Flow Calculator
This is a side-track from the usual “Project 360″ post. I just wanted to share a little about a spreadsheet that I developed for modeling a piping system and determining the optimum pump to use. This is a very useful tool for designing a new process line and understanding the system curve (flow vs. pressure drop in the system). The program is driven by Excel and custom written Visual Basic routines. The limitations of this system are:
- Calculations are for Newtonian Fluids only (in a nutshell a fluid who’s viscosity is independent of shear forces)
- Pump suggestions are limited to those in the database of the program (which can be expanded upon as time allows)
Project 360 - Lighting Update
Not much progress to report on the tank, “real work” and other projects at home have been keeping me busy. I did change my mind on the lighting setup. I was planning on running all T5’s but decided to go with halides at the last minute. My bulb choice was the Iwasaki 175w 15k. I’m running them on the new model Icecap 175w electronic ballasts. The spectral data and PAR numbers can be found on Sanjay Joshi’s site here.