Automated waterchanges
- Thread starter bmartin
- Start date
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
which one do you have?
It is a diy. I am still in the process of making it. I am waiting on the uniseals. But I have 2 30gal brutes raised above my sump and I am going to have a 1" uniseal in the bottom of it and have it flow right into my sump. Controlled by a ball valve. All I have to do is add salt to it and plug a pump in to mix it. I will still have to siphon out. But it isn't to bad since my sump is in the utility room so there is a drain about 5ft away.
TheDogFather
New member
I have a LiterMeter III with remote pump for automatic continuous water changes. It replaces 1 gallon per day over 150 increments (128 G total volume).
Love it! I find my corals are doing much better, trace elements are always perfect and the fish are never stressed due to larger volume water changes.
Cheers!
-TDF
Love it! I find my corals are doing much better, trace elements are always perfect and the fish are never stressed due to larger volume water changes.
Cheers!
-TDF
I'm about to set up the same. I will be out of town the next 2 weekends, but the weekend after that I'm going for it.
I'm going to get a huge (165g) drum from aquatic eco systems and mix up a bucket of salt at a time. I'll replace about 3g per day with the litermeter (about 1% tank volume per day). I'll run the used water out to a brute trashcan so I can reuse it for the qtank (with an overflow to the drain from the brute).
sus
Premium Member
i have a very simple system which has helped me "automate" water changes.
you can see the sump with the skimmer is drilled with a ball valve. I simply open it and drain 10 gallons into buckets (used to be plumbed througth the wall to a drain in the floor but I changed sumps and have been lazy hooking it back up
)
then, I have a ro storage with ball valve to a 20 gal saltwater mixing/storage with ball valve back to the sump. once i'm done draining, i open it up and fill the sump back up.
takes about 3 min to change 10 gals
you can see the sump with the skimmer is drilled with a ball valve. I simply open it and drain 10 gallons into buckets (used to be plumbed througth the wall to a drain in the floor but I changed sumps and have been lazy hooking it back up
)
then, I have a ro storage with ball valve to a 20 gal saltwater mixing/storage with ball valve back to the sump. once i'm done draining, i open it up and fill the sump back up.
takes about 3 min to change 10 gals
Untamed12
New member
If you are going to make batch water changing less-manual (fully automated is a whole other thing!), then it comes down to having the ability to measure how much water you are removing...how much new water you are putting back in....and the ability to move the water out/in without buckets.
For me, I want to replace up to 50 gallons at a time. I built an entire 2nd 50 gallon sump just for that purpose. In normal operation, water flows through this sump on the way to the main sump. Whenever I want, I can stop this and the water accumulates in the 2nd sump.
As soon as that 2nd sump is full (50 gallons), I dump it directly to the drain and refill it directly from the premixed SW container with a pump. 50 gallons down the drain...50 fresh gallons in...let it flow back into the system. It all takes about 15 minutes because my drain and pump aren't as quick as I might like.
For me, I want to replace up to 50 gallons at a time. I built an entire 2nd 50 gallon sump just for that purpose. In normal operation, water flows through this sump on the way to the main sump. Whenever I want, I can stop this and the water accumulates in the 2nd sump.
As soon as that 2nd sump is full (50 gallons), I dump it directly to the drain and refill it directly from the premixed SW container with a pump. 50 gallons down the drain...50 fresh gallons in...let it flow back into the system. It all takes about 15 minutes because my drain and pump aren't as quick as I might like.
Can one of you better explain how you are using the Liter Meter to do continuous changing?
TheDogFather
New member
Both of my LMIII pumps are set for equal amounts (1 Gallon or 3.78 liters per day). The LMIII breaks that down into 150 increments over a 24 hour period. The LMIII never runs both pumps at the same time. One pump removes water close to the incoming drain from the tank, the other pump adds water close to the return pump.
That's about it.
ChuckLawson
New member
I'm doing the same. The thing that makes it relatively simple with the Litermeter is that once you've set everything up, you calibrate each pump (this takes into account any head loss through all of your tubing, etc. - takes about five minutes), the LMIII lets you just enter in the volume that pump should pump each day, in liters (or fractions thereof).
On my 210, I'm adding 10 liters a day (about 1% of the whole system), from a fresh saltwater tank about 50 feet away (as the tubing runs), and dumping 2.5 liters of old tank water into a drain in the same area. I have a third pump on the LMIII that does auto-topoff, and pulls about 10 - 12 liters a day (depending on evaporation rate) from an RO/DI storage tank and through a kalk reactor.
Simple and easy, really; most complicated part was running the tubing (which runs through the attic, in my case).
Indymann99
New member
My system is not automated but I do a 25g waterchange in about 10 min with no buckets.
My tank has a PVC line that runs from the sump to the drain / mix room. see pvc that runs around the wall
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/Tankframing.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/Basement52009.jpg
I have a pump in the sump (skimmer section) to pump OUT change water.
1. STOP the return pump AND skimmer pump
2. let DT water drain into sump - water rises to PUMP OFF level
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/DSC_0092.jpg
3. turn ON pump in sump and pump OUT water change water
4. Change valves in mix room to pump water BACK to DT via PVC from MIX tank
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/MixRoom.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/MixStorage.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/DSC_0098-1.jpg
5. Fill Sump to PUMP OFF level (equal water change amount).
6. Restart return pump.
waterchange DONE and no buckets.
I do have to vac my sump every other month to get rid of detrius in the skimmer section
My tank has a PVC line that runs from the sump to the drain / mix room. see pvc that runs around the wall
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/Tankframing.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/Basement52009.jpg
I have a pump in the sump (skimmer section) to pump OUT change water.
1. STOP the return pump AND skimmer pump
2. let DT water drain into sump - water rises to PUMP OFF level
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/DSC_0092.jpg
3. turn ON pump in sump and pump OUT water change water
4. Change valves in mix room to pump water BACK to DT via PVC from MIX tank
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/MixRoom.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/MixStorage.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/DSC_0098-1.jpg
5. Fill Sump to PUMP OFF level (equal water change amount).
6. Restart return pump.
waterchange DONE and no buckets.
I do have to vac my sump every other month to get rid of detrius in the skimmer section
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