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Automated water changes
- Thread starter PaulM
- Start date
My buddy of mine did one for himself with a 90G display and 30G sump. All he does is sit down turns on and off he switches while watching tv.
I have a 75g tank with a 30g sump. No basement and my tank is in the middle of the family room... so I can't do any elaborate plumbing system to automate my water changes.
However, I did come up with a very good system where I only have to fill up a 5g container every 2-3 days.
It's basically just a Tunze Osmolator with a container I bought at "The Container Store". Here are some pics of when I first set it up. I have since organized all the wiring to give it a cleaner look and the controller unit is mounted on the door of the stand.
Here's a quick shot of the whole system. Clear container on the small shelf (which the previous owner of the tank had installed for his ATO setup), pump inside of it, controller on the right (hanging freely in this shot).
Here's a shot of where I was planning to mount the controller
Here's a closeup of the float controls that tell the controller when to start/stop the pump. You can also see where I mounted the outlet tube of the pump originally. It didn't work here though (see my explanation after the pics.)
Here is a closeup of how I notched out part of the latch on the lid so that when it closes it doesn't pinch the tube/wiring. Sorry its a bit blurry, but I just used a razor blade and cut a small piece off the edge. The lid has a foam O-ring around the interior of it that gets secured tightly when the latch is closed... so I wanted to make sure that was still functional. It's not completely water-tight, but it helps keep the water from gushing over the edge if I bump the container and cause a wave. I also only fill the container to about 1 inch below the top to help with avoiding this.
It's kind of hard to see here, but I used rubber bands to fasten the tube/wire to a suction cup mount from an old heater. This helped keep the pump sit straight on the bottom of the container by securing it to the side and letting gravity do the rest.
This is the completed setup. The only thing I did after this (but don't have pics of) is when I organized the wiring. If you noticed the wiring is all bunched up, so I got one of those slotted plastic conduits and just fed it all into that and hid it up under the stand.
The only part I didn't get a pic of was how/where I mounted the discharge tubing from the pump. I originally just had it running over and hanging into my sump. However, since this container is sitting up on a shelf and the tube outlet was lower than the water level in the container... gravity caused it to siphon into the sump and the pump being on or off didn't matter.
What I did to correct this was just bought new, longer tubing and ran it along the length of my sump, then ran it out the back of the stand and up and over the glass wall into the overflow box. I used the mounting clips that came with it and mounted it right to my display tank frame. I aim the flow so that when the ATO kicks in it rinses off the top of my durso elbow. This seems to help keep some of the algae from growing on top of it, so that's an added bonus. But the higher elevation of the tube outlet is now well above my topoff container water level... so the siphon issue is fixed.
Hope that helps give some ideas. It's been working great for me for over a year now. The container I found just barely fits on an angle between my sump and the edge of the stand so I have to be careful when putting it back in when full.
However, I did come up with a very good system where I only have to fill up a 5g container every 2-3 days.
It's basically just a Tunze Osmolator with a container I bought at "The Container Store". Here are some pics of when I first set it up. I have since organized all the wiring to give it a cleaner look and the controller unit is mounted on the door of the stand.
Here's a quick shot of the whole system. Clear container on the small shelf (which the previous owner of the tank had installed for his ATO setup), pump inside of it, controller on the right (hanging freely in this shot).
Here's a shot of where I was planning to mount the controller
Here's a closeup of the float controls that tell the controller when to start/stop the pump. You can also see where I mounted the outlet tube of the pump originally. It didn't work here though (see my explanation after the pics.)
Here is a closeup of how I notched out part of the latch on the lid so that when it closes it doesn't pinch the tube/wiring. Sorry its a bit blurry, but I just used a razor blade and cut a small piece off the edge. The lid has a foam O-ring around the interior of it that gets secured tightly when the latch is closed... so I wanted to make sure that was still functional. It's not completely water-tight, but it helps keep the water from gushing over the edge if I bump the container and cause a wave. I also only fill the container to about 1 inch below the top to help with avoiding this.
It's kind of hard to see here, but I used rubber bands to fasten the tube/wire to a suction cup mount from an old heater. This helped keep the pump sit straight on the bottom of the container by securing it to the side and letting gravity do the rest.
This is the completed setup. The only thing I did after this (but don't have pics of) is when I organized the wiring. If you noticed the wiring is all bunched up, so I got one of those slotted plastic conduits and just fed it all into that and hid it up under the stand.
The only part I didn't get a pic of was how/where I mounted the discharge tubing from the pump. I originally just had it running over and hanging into my sump. However, since this container is sitting up on a shelf and the tube outlet was lower than the water level in the container... gravity caused it to siphon into the sump and the pump being on or off didn't matter.
What I did to correct this was just bought new, longer tubing and ran it along the length of my sump, then ran it out the back of the stand and up and over the glass wall into the overflow box. I used the mounting clips that came with it and mounted it right to my display tank frame. I aim the flow so that when the ATO kicks in it rinses off the top of my durso elbow. This seems to help keep some of the algae from growing on top of it, so that's an added bonus. But the higher elevation of the tube outlet is now well above my topoff container water level... so the siphon issue is fixed.
Hope that helps give some ideas. It's been working great for me for over a year now. The container I found just barely fits on an angle between my sump and the edge of the stand so I have to be careful when putting it back in when full.
best thing i ever did was buy that python/aqueon thing that connects to my laundry room faucet. no more bucket brigade. I shut down the pumps/return and turn it on. This allows me some time to mess around with the sandbed to kick up some detritus and scrape whatever annoying algae is growing on the sides of the glass.
it's not automated like sunny / don or phil g's set ups. But for now it has made me stick to a 2 week schedule of water changes because it's a 60 minute deal (most of which is watching the sump to make sure it doesn't overflow as I'm adding 40 gallons of new water in).
I think thats just for the ATO setup. I have a similar setup using a JBJ ATO with a spare 5 gallon tank next to the sump.
My apologies. I had a brain fart. 
Yes, this is my ATO setup. I guess the "automated" part of the original post had me thinking ATO.
I'm still stuck with using buckets for my water changes. I usually do 10g per week and my bathroom is about 10 feet away from my tank, so I just just carry it and dump in the toilet, then pump 10g of new SW in when done.
Sorry for the confusion, but hey, maybe someone can get some use from my ATO setup, lol.
Yes, this is my ATO setup. I guess the "automated" part of the original post had me thinking ATO.I'm still stuck with using buckets for my water changes. I usually do 10g per week and my bathroom is about 10 feet away from my tank, so I just just carry it and dump in the toilet, then pump 10g of new SW in when done.
Sorry for the confusion, but hey, maybe someone can get some use from my ATO setup, lol.
malulu
NJRC Member
the simplest way (note: NOT cheapest) is to get 2 dosing pumps, see the pics below...
without a precision dosing pump, it is hard to measure (for sure) the in and out would be equally...
you only need 2 set of pumps... I am using the LitterMeterIII because i have it for a long time, i would consider to get Bubble Magus now, cause it is cheaper. this month's PA group buy have them both for discount, 2 more days to sign up.
there are some debates on (1) should we changed water in big amount once in a while, (2) or do small amount very often... and i am buy-in the second approach, my dosing pumps is on evenly every minute across the day.
this is my setup:
- pump-A take water from sump, to drain line
- pump-B take fresh salt water from reserved-bin, to sump
- i do 2.5 gals per day, that is because i have a 40g reserved-bin, so i only need to refill it every 2 weeks. ( 2.5 gals x 14 days = 35 gals used)
LiterMeter III
Bubble Magus Dosing Pump
without a precision dosing pump, it is hard to measure (for sure) the in and out would be equally...
you only need 2 set of pumps... I am using the LitterMeterIII because i have it for a long time, i would consider to get Bubble Magus now, cause it is cheaper. this month's PA group buy have them both for discount, 2 more days to sign up.
there are some debates on (1) should we changed water in big amount once in a while, (2) or do small amount very often... and i am buy-in the second approach, my dosing pumps is on evenly every minute across the day.
this is my setup:
- pump-A take water from sump, to drain line
- pump-B take fresh salt water from reserved-bin, to sump
- i do 2.5 gals per day, that is because i have a 40g reserved-bin, so i only need to refill it every 2 weeks. ( 2.5 gals x 14 days = 35 gals used)
LiterMeter III
Bubble Magus Dosing Pump
There is a dude on u-tube that automated a water change for a 90G. "Rickets Reef, auto water change in action"mated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6otjHT2Z-E
A 55gal waste water and 55gal salt, automated to do 10% a week with timers, safety float switches and the like. I watch his vids from time to time, my wife thinks he needs a gf and watches me carefully after i look at his vids. I've thought about this myself, but think i'd go the extra step of dumping old tank water in a drain.
A 55gal waste water and 55gal salt, automated to do 10% a week with timers, safety float switches and the like. I watch his vids from time to time, my wife thinks he needs a gf and watches me carefully after i look at his vids. I've thought about this myself, but think i'd go the extra step of dumping old tank water in a drain.
If you're going to use a dosing pump, I recommend trying The Marine Magic doser on Ebay.
Mike (mnat) showed these to me and he said he has one that works perfectly (for dosing, not for water changes).
Just thought I'd mention it because these are much cheaper than the Liter Meters and the Bubble Magus dosers. It even comes with a tube holder (extra for the BM and Liter Meter dosers) and it also comes with a bonus temp probe with a temp readout on the display. Can't beat that for $170 shipped!
Mike (mnat) showed these to me and he said he has one that works perfectly (for dosing, not for water changes).
Just thought I'd mention it because these are much cheaper than the Liter Meters and the Bubble Magus dosers. It even comes with a tube holder (extra for the BM and Liter Meter dosers) and it also comes with a bonus temp probe with a temp readout on the display. Can't beat that for $170 shipped!
malulu
NJRC Member
Paul, I have the set up for it when i start the upgrade
malulu
NJRC Member
i was doing that for a long time...
but the fully automatic dosing pump is the BEST!
you don't even need to cares... it just worked!!
I have 400gals of water volume, with 2.5gals per day, even something messed up, it would not be too much harm to it, however, i still checking my water salinity every other days just in case.
NOTE:
i won't recommend using Kalk-reactor or Calcium reactor as AUTO TOP OFF, it could be danger if skimmer go crazy (wet skimming) or something... so i would suggest to use a 3rd dosing pump to do a fixed amount dosing of additive.
I am not going to have automated... But my sump is a 90 gal tank. The way that it is set up there will be about 32 gallons of water in the non-fuge section. I will need to turn 2 valves and then the main pump will pump all the water from the sump into the sink. then turn the valves again and refill the sump to the same level just before i emptied it...
im thinking that an actual water change will take about 15 mins, not including time to make the SW. But Even that will be easy, I am going to figure out to the exact measurement of how much salt to add to my mixing container, then just top it off with RO water add the salt and turn on powerhead to mix it..... should be pretty straight forward. My sump will be in my basement, but not sure if i really want it truly automated....
im thinking that an actual water change will take about 15 mins, not including time to make the SW. But Even that will be easy, I am going to figure out to the exact measurement of how much salt to add to my mixing container, then just top it off with RO water add the salt and turn on powerhead to mix it..... should be pretty straight forward. My sump will be in my basement, but not sure if i really want it truly automated....