT_2MZgbryc - Tank being dumped on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f5onkbpa9M - Closer to the corals to show them getting a battering
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J72sypze6NI - This one is to demonstrate how the water level rises (not much you will agree). The stand pipes can more than handle that volume.
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Worked out a few stats for this surge device;-
Fill time = 32 secs
Dump time = 7 secs
Cycle time = 39 seconds
Amount of water dumped per hour = 461lts
Rate of water dump = (equal to - 2571 lts/hr)
