Connecting Sea Swirls to plumbing?

[Chris]

Anyone have experience with hooking up Sea Swirls?

I just did a test run tonight adding 230 gallons or so of water and it seems the way I connected the Sea Swirls wasn't such a good idea.... they're leaking.

I used flex PVC which I had to boil first to get it to loosen up then I basically shoved the PVC onto the SS. It's incredibly tight but apparently not tight enough as it leaks. I'm going to have to cut it off rather than pull it cause it's so tight... time to start over with my plumbing :?

I was also only getting flow from the two sea swirls and not the two standard returns(supposed to be 4 outlets total) so my next project is going to be pulling everything out and designing another plumbing solution... anyone care to help? :grin:

[TexasState]

Get some flexible tubing from Home Depot. If your fish store carry it, the Lee brand hose come in black color for algae control. Flexible tubing cost alot of money, so just use it at the half way point where you need the flexibility.

If Sea Swirls see that you have leaks inside the unit, your warranty is void. It cost $50 to fix out of warranty sea Swirl(original warranty is one year after purchase.) Don't over load your Sea Swirls. Running more GPH through the SS then it can handle will result in leaks.

[Chris]

I think the overloading factor might have been the cause of the problem then. I wasn't getting much flow at all from the other 2 returns so basically all the power from my Amp Master 3K was going to the two 3/4" Sea Swirls. :?

Back to the drawing board on figuring out a way to do the plumbing.

[TexasState]

How long is your tank? YOu might want to get at least a third Sea Swirl ( 3/4 or 1 inch.) Or use a Spray bar. Or, divert some water back into your sump(instead of throttling down Amp Master by use of a valve.)

I don't have the number in front of me. I think a 3/4 inch Sea Swirl can handle around 800 GPH. Water will travel the path of least resistance, so one Sea Swirl might have more GPH going through it then the other. B/c of that, you don't want to hook up your SS close to the limit.

Don't place your SS right under your MH. Something is going to melt.

[TexasState]

Don't open up your SS to see if it had leaked inside. That's how my got broke.


If Sea Swirls see that you have leaks inside the unit, your warranty is void. It cost $50 to fix out of warranty sea Swirl(original warranty is one year after purchase.)

I'm just saying that the rule. But SS have fixed my out of warranty stuff for free, and shipped it back for free too. IMHO, It could depend on how tight their budget is. Ed from SS is putting his daughter through Med school right now.

[Chris]

Well to go with the two Sea Swirls there's also the flow from the two 3/4" standard returns that come up from inside the overflow. I don't really have much of a place to add a third SS unit unless I have two beside each other.

I have them placed in between the MH bulbs... there shouldn't be a problem with them. I'm a bit more worried about the glass brace.... I'm going to scoot the two center bulbs over a few inches so neither of them is directly over the glass brace. It's a really large brace :(

[Chris]

Don't open up your SS to see if it had leaked inside. That's how my got broke.

It wasn't leaking directly from the Sea Swirl... just near the plumbing where it connects to it. So I think you figured the problem with just using too much flow.... poor plumbing design.

I can at least say the way it was designed wasn't my idea.... it was Mike's from Aq. Sales... :oops:

[TexasState]

Some peoples on RC are modifying their SS to allow more water flow. You'll have to search for it, or ask Hammer. SS said not to do it, b/c they have received damaged SS back from peoples doing the modification incorrectly. If you're buying direct from SS, they'll modify it for you themself if you ask. Ever see picture of SS on RC with white pipe sticking out as the inlet pipe? Your original inlet pipe is black. The mod might buy you some more GPH/

[Chris]

Haven't seen it but i'll definately have to look. I'm not to sure it'll provide *THAT* much more flow though... but if it's an easy modification it might be worth it.

If you check in the DIY forum(on RC)... there's a real good thread on a DIY Reeftec... i'm sure that puppy will provide a lot more circulation. :)

[TexasState]

Are you still going to do a DSB in your main tank? When you dump the bucket of salt in, don't dump in the whole bucket b/c it say 200 gallon. My salinity tend to be higher then the amount of salt stated as being sold on the label of the salt bag/box/bucket.

[Chris]

Nah... but I do think I would like to have varying depths throughout the whole tank. Some area's up to 5" or so and some as low as 2-3". It's nice to see worm trails and stuff but a full DSB is just too ghastly looking. :P

I will add some depth to my refugium when the tank is actually up and running(right now it's only about 1-2" deep). And the sump/mangrove tank will have a DSB too.

[TexasState]

Anyone have experience with hooking up Sea Swirls?


Disclaimer: I don't have any experience hooking up a SS. I'm just making stuffs up as I go along. I did stay at a Holidy Inn last night. I've owned two 1/2 SS, but I've traded them away b4 I even had a chance to use them myself. The SS look more complex then my Eheim return bar. Back then, I coudln't figure out how to convert 1/2 SS to work with my 3/4 Mag Pump. So, I kept my Eheim return bar as is, and traded the SS away.
I later discovered plumbing parts from Savko and Lowes. So, I'm sure SS will be a breeze to install the next time around.

[TexasState]

That's how Hammer set his 110 gallons up. The sand are slanted from front the back. The front look pretty low, but the DSB are hidden in the back, behind the rockwork.

I'm just going with bare bottom on my next tank. Then I can blast high GPH through the tank. The high circulation will encourage long hair algae growth for my tangs to enjoy.

[Chris]

Disclaimer: I don't have any experience hooking up a SS. I'm just making stuffs up as I go along. I did stay at a Holidy Inn last night. I've owned two 1/2 SS, but I've traded them away b4 I even had a chance to use them myself. The SS look more complex then my Eheim return bar. Back then, I coudln't figure out how to convert 1/2 SS to work with my 3/4 Mag Pump. So, I kept my Eheim return bar as is, and traded the SS away.
I later discovered plumbing parts from Savko and Lowes. So, I'm sure SS will be a breeze to install the next time around.

:lol1:

EDIT: You beat my reply to your disclaimer. :P

[TexasState]

You can put a restricting ball valve on the line going into your Sea Swirls, and the rest of the water will travel out of your regular PVC return.

Get a true union ball valve so you can remove and install back and forth with ease.