Unattended automatic water changer

[DK]

Hi all. I have been using this for several months. Two weeks ago, I had a water change and had completely forgot about it, until I came home for lunch.
http://www.great-rates.com/reef/autochanger.htm

Anybody utilizing anything like this?

The only thing I have to do is mix the salt and I have a real easy way to do this creating 30+ gallons at a time.... enough for two weeks.

My next step is to set this up permanently in an out of the way place.

 

[reefland]

hmm.. I don't like the fact that you have to add your makeup water first and then remove water. You effectively are removing some of the clean water you just added. Thus a 20 gallon water change, isn't really going to be a 20 gallon water change. It'll be something less.

The fact that it becomes automated perhaps offsets this as you can now do them more frequently with less effort.

 

[DK]

Hi Rich,


It depends on the size of your system. A 20 gallon water change could end up, after dilution, 17 gallons or so in a 100g system, and less the larger the system size. Also consider, your taking from the surface water so the critter life in the sump is not affected as it would with a "sump dump" that some people employ.

It is automated and UNATTENDED. I will be on vacation in July for two weeks and in that time, I will have two water changes

 

[reefland]

Hi Rich,
It is automated and UNATTENDED. I will be on vacation in July for two weeks and in that time, I will have two water changes

You are braver than I am :!:

 

[DK]

The next thing I should do is put together a vacation guide. I can and have done many two week unattended vacations but the three week'ers I have had people come in.

 

[sediener]

hmm.. I don't like the fact that you have to add your makeup water first and then remove water. You effectively are removing some of the clean water you just added. Thus a 20 gallon water change, isn't really going to be a 20 gallon water change. It'll be something less.

Only other issue is if you lose power between the time it fills with new water and drains the old, you could have a mess unless your sump can handle the excess volume. It is improbably but you know murphy.

Edit: Nevermind just reread it.

- steve

 

[DK]

"Only other issue is if you lose power between the time it fills with new water and drains the old, you could have a mess unless your sump can handle the excess volume. It is improbably but you know murphy. "

I know Murphy quite well. You would get some of the excess water to stay in the exterior bucket, and planning for that would be a good idea for vacation (I have already done the test for that ). Power outtages are rare and you would know that they occurred (if you are NOT on vacation) so you could then complete the change manually when the power comes back on. That would only be a matter of turning off the return pumps and turning on the bucket pump.....using the on/off buttons on the timers.

In this example doing a 15g water change, up to 5g would go to the bucket, therefore you only need excess capacity of 10g beyond the shut off sump level......not really a whole lot. I am assuming that the top of the bucket is aligned with the top of the sump.

 

[sediener]

hmmm, what about this...

Put an oversized bulkheaded overflow positioned to drain off any excess water above the point where your sump levels off in a power outage. This drains out to the driveway or sewer.

Set a timer on your return pump and your fresh salt water pump. Time the return pump to cut off for 15 minutes and then a few minutes later time the fresh salt water to fill to the main tank for x amount of time. The water level will rise in the sump and drain out the same amount that you added. The majority of the water drained will be old sump water with some mixed from the main tank.

I was planning on doing this with my next tank but without the timers... cut off the main pump and kick on the fresh salt water pump until it drains the reservoir. The main benefit of this is that any sump overflow will drain safely and you don't have to worry about losing your siphon.

- steve

 

[DK]

Unless you can adjust the level of the bulkhead, you are stuck. The bueaty of the adjustable level of the siphon is just that, you can adjust it. If you add tanks or change some component that results in a change in the sump level due to a power outage or turning off the return pumps, you would have to change the level of the bulkhead or change the pipe level from same. Also, if you decide to remove the water changer, you have no affect on the sump........................

You wont lose the siphon since water only flows through it during the water change and siphon breaks are a function of bubbles being collected at the top from continuing water flow.

 

[DK]

So, my original question, is anyone doing something like this?

I have the automatic top off with kalk reactor, the automatic water change and simplified salt mixing. The only technical thing is having to follow is the ca reactor....keeping the effulent ph at 6.5 by adjusting the drip rate. I have to say, the auto water changer is a HUGE change to my diminished maintainence schedule. My system is over 300g so it is fairly stable.....yeah, I have to add some mg each week, but that is nothing.

Ill probably get lazy and the system will crash now................

 

[Anonymous]

...


Anybody utilizing anything like this?


...

I presume someone is. I don't though.

Bob

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting.
What are you using as a return pump? I would be a little worried that it might not spin up.

 

[DK]

My main return pump is a blueline HD 70. I turn off the return pumps everytime I feed my fish. Basically, I am testing these pumps everyday. You should be testing them regularly also, to test their restart in the event of a power failure, and your sump capacity levels. You do know, the power only fails when you aren't there!

 

[DK]

As an update, I just got back from a 10 day trip to Kenya. In that time, I had two water changes (done on Fridays). Worked just fine!!!! Actually everything worked just fine.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow, you can do a waterchange when you are halfway around the world!

Good to know that it worked properly for you.

 

[DK]

Thanks Laura.
Of course, that is the point. I only need to mix up the salt water, the rest is done. The best part is I am not forgetting to do water changes now