what have you done with your DC return pump?

[spicytuna]

Hello,

Having owned a DC return pump for the past year, I've spent some time fine tuning it, and figuring ways to benefit from it.

Im curious as to how others have utilized there controllable return pump in ways they could not have with a standard return pump.

Background:
I run a Tunze 1073.50 controlled by my apex. It was never my intention to run DC, but I have had great performance with the other tunze silence pumps 1073.20&40. So I opted for the newest model at the time.

My uses:
Having the controllable option has allowed me to dial in my overflow to be near silent. I originally dialed the pump in with the potentiometer in line with the power supply.

I now control it via my apex. During the day the return pump ramps up to produce circulation. From about 5pm till 1pm the next day, the pump runs at near silent operation.

This has proven to benefit in skimmer production and increased evaporation. I have a steadily growing sps system that relies heavily on kalk, so my goal is evaporation.

For reference of my methodology. During the day my pump runs at 38% and ramps down to 35% in the evening. Im not forcing heavy evaporation. Although a 3% margin may sound small, the filter sock and skimmer does not lie. Ph is stable between 8.0-8.3. I have localized ph spikes, but I don't concern myself with ph fluctuations. I follow my alkaline demand closely and adjust all my params based solely off of alk. I don't usually have a strong opinion about the way a reef should be kept and what equipment is needed. I appreciate the individuality of the way others attain success with simple and complex approaches. My goal is to gain wisdom from the success of others.



How has controlling your return flow benefitted you?

[Reef Frog]

I don't own a DC return pump but after reading your post I am going to seriously consider one for my next build!

A possibility that occurred to me:

PROBLEM:
When feeding super small sized planktonic foods, socks & pads in the sump may trap the food too quickly before your tank life can get their fill. Most folks would turn off the AC return pump or turn off the skimmer & remove the sock which is a hassle. If you have reactors with sponge filters plumbed through the return line via a manifold, they too may be getting clogged prematurely and the food is wasted.

IDEA:
In such a case I imagine you could do a custom feeding routine where you issue amsingke command where the DC return pump throttles down for an hour or two, the in tank powerheads ramp up & down to keep the plankton moving at different velocities so different animals have the chance to utilize the food. I am thinking this could really help an advanced NPS tank keeper with hard to keep filter feeding corals like NPS gorgonians, carnation & other similar corals plus filter feeding inverts like coco worms.

And I can imagine the opposite routine being valuable for exporting decomposing food that build up quickly in this type of tank. You ramp up the circulation pumps very high for a short period along with the return pump to created a detritus storm where a large amount of deeply imbedded junk can be removed quickly.

Just foolin around with amfew ideas....

[Colin]

http://forum.reefangel.com/viewtopic...it=robertoflow

Full siphon completely silent overflow.

--Colin