Automating Water Needs

[Philly777]

I'm setting up a new 120 Gal reef and by a stroke of luck I just realized my laundry room is on the other side of the wall behind my tank, with a nice area to put a couple of water storage tanks (brute cans, whatever).

I just recieved my Tunze Osmolator 3155 from BRS yesterday, along with my RODI system.

I've never used either before, so I'm starting from scratch. I would like to set up the easiest system for ATO and water changes. I was thinking I can run ATO lines through the wall to the laundry room, along with drain/pump lines for water changes?

Anything wrong with having a larger reservoir like that for my ATO water?
Any precautions I should take?
How could I best set the whole thing up for water changes?

Any help our suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Dr. Reef]

A fully automated system is Genesis Renew Storm system. Set it and forget it type. Only have to mix salt in your bin. It's got too many fail safe and it can't mess it up at all.

 

[Philly777]

Wow, I'd never heard of them. Pretty slick system, but it's also a cool grand for the whole setup. Trying to do more diy to save some $ to put towards my lights.

I'm thinking maybe semi automated, lol.

RODI unit dumping in one vessel with the Tunze pump at bottom, then from Tunze pump to tank On the other side of the wall. (Drill hole through wall). Maybe a float valve in this vessel to control RODI unit? Should I be worried about the Tunze unit failing to on position with a large volume of water like that?

I will have another reservoir next to the RODI unit for saltwater. Still contemplating on how to plumb this through the wall or somewhat automate this system. My initial thought was just some plastic tubing through the wall to pump water back and forth.. I don't know... Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[Stolireef]

Here's what I am doing. Similar setup with laundry room behind tank. It's towards the end of the thread. Basically, if you have an Apex, hook up a breakout box with high/low sensors in your ATO reservoir and then hook up a solenoid to the input line on your RO/DI unit that is controlled by the Apex. Tunze Osmolator takes water from the automatically refilled reservoir and feeds it to the sump.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2627993&page=2

 

[Spyderturbo007]

I automated my water changes with a Neptune DOS. It's been working great for the last 2 weeks since I set it up.

All I'll have to do is mix up the new salt water when it gets low. Turn on the pump to move water from the RO/DI tank to the Salt tank and then add the salt. Once it's mixed, turn on the DOS and I'm done for the next 3 - 4 weeks.

 

[Philly777]

Thank you for the suggestions, gives me some ideas to work with. I think it's evident I'll need to invest in an Apex system sooner than later.

For starters, I'm going to get a larger RODI reservoir to put in the laundry room With the Tunze pump. And just manually fill it until I get the apex.

Stoli - Any tips on feeding the pump line from the Tunze through the wall, or general installation? Any constraints on how far you can run the line?

Would I be asking for trouble if I filled a whole brute can full of water and put the pump in the bottom? I'm scared if it got stuck on for some reason, I'd be dumping 30 gallons of water everywhere.