I would like to install a semi-automated method for the weekly water changes in my “big” 37g tank. I plan to do once weekly water changes and would also do this when I am home to monitor it.
On the other side of the side wall, I have access to a sink and place to put a decent size reservoir.
I have pasted a copy of a draft DIY diagram below. Parts will likely be purchased from AutoTopOff.com . Here is how it would work (I think).
The water change begins with the timer. The timer turns on the pump for a set number of minutes. The timer is set to stop the pump slightly after overshooting the bottom float. This will be tested to determine the right amount of minutes. Once the water level falls below the bottom float, it triggers the solenoid valve to open and refills the aquarium. When the water level rises to above the top float switch, the solenoid valve turns off and the water change is complete.
Questions:
1. My tank sits directly next to an outside wall of the house, so I have the option to run the old water directly into the yard. I am worried about the line freezing up during the winter though. Any ideas how to prevent it freezing?
2. How does the pump in the reservoir know when to turn on? In the DIY that I studied they had the water going to the solenoid was coming off of a faucet which supplied constant pressure. I want to use a water reservoir instead. Does the pump in the water reservoir always stay on? Am I missing something here?
Auto Water changes
Auto Water changes
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- DIY Draft Auto Water Change.jpg (39.65 KiB) Viewed 3224 times
Julie
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
Re: Auto Water changes
If you can put the reservoir higher than the tank your design will work, and you will not need a pump in the reservoir (let gravity do the work for you). Otherwise , you do not need a solenoid valve from the reservoir to the tank. The wire from the ControlBox will have to trigger an electrical relay that will turn the pump in the reservoir on.
Now ... how will the water reservoir get filled ? If you do it manually ... it defeats the whole automation purpose.
I have a very similar setup already working ( I talked about it at some meeting ).
The only difference is that I built an overflow to simplify getting the water OUT of the tank ( it also solves your freezing problem).
I went with a buffering reservoir for 2 reasons : one is to regulate water temperature, the second was to dose dechlorinator into it .
If it helps the overrall design is here : http://www.gwapa.org/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 2&start=20
Now ... how will the water reservoir get filled ? If you do it manually ... it defeats the whole automation purpose.
I have a very similar setup already working ( I talked about it at some meeting ).
The only difference is that I built an overflow to simplify getting the water OUT of the tank ( it also solves your freezing problem).
I went with a buffering reservoir for 2 reasons : one is to regulate water temperature, the second was to dose dechlorinator into it .
If it helps the overrall design is here : http://www.gwapa.org/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 2&start=20
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Jim Miller
- Posts: 940
- Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 10:16 pm
- Location: Parkton, MD
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Re: Auto Water changes
I considered then gave up on autowater changes. I could never convince myself that anything automatic could actually be failsafe. Of course my limited attention span is always a limiter to safety when filling but I can usually stay awake for the 5 minutes it currently takes me to fill. I've found that within reason speeding up the process with good flow on drain and fill will avoid the potential for other things to distract me...so far.
Although I considered a fill directly from the house supply (good well water in our case) the complexity of mixing hot/cold to get to something that could be rapidly added without unduly upsetting the tank temp was more than I wanted to deal with. The fill of a tempering tank in the basement by a float valve (autotopoff.com) connected to the house water line fixes that. I did find that the fill rate of the tempering tank needed to be accounted for when pumping to the display tank to avoid overfilling! I avoid that by tagging the fill pump AC cord with a reminder tag to shut off the reservoir fill before pumping.
What I do now is drain the display tank until it is below a mark on the tank. Then go downstairs to turn off the reservoir fill and plug in the pump. Since the reservoir has finite capacity it will never overflow the display tank unless I failed to remove water to below the mark.
The basement reservoir has an overflow on it which goes to the sump pump in case of the float valve sticking.
jim
Although I considered a fill directly from the house supply (good well water in our case) the complexity of mixing hot/cold to get to something that could be rapidly added without unduly upsetting the tank temp was more than I wanted to deal with. The fill of a tempering tank in the basement by a float valve (autotopoff.com) connected to the house water line fixes that. I did find that the fill rate of the tempering tank needed to be accounted for when pumping to the display tank to avoid overfilling! I avoid that by tagging the fill pump AC cord with a reminder tag to shut off the reservoir fill before pumping.
What I do now is drain the display tank until it is below a mark on the tank. Then go downstairs to turn off the reservoir fill and plug in the pump. Since the reservoir has finite capacity it will never overflow the display tank unless I failed to remove water to below the mark.
The basement reservoir has an overflow on it which goes to the sump pump in case of the float valve sticking.
jim
Re: Auto Water changes
Thanks guys. You got my mind thinking in a couple of new directions.
Like Jim, I do not want a fully automated system. I don't want to risk flooding my living room, and I don't mind turning a valve or two.
Eugene got me thinking about using gravity to my advantage. I think I will use gravity to drain the water to the outside. I will put the manual valve inside the house, so the couple feet of tubing that will lead outside will only have water in it during the actual draining. So, there would be no water in the outside tubing to freeze.
As far as filling the reservoir tank, I will use a hose connected to my mudroom utility sink. Like Jim, I will only keep enough water in the reservoir to fill the tank after it has drained the predetermined amount. That way if something happens to my floats, the worst that will happen is the pump will burn out. Then, at my leisure, I can fill the reservoir back up from the utility sink to sit at room temperature until the next water change.
I will need to drill three new holes. One through the exterior of the house, one through the wall to the next room, and one through the shelf that the aquarium sits upon (I already have one hole there, but it is not big enough to snake anything else through it. I'll probably just widen the existing hole).
So, this all seems pretty straight forward to me, but I want to check with the greater GWAPA brain trust, before I proceed. Am I missing something, or do I have anything wrong?
Like Jim, I do not want a fully automated system. I don't want to risk flooding my living room, and I don't mind turning a valve or two.
Eugene got me thinking about using gravity to my advantage. I think I will use gravity to drain the water to the outside. I will put the manual valve inside the house, so the couple feet of tubing that will lead outside will only have water in it during the actual draining. So, there would be no water in the outside tubing to freeze.
As far as filling the reservoir tank, I will use a hose connected to my mudroom utility sink. Like Jim, I will only keep enough water in the reservoir to fill the tank after it has drained the predetermined amount. That way if something happens to my floats, the worst that will happen is the pump will burn out. Then, at my leisure, I can fill the reservoir back up from the utility sink to sit at room temperature until the next water change.
I will need to drill three new holes. One through the exterior of the house, one through the wall to the next room, and one through the shelf that the aquarium sits upon (I already have one hole there, but it is not big enough to snake anything else through it. I'll probably just widen the existing hole).
So, this all seems pretty straight forward to me, but I want to check with the greater GWAPA brain trust, before I proceed. Am I missing something, or do I have anything wrong?
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- DIY Draft Auto Water Change V2.jpg (64.08 KiB) Viewed 3208 times
Julie
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
Re: Auto Water changes
Wasserpest at TPT has been doing it for years but only 5 gallons per night on a 270 gallon plywood tank, he uses an automated inline valve and they take place in the early morning hours every night, look in the DIY section at TPT to get some ideas. I am also going to have a somewhat automated water change but I will be present to turn the valve myself and won't use any float for shut off, It will be from the RO/DI holding tank in my garage with a Taam Rio pump and a Stanley electrical outlet remote with a key fob, I think thats lazy enough, oh the drain water will go to my front lawn flower beds.
Sincerely,
Tim
Tim
Re: Auto Water changes
Do you have a link to where I could find the pump and the electrical remote?150EH wrote:Wasserpest at TPT has been doing it for years but only 5 gallons per night on a 270 gallon plywood tank, he uses an automated inline valve and they take place in the early morning hours every night, look in the DIY section at TPT to get some ideas. I am also going to have a somewhat automated water change but I will be present to turn the valve myself and won't use any float for shut off, It will be from the RO/DI holding tank in my garage with a Taam Rio pump and a Stanley electrical outlet remote with a key fob, I think thats lazy enough, oh the drain water will go to my front lawn flower beds.
Julie
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
Re: Auto Water changes
This is the outlet remote http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0020M ... 01_details
This is the pump http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BJ ... 04_details
Here's a link to Wasserpests DIY water change system http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/2 ... hange.html
I believe the valve he used was a lawn spinkler type purchased from eBay.
This is the pump http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BJ ... 04_details
Here's a link to Wasserpests DIY water change system http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/2 ... hange.html
I believe the valve he used was a lawn spinkler type purchased from eBay.
Sincerely,
Tim
Tim
Re: Auto Water changes
Thanks. What are you using for the reservoir container?150EH wrote:This is the outlet remote http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0020M ... 01_details
This is the pump http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BJ ... 04_details
Here's a link to Wasserpests DIY water change system http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/2 ... hange.html
I believe the valve he used was a lawn spinkler type purchased from eBay.
Julie
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
Re: Auto Water changes
Ok, here is my latest design. Tim's pointing me to the other post helped my slow brain realize I can just use the existing in and output lines without drilling or widening the hole in the existing shelf to accomodate two new lines. Duh!
Does it look reasonable? Any obvious ut-ohs?
Also, where is the best place to buy ball and check valves for 1/2" tubing? Can I buy them locally, or is there someplace online?
Does it look reasonable? Any obvious ut-ohs?
Also, where is the best place to buy ball and check valves for 1/2" tubing? Can I buy them locally, or is there someplace online?
- Attachments
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- DIY Draft Auto Water Change V3.jpg (77.7 KiB) Viewed 3181 times
Julie
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
37g planted, 11g planted, and three 5.2g planted shrimp tanks.
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Jim Miller
- Posts: 940
- Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 10:16 pm
- Location: Parkton, MD
- Contact:
Re: Auto Water changes
If your reservoir is limited in size to the amount you ever want to change then you don't need all the floats and stuff. Just drain the water below the level that you know won't overflow if the reservoir is emptied.
If you run the fill line from the reservoir to the tank separate from the filter return you won't need a check valve unless the fill line touches the water surface. If it touches the surface then when the pump is turned off it will siphon back to the reservoir until the water falls below the tube and breaks siphon.
Jim
If you run the fill line from the reservoir to the tank separate from the filter return you won't need a check valve unless the fill line touches the water surface. If it touches the surface then when the pump is turned off it will siphon back to the reservoir until the water falls below the tube and breaks siphon.
Jim
