head loss for MJ and RO tubing?

[pascal32]

I've been dosing over 200 ml of rec one 2 part via a doser for quite a while now and the ATO is run by the controller. personally I wouldn't do it any other way, though i do have a failsafe float on the ATO which has kicked in before and low level sensors if the ATO fails completely. Hope to add a Kalk reactor in the near future. all a matter of opinion I suppose!

 

[Capt_Cully]

Daverdo, I can't count the numerous of times I've turned something on and forgotten to turn it off. That's why I'm trying to automate. I used to routinely do water changes and forget to turn off the ATO unit. I noodled with my top off system for a while and am quite happy with the timer vs float sensors route.

I personally trust controllers more than float valves or switches. It does require closer observation to be sure you're topping off adequate amounts. But, that has been my focus with this system. These are living things we're dealing with and IMO/IME trusting automation can be a bad thing.

 

[block head]

i like the idea of automation more than the reality. he spends more time fighting with his reactor than it's worth IMO . he still has to use two part anyway. his 180 is in a basement with a dedicated fish room. he bought neputune's top of the line controller, geo reactor and had a ibm engineer/hobbiest set it all up. dang thing has given him fits and catastrophic failure have almost occured more than once.

 

[Capt_Cully]

Yeah, exactly my point. You CAN overthink and overdo it easily. Takes your finger off of the pulse. Chaos in the making. Nature will find a way to hose you while you're not looking.

I just forgot to close my drain line while refilling my tank after a water change. Left me scrambling after I came up 10 gallons short. Even with my finger on the pulse I still mess up from time to time.

 

[Capt_Cully]

Using 1/4" RO tubing an MJ 1200 pushed about 5-6 gph with a horizontal run of about 10 feet and a vertical of about 3 feet (roughly 34"). Issues of concern are continuous siphon. The powerhead is attached to the very surface of the main water reservoir so that it will run dry if it gets stuck on or propagates a siphon it will break. I may run a piece of PVC with an open top that has a opening well above the main reservoir. That way when the pump is off it wont continue to siphon water towards the still reservoir. It will enter a piped shute over to the bucket under the sump.

That's pretty elaborate for a set up designed for laziness. I don't really trust one way valves to prevent back siphon.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Conesus_Kid]

This is getting confusing!

If you keep the pump lower than the outlet end of the tube and keep the outlet of the tube above the water level of where it empties, shouldn't that eliminate any worries of siphoning?

 

[Capt_Cully]

Yes, but if the pump were to get stuck on, it would empty 32 gallons of water into my stand. I'm just trying to limit disaster. With the pump at the top of the water, if it were to become stuck on, it would run dry. Better than the alternative

Maybe I'm being a worry wart, but I want to have all the angles covered. If I have the outlet dump into a PVC pipe with it's top well above the waterline in the RO reservoir, a forward siphon won't happen. If I keep the pump at the top of the water, a controller SNAFU leaving the pump on, will limit the over all amount being pumped.

Maybe I'm overthinking something that doesn't need to be this complicated....

 

[pascal32]

For the RODI tube you can use a solenoid cutoff to stop the flow and prevent siphoning. I put a rocv by genesis in at a friends for a Kalk reactor that would be victim of siphoning if the peristaltic pump driving it failed.

In your case the solenoid could hold off the pump pressure