i want to find a way to get some additional flow in the tank and i am hearing alot about closed loop systems but i dont know exactly what it is. i see that people sometimes have a wavebox or a scwd and i want to know how some folks have their CL setup and if you have a scwd does it work for you? people have been saying that over 100gal tank and it wouldnt work very well so is that true? if so what is the alternative?

Aren't almost all aquariums closed loop systems?
Almost all aquariums continually use the same water. They aren't like rivers which are definitely not a closed loop.
Closed loop refers to a circle of course, the circle being water going from the tank to your filter or even just staying where it is, being dumped right back into the tank. New water is rarely continually entering your system, and water that exits via your plumbing normally goes right back into your tank.

closed loop refers to a system that pulls water out of the tank and pumps it right back in, versus, pulling water from a sump/fuge and putting that into your tank.

closed loops are great, they can be some work to setup right but once done you will be happy you put the work into it

so why do people use scwd and wave boxes? i dont get the benefits that ppl say a closed loop brings

The scwd (or squid) is a devise that has gears inside of it where the pressure of the water turns the gears opening the outlets at different time. i be leave the squid is rated for no more than 1300gph. I have one but i haven't used it on my tank yet. I have bend tested it and it is pretty cool if i do say so :) Here is a link to Melevsreef on how he did his closed loop
Melevsreef.com - Closed Loop (http://melevsreef.com/closedloop.html)

One of the benefits that wave style devices bring is that the coral is never in one position. A lot of people say (and i agree) that a happy coral is one that is not in the same position or aimed in the same direction.

In my opinion if i had a tank over 100-gallons i would probably go with a wave box devise of some sort.. They are worth the money in my opinion. Actually i think tunze makes a 2-power head and controller combo. Not sure the GPH rating and how much but i have always heard good things about tunze

yea i looked at the tunze but they are so dang expensive but it says it can be used on tanks up to 317gal whatever that means. 500 dollars for what is essentially the same as a scwd for 40 bux

Yea but if i can remember right you are spose to cycle your tank 10x a day The squid is up to 1300gph. is your tank 100gal or a 120gal? I would say its worth a shot. I say go for it :)

I think that you meant to say 10 times per hour...

Yea you right sorry about that. I even reread that to make sure i wasn't messing up lol thank you for catching that..

its 125gal right now but i will be upgrading the volume in january so lets say total volume will be 175gal so 1750gph wont cut it. unless i have overlooked something

I have a closed loop on the 50 gallon seahorse tank with a SCWD. I'll be doing the same for the 100 gallon.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y248/seahorsedreams/Pent%20pictures/up.jpg

I to was going to use the squid to ad non-random current to the tank. But after doing some research, I will be doing a full tank closed loop. I will have pvc tubing go all the way around the top parimeter of my tank and have tees ever 5inches or so. the ones I don't use I will plug, the ones I do use will have flex lines attached to it. This will all be pumped by an 2000 GPH external pump. I feel that this will bennefit me as my reef matures, I can alternate the current to adapt with coral growth.

What's a "full closed loop".

Closed loop is not a new idea. Many tanks 20-30 years ago used that principle. There were no powerheads or fish safe submersible pumps readily available at the time. It fell out of favor during the wet/dry era.

Amphibious, do you remember those days?

I just had a flash of my dad telling me how he used to have to walk 50 miles barefoot to school everyday in the snow.

:-)

I just had a flash of my dad telling me how he used to have to walk 50 miles barefoot to school everyday in the snow.

:-)
It is not possible to walk 50 miles to school and back through snow. But with determination, exemptional strength and stamina, state of the art snowshoes, and mean-ass parents, 47.5 miles may be achieved. :shout:

What I meant by a "full Closed Loop" was the return from the pump actually splits off of a tee and makes a rectangle around the top parimeter of the tank with random tees for output. This was you can alter the flow with ease any time you want. Anthony Calfo mentions this way often.

Are you talking about Calfo's manifold?

dadonoflaw, before the conversation strays to far into types of closed loop systems, i wanted to make sure you got your questions answered.
if we didnt address your question fully or if you need further clarification, please jump in.. :)

i know so little about closed loops and there are so many facts my question may have been too broad to answer. i have only seen plumbing on other people's tanks so it is a bit hard to grasp. i want to get the flow i have with 4 seio 100's and a mj 1200 and a mag 7 from the chiller with fewer powerheads particularly if i am getting the ritteri because i heard the show on anemones getting sucked in and it scared me. what can i do to increase flow while removing 1 or two powerheads?

Yea Renee I did mean Calfo's manifold. I am searching right now for the best pump to do this on my tank. I will post my result here after I do so.

I do not have a closed loop system, but I have a 1700 gph pump driving 2 SCWDs (I think WWest is right that they are rated at 1300 gph). Each output (4) drives 2 jets (total of 8) in the tank (educators on 2 of them – plan to add a few more). The combination is great in my 145 Gal tank – very nice random wave action. No power heads – A dream come true.

Mark

I forgot to mention - I have noticed that occasionally you need to clean the SCWDs by turning off the pump to allow water to backflow through them. The instructions highly recommend filtering the water before them, but I do not want to add any filter that might clog or generate nitrates, so I came up with this solutions. It has worked so far (about a year on one).

Mark