OM 4way owners..... or DIY'ers, need your help!!

[nickyblase]

Do any of you have your closed loop set up without it being drilled (i.e. intake and everything over the top?

I initially planned to drill my 125 for CL, and then at the last minute decided against it. What a dummy I am!

The tank is empty still, but I am NOT going to move it again to have it drilled. There aren't enough people in Maine who drill tanks, and the ones who do are too far away to come to my house to do it.

Anyway.... I'm interested to see what your plumbing setups look like. Pics would be awesome.

P.S. I just had an off-the cuff thought. Let me know if it's nuts.

What if I used 2 of the 4 holes in the dual overflows to drain to the sump, one as a return from the sump, and then the 4th as a closed loop inlet, with the 4 OM outlets to go over the tank? Would that work?


I have been mulling over this darn tank design for so long it's making my head spin! I need to get this thing finished once and for all.

 

[smithcreek]

Do any of you have your closed loop set up without it being drilled (i.e. intake and everything over the top?

What if I used 2 of the 4 holes in the dual overflows to drain to the sump, one as a return from the sump, and then the 4th as a closed loop inlet, with the 4 OM outlets to go over the tank? Would that work?

Sorry, I drilled my tank when I installed my OM 4-way, but I did go through the same torture of laying out the whole thing, so I can sympathize.

If the total flow of you closed loop and sump is less than what the overflow is rate for you might be ok, but I'm guessing you have plans for more flow than it can handle. Is it dual overflow or one big one? I think each dual is rated at 600gph.

Have you checked out the OM forum? There may be some people there that have done what you are talking about.

 

[Ifferfish]

I used a OM4 on my 180 without drilling it. I can see if I have a photo tomorrow, ( working 12hrs today ). It does work fine.

 

[ReeferMedic]

Looking forward to seeing those pics Keith. I've had an OM 4 way sitting in my 210's stand for about 1 year now. It's about time to hook it up I think.

 

[IffersTankSlave]

Not sure if I have pics, but it's pretty basic. Had the OM and a Velocity T$ undedr the tank using a closed loop. I'll check when I get home.

 

[nickyblase]

awesome. Thanks for any help!

I have the opportunity to pick up a used 4way for a pretty good price, and he's including true union ball valves!!

I have a decent grasp on how I should plumb the outputs, it's more the intake that I'm not sure about.

 

[nichols]

I'm running an om 4 way on my undrilled 210. I'm running 2 1.5" intakes and 4 1" returns. This is where I got my inspiration. In takes and returns are the same I just didn't use the scwd.
http://melevsreef.com/closedloop.html

 

[nichols]

Just make sure the holes in the intake pipes are low enough to remain under water with the main pump shut off. I've been running this setup for 2 years now. No problems except the 160 watts the Sequence reef dart uses.

 

[nickyblase]

Okay,,,, I just picked up a dart today, and will be throttling it down some. The inlet is 2" and the outputs are 1.5".

I was only planning on having the plumbing in the tank be 1". Is that going to be a huge problem if I use reducers on all these? I could probably do 1.5" input within the tank, but I definitely don't want a honking 2" pipe and 4 1.5" outputs!

 

[MikeG]

What drum are you using in the OM? Does it have 2 holes or 1? If it is a version with 2 openning, you are fine with 4 1" outlets. If you are trying to use the drum that has only 1 hole so the outlets will be on 1 at a time sequentially you may have a problem.

I have one outlet that goes down to 1" but goes to a 30" spraybar. I tried to use the version 1 drum but when the outlet got to the spraybar, the backpressure pushes it off center and it gets hung up. I got around this by taking the drum with one hole and drilling a small hole (ended up about half the size of the regular one to work) on the opposite side so the wouldn't be the backpressure from the spray bar yet I would still get more random flow. There are 2 outputs on at all times but one is much more powerful than the other. Hope that makes sense.

 

[nickyblase]

I haven't bought the OM yet. I was going to get a used one on RC, but found out it was one of the older models and had to have the drum replaced, so I decided to hold off.

Since it's the holiday season, I think what I will probably do is lay the plumbing, and then for a few weeks to a month, use the Seio's and Koralias I have. Then, once the sting of the holiday is gone, I'll buy a new OM, hook it up, and pull out the powerheads.

 

[jacqur]

I'd be very careful about trying to use a 1" return as the intake for a Dart. You would be much better off trying to get at least (2) 1" supplies or even better (2) 1.25" supplies. A single 1" will starve the pump. Nichols suggestion is spot on. Just plumb (2) 1.25" intakes over the back of your tank as siphons.

If you are concerned about the OM discharge to the tank, you can install a bypass before the Om. That's what I did. I have a 2" return from my Dolphin going into a OM with a 1.5" inlet and (4) 1" outlets. Before the OM inlet I have a 1" bypass that just goes into the tank. This could supply a spray bar or an eductor or whatever. Put a valve on it so you can control how much flow goes to the OM and prevent the drum from getting bound.

 

[Ifferfish]

Sorry to take soo long, Keith and I did look and we do not have a photo. It is not hard though. Keith used spa flex from the OM to up the back of the 180. Then from there he hard plumbed along the top rim of the tank to all 4 corners. Then heated up some 45 angles to bend them to the shape and angle I wanted to direct the water. It worked very well. It does end up resting on the top of the tank, so it is not very pretty if you can see the top of the tank, but from inside the tank you could only see part of the 45's angled into the water. If you go onto OM's site, they have a coulple of pictures as well. It may give you some ideas from there.

 

[nickyblase]

Sorry to take soo long, Keith and I did look and we do not have a photo. It is not hard though. Keith used spa flex from the OM to up the back of the 180. Then from there he hard plumbed along the top rim of the tank to all 4 corners. Then heated up some 45 angles to bend them to the shape and angle I wanted to direct the water. It worked very well. It does end up resting on the top of the tank, so it is not very pretty if you can see the top of the tank, but from inside the tank you could only see part of the 45's angled into the water. If you go onto OM's site, they have a coulple of pictures as well. It may give you some ideas from there.

Thanks for looking! I know exactly what you mean by your description. Perhaps Don can close his eyes and (without smoke coming out of his ears) envision what your setup looks like! JK Don.

Here's something I just saw- I was on the OM forums, and someone is using a dart into a SuperSquirt (which is limited to 2500 GPH).

Paul recommended splitting off the line from the Dart, and running one 1" to the OM, and another that would split again into 2 3/4" stationary returns.

This idea intrigues me, because that would mean I could use the dart for my returns and also my OM. Only thing I am not certain of though, is how my sump would handle that flow.

Thoughts?

http://www.oceansmotions.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=559

 

[jacqur]

Thats essentially what I was suggesting. There isn't anything wrong with limiting the discharge of your pump to well below it's rated capacity. However, if you are using a pump at 50% capacity you are wasting capital cost, electricity, and generating needless heat.

The 1" bypass allows you to utilize the entire capacity of the pump, and if it's on a closed loop, sump capacity is not an issue.

 

[nickyblase]

I was actually thinking about having the split (before the OM) go directly to my return lines that are drilled from sump to overflow, then have the other half go to the OM and over the top of the tank. So, essentially the flow to the pump would be coming through the sump instead of an intake via CL in the tank.

Does that make sense? Would I still have to have an intake from within the tank to feed the pump? I'd love to be able to have one pump for the whole thing (if it's actually possible)

 

[MikeG]

I would not do it that way, although I am sure it probably can be done. I would do as Rob suggested and do a closed loop and and use a second pump for the return.

It would take some work to get the stock drains to move around 3000gph. You really don't need or want that type of flow in a sump. More efficient use of energy to use the dart as a closed loop and T off before the OM if you are worried about restricting the outputs to 1" and trying to move 3000gph.

 

[nickyblase]

You're right. I thought about that after I typed it. Just doesn't make sense to do it that way. I think I'll just stick with the idea of 2 1.5" intakes for the closed loop into the dart, and then 4 1" outputs. Keep it simple.

Thanks for bearing with me on that one, I'm a little slow sometimes!

 

[MikeG]

Keep it simple.

Simple is always good Keep the questions coming if you have more ideas. Seems like plenty of people here to bounce them off of!

 

[ReeferMedic]

Thanks for looking! Perhaps Don can close his eyes and (without smoke coming out of his ears) envision what your setup looks like! JK Don.

And she's funny too!