Pre-made SM100 scrubbers

[nickq]

Its exactly the same as this one:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/pro ... -side.html
That's what I couldn't understand, its a 1" bulkhead but none of the dimensions are 1". The internal diameter is 34mm.

[nickq]

So I think I've figured out what I want to do, see the pic...
These are 32mm fittings for 32mm external diameter pipe.
The union in the pic is for illustration as that's a 25mm version.
therefore I need a new bulkhead fitting and a 32mm union and a way to connect the union to the bulkhead fitting but the bulkhead fitting needs to cover a 2 inch hole :?

[Bigi]

Hmm, probably a difference in naming of things

I think one of http://www.coralculture.co.uk/shop/prod ... cts_id=696 would fit (just to add to the confusion the description of this looks wrong)

To check that what actually you want is a female 1.25" thread you could take it along to a B&Q and see if something fits it, pretty sure they do 1.25" and 1.5" stuff.

Also meant to say before you can just use some aquarium sealant rather than the missing gasket.

[nickq]

Ok thanks, I'll check out B&Q.
Supplier is sending out the gasket so no major headache, I'm waiting for the lights to come anyway, they've just been shipped from china as I'm going for the eshine LEDs

[Floyd R Turbo]

English, 1 inch is translated as 25mm which is of course smaller than the US 1 inch.

Um, so again, are the pipe fitting you buy in the UK measured and listed in inches or mm? English - inches (or "imperical" measurements, if that's clearer), Metric = mm.

I think this is your issue. So you can't get bulkhead fittings in the UK to fit the pipe sizes that they sell in the UK?

[nickq]

Some good news, B&Q was no use but my LFS was.
[attachment=0:2qce1b7y]IMG_0127.JPG[/attachment:2qce1b7y]
This UV unit hosetail fits perfectly, so I can cut it down and solvent cement it into this union.
Funny thing is the only union big enough is a 1" from the US! So my 32mm pipe is not a very tight fit, hopefully the solvent cement will sort it out.

[Floyd R Turbo]

So you're going to solvent weld the hose fitting into the union? That might work ok, considering that it is not a pressure application. I can't remember if this has been discussed in this thread but with a top-of-tank scrubber like you have shown, you're going to have a long drop from the box into the tank. This will create a lot of cavitation and microbubbles. I have just dealt with this on the tank I have mine on, the outlet for the scrubber is only about 2-3" above the water and everything I have tried has not eliminated the bubbles completely. Right now I have the water drop out into a cut-up 1L bottle with a few bio-balls and a piece of plastic canvas screen to keep them in place, and I still get a steady stream of bubbles.

I have figured out that what you need to have is a return chamber inside the tank that is tall and open on the bottom and large enough to let the water flow out slow enough so that it doesn't pull the bubbles down with it, then it can be open on top or have a lid, as long as air can easily escape. Think about an overflow box in reverse, or something like what a skimmer uses to prevent microbubbles from escaping. I have not built one like this, but it should work in concept. The key is slowing the water flow down. Significantly. And also placing something at or above the surface of the water to prevent the flow from crashing down onto the surface. I use bio-balls, and have to clean them every time I clean the scrubber as they clog. Just something to think about.

[nickq]

I'm thinking of something like this, where the clear tube is in the corner of the tank, just trying to figure out if I can get it all to line up into the right place as there's a brace bar at the top, so corner is the only option.
This is 60mm clear tube, I can hold it in place with a magnet from a topup unit I don't use such that the bottom end is open and above the substrate.
[attachment=0:2aszgefq]IMG_0128.JPG[/attachment:2aszgefq]

[Floyd R Turbo]

The long pipe should allow most of the large bubbles to escape, but the microbubbles might get pushed down in the flow. It depends on your flow, but if you're going a 100 style with 700 GPH going to the box, that's a lot of flow and my gut tells me the microbubbles will keep getting recirculated down the pipe. What you need is a larger footprint area so that the flow from the scrubber is in one corner, and there is a large enough area away from the flow such that the small bubbles can get into a stagnant area of water and slowly rise to the surface.

[nickq]

hmm ok I'll give it some thought.
The scrubber is the same dimensions as the SM100 but I've made the screen only 17 inches for now as its only a 200L tank with little stock and my pump won't cope with more.
Don't want to buy a new pump just yet.