DIY Rimless Starphire and Stainless Kiddy Pool (PICS!) - Page 2

BeanAnimal · #26 08/13/2007, 07:42 AM

Thank you for all of the info. You have done a wonderful job. I know I speak for others when I say that my small 75G display is starting to make me feel like I need to upgrade. Alas, I was lucky enough to be "allowed" to build thatinto the wall and do not see any chance of further upgrades.

liveforphysics · #27 08/13/2007, 08:02 AM

Thank you for the kind words BeanAnimal, it feels good to hear

chwcdw · #28 08/13/2007, 08:55 AM

Man, that is one amazing set up! I dont think the plumbing on the space shuttle is as complex!

I really dig the swing away canopy that you made for it. Mine is a really nice furniture grade piece of woodwork, but a royal PIA to work around.

Nice Job! I definitely have a case of tank envy!

thirschmann · #29 08/13/2007, 10:54 AM

wow... nicely done.

stugray · #30 08/13/2007, 11:55 AM

How did you determine which "frame size" of baldor motor fits the Sequence wet head?

I see other 3 phase Baldor motors on ebay, but not the JM3458.

Would the VNM3538 motor fit? The VM shows a frame size of 56C while the JM is a 56J.

Bean?

Stu

BeanAnimal · #31 08/13/2007, 01:14 PM

Your looking at the NEMA frame sizes.

All 56 frame motors will have the same bolt pattern.

The suffix (in this case) refers to the shaft type:

56J is theaded 5/8" shaft
56C is keyed 5/8" shaft

56Y is square flanged motor

The smaller wet ends may be 48 frames. I suppose somebody from MDM could provide the details.

Famous · #32 08/13/2007, 01:14 PM

Seriously...That tank is awesome! Great Job. Cant wait for more updates!

wolf pup · #33 08/13/2007, 02:51 PM

Great Tank! - Shame you lost so much with the move - I really like the wide/shallow combination - It gives it a open ocean look rather than an "edge of a cliff" look.

liveforphysics · #34 08/13/2007, 03:46 PM

56J "pump motor" is what to look for. I bought mine from electricmotorwholesale.com for something under $300 if I remember correctly.

The pump conversion went really smoothly. Took about 15mins to swap motors, and everything lined up perfectly.

I'm actually going to be removing the internal fan on the back of the motor and replacing it with a small fan on a thermal switch blowing in the back of the motor when it gets warm.

I don't think I mentioned it, but when the tank enters night mode, I have the waves set to be only about 30% as powerful so the fish can stay in their little nooks/beds without so much struggling. The flowrate is really something that just needs to be seen to be believed.

stugray · #35 08/13/2007, 04:39 PM

Sorry to go on about the pump when there is so much to say about the rest of the tank....

Cant help it, I'm a gadget freak too....

Was the VFD the 100 or 200 watt version?

I have found all the parts to upgrade my CL just like yours, just trying to finalize the parts.

Stu

Thanks Bean too for the pump shaft clarification!

kysard1 · #36 08/13/2007, 05:28 PM

A Varible Frequency Drive is a great idea for wave control. Care to share that circuit diagram?

BeanAnimal · #37 08/13/2007, 05:34 PM

Circuit diagram...

It is an off the shelf VFD that runs a 3-Phase motor from a Single-Phase source. It has control logic built in. Plug it into the wall and the pump into it. If the motor runs in reverse, flop any (2) leads and it will run the other direction.

There are dozens of manufacturers of such drives. The biggest problem is finding a 3-Phase pump duty motor that is smaller than 1/3HP (pretty darn large).

kysard1 · #38 08/13/2007, 05:46 PM

You mean you didn't build it?

. I kicked around the idea of building a PWM for my vortec. What mfg/model # is the VFD ?

I really think VFD's will become popular wave controllers in the next few years. You are leading the way.

Conesus_Kid · #39 08/13/2007, 06:23 PM

This is an incredible build, both technically and aesthetically.

BeanAnimal · #40 08/13/2007, 06:28 PM

Building a reliable and quite VFD is rather complicated. They also work best with 3-phase. Single phase motors can be speed controlled, but they tend to be problematic. 3-Phase motors have several sets of windings and that helps with speed control.

liveforphysics · #41 08/13/2007, 06:33 PM

It's called a "Yaskawa VS Mini". I actually had planned this tank to have two of of the 3-phase barracuda pumps running from the same drive, each with 1/3hp motors, so I bought the 3/4hp model. If I didn't have the 16 eductor nozzles, I think I would have to go with 2-pumps to get this intensity of flow pulses that I wanted, but with the eductors I'm not even able to fully turn up the single pump system I'm using.

The cost between the 1/3hp (all you would need) and the 3/4hp was really small, so if you plan on running two or more pumps in the future (600gal tank? or multiple tanks?) you could run all the pumps from the same drive.

It has these very easy to use setting for telling it how quickly you wish it to ramp up to speed and ramp down, along with 3 (maybe more, I'm not looking at it right now) inputs for triggers to tell it to do different things.

On the kill-a-watt meter, it's average power consumption is under 80watts!!! This is because I turned the field current down on the drive right to the brink where the motor begins to slip phases, then turned it back up a whisker.

As you can see from the IR images, the motor stays very cool to the touch, much cooler than a regular sequence pump, and the drive stays less than luke-warm.

80watts average power use. No in tank powerheads or things hanging down in the the tank. Roughly 23,000gph of totally directable pulsed wave simulation flow.

I can't believe I played with the haywards and oceans motions and other stuff for so long before trying it. All I ever got with the other stuff was a blasting stream switching places where it enters. This is looks just like a building surge of a wave coming and passing. Anyone local to me is welcome to come by and take a look for themselves.

kysard1 · #42 08/13/2007, 06:51 PM

revolutionary for reefkeeping

talon4x4 · #43 08/13/2007, 07:11 PM

Simply outstanding!! The tank, the pump, everything is a work of art.

I think it should be a TOTM!!

Can't wait to see some pics showing off the livestock!!

"Umm, fish?" · #44 08/13/2007, 08:19 PM

Wow! I want to make one of your pumps/timers! Any possibility of doing a step-by-step on it? Stu, if you do the build can you document the steps? Thanks!

liveforphysics · #45 08/13/2007, 08:20 PM

I apprecaite all the kind feedback! It feels good to have feedback from a group who actually knows the amount of work it requires to build these sorts of things all from scratch.

Talon4x4- I'm flattered about the TOTM suggestion, but unless a couple 5gal buckets filled with freshly dead skeletons gets a TOTM these days I'm afraid all I have is a basically empty tank

. I like to grow my systems entirely from frags, so it will be a long time before I can share any worthy livestock photos. Sorry

Best Wishes,
-Luke

customcolor · #46 08/13/2007, 09:41 PM

would this motor work with this control for what u did. i found them with a yahoo search and it was the very first site on the list.

liveforphysics · #47 08/13/2007, 10:31 PM

That motor will not work, the drive MAY work, but I have no idea if it has features to smoothly ramp between speeds. The motor needs to say 56J on it. The J means the motor is for a pump, and will have a threaded shaft end rather than a keyway. The threaded end is what the impeller on the pump threads onto.

Also, this is entirely personal preference, but for things that will be in my living room, I try to buy only the most quiet and reliable.

While any brand of 3 phase motor will be more reliable than the single phase motors that the pumps come with, I've found Blackmax, AO-smith and many brands other than Baldor to be make more noise and often run hotter. These things may or may not be a concern for your application.

Also, keep in mind, cheaper VFD's may require motors which are wound for "inverter spike resistance". The VS mini has this very cool wave smoothing ability to better simulate a sine wave. It also doesn't have the "whine" problems that many VFD's I've used at work always seem to have.

I'm sure there are dozens of other ways to do this and save money. I made silence a priority goal with this project, which is why I chose this combo of parts.

BeanAnimal · #48 08/13/2007, 10:38 PM

The drive listed above has no logic built in. It takes a voltage input to control the output. For example 20 volts on the control line would equate to 20 Hz on the drive. So you provide a reference voltage and control it with a digital or motorized pot (dallas 1-wire, etc).

disbjohn · #49 08/13/2007, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by liveforphysics
That motor will not work, the drive MAY work, but I have no idea if it has features to smoothly ramp between speeds. The motor needs to say 56J on it. The J means the motor is for a pump, and will have a threaded shaft end rather than a keyway. The threaded end is what the impeller on the pump threads onto.

Also, this is entirely personal preference, but for things that will be in my living room, I try to buy only the most quiet and reliable.

While any brand of 3 phase motor will be more reliable than the single phase motors that the pumps come with, I've found Blackmax, AO-smith and many brands other than Baldor to be make more noise and often run hotter. These things may or may not be a concern for your application.

Also, keep in mind, cheaper VFD's may require motors which are wound for "inverter spike resistance". The VS mini has this very cool wave smoothing ability to better simulate a sine wave. It also doesn't have the "whine" problems that many VFD's I've used at work always seem to have.

I'm sure there are dozens of other ways to do this and save money. I made silence a priority goal with this project, which is why I chose this combo of parts.

how much was the motor and VS mini that got?

liveforphysics · #50 08/13/2007, 11:34 PM

These prices are accurate +-$100. I have a poor memory for costs on things.

Sequence pump - $325
3-phase motor - $300
VS-mini VFD - $400

The 16x eductors and plumbing was the expensive part. I think I have somewhere in the neighborhood of $1500 into the nozzles and other plumbing.