Rhysmachine101 Posted August 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 (edited) @keratz: No physics necessary! Just some measuring gluing and drilling! I got all the wood cut for me as I only have a jigsaw to cut with,( NOT a very accurate tool!) All you really have to know is what thickness of wood to go with- I go with 19mm and I have at LEAST 350kg on those stands I made- not even a HINT of bowing! (so you know your good for 350L or so on 19mm- I tested it for you!) I only do it because I enjoy making things- its fun! But its really not that hard if you want to! Having some trouble getting the pump right- I have a 400L/H and a 550L/H powerheads and the 400 is just a smidgeon not powerful enough and the 550 is way too powerful! Arrrg! Anyone know where I can get a 450L/H? cant find one ANYWHERE!!! Edited August 13, 2011 by Rhys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhysmachine101 Posted August 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Ok- I think I fixed the pump issue- found a tap, put that in-line with the 550L/H pump and turned it right down. Wont be great for the pump in the long run I suspect, but its a semi-permanent solution for the time being. Performing a heating test with the 200W heater I have in the sump- so far its gone from 15 degrees C to 22 degrees C in the last three hours- here's hoping I can get it up another 5. There isn't a lid on any of the three tanks at the moment so the heater has to push its hardest- I figure if it can get the temp right with no lids- then it will be perfect with them. Water flow is minimal- which is perfect. Oh I also forgot to tell you guys- the stand that the barracks are on- I put a lip around the top edges and sealed it, there is a hole on the middle of the top of it ( the barrack sit on top of it with a gap) so that in the event of another leakage the water will flow into the spawning tub at the bottom, obviously a worst case scenario measure but after last time, I thought it appropriate! Updates to come when magnets arrive and I can get these barriers set up. Thanks for watching! Rhys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhysmachine101 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 OK people! I need some help with this pump situation! I thought I had it sorted but its not working properly! SO, here are the facts I know: The only pump I currently have capable of pumping the water from the sump to the top barracks( about 0.77m) is a 550 L/H, 0.65m max head. Problem: the pump sucks up too much water from the partition allocated to the pump in sump causing the pump to become exposed and suck some air. Solutions tried: A tap was inserted in-line with the pump slowing the rate that water is deposited into the top tank. The flow rate for the SMALLEST overflow tube (6mm diameter) was calculated like so: Q= flow rate V= velocity of fluid A= area of opening Q=A x V SO the area of the tube with a diameter of 6mm = pi x 0.003m^2 = 0.000028m^2 Q= 0.000028 x 9.81m/s (gravity) Q= 0.275 L/second Which turns into 988.85 L/H!!! So if my MAXIMUM flow rate from the pump is 550 L/H and my flow rate down from my overflows is nearly 1000 L/H .... WHY THE HELL ISN'T IT WORKING!!!!! If all the tanks are full to the point of overflowing and you add more water into the top then they should all start overflowing pretty much instantaneously!!!! or at least very quickly one after the other! There is a tremendous lag time between water going into the top of the barracks and the water coming back down into the sump! I am at my wits end- please help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kertaz Posted August 18, 2011 Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 Perhaps I might sound stupid, but if the pump is 0.65m max head and you slowed down the flow in order to solve your initial problem, and 0.77m is the height of the barrack, the pump may need to work harder to get the water to the top - causing the excessive delay. As for the overflow - did you try to add the water manually to see if the overflow works well? or did you let the pump fills it? If you let the pump filled the top of the barrack, then the delay may be caused due to the above? Hope it gives you an idea or a trigger to solve the problem As I said, I should've studied more physics :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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