Automatic Water Changes...

[MiamiDan]

Ok, I'm sure the subject has been brought up before, but here's my take on this. For now, I will just apply the system to my 180 gal tank, but it has room for expansion for subsequent tanks.

1/ Already drilled a 1.25" pvc pipe through the walls, it drains on my outside yard. The other end is connected to the sump of my Wet-dry via a bulkhead. Water drains by gravity, the pipe has about a 7 degree inclination.

2/ Drilled in a 3/4" pvc pipe through the walls, into my water reservoir, which is a 64 gal square trash can. It also has a 1"bulkhead towards the top to function as an overflow, which drains also into the 1.25" pipe.

3/ the 3/4 pipe ends in a garden-hose type of timer and into the reservoir

So...tap water goes in (timed) to the reservoir. Stops automatically (not sure if also to install a float valve here) and the excess drains through the overflow. Another timer sets the titanium heater. A bar stone provides air bubbles. Water ages 24-36 hours. Timer stops the heater. Another timer sets an underwater pump at the bottom of the reservoir & discharges the full 64 gals at a slow rate in the tank (35% water change). Timer stops pump. Old water overflows from the Wet-Dry's sump to the yard. Tap water timer goes off again & fills the reservoir again. Timer starts the heater again. The cycles repeats itself every 2 days.

I might use an automatic fish feeder (got 2 of them from Australia at eBay), which can hold either pH down powder and Amquel. Not sure if this is necessary, I will have to re-test my tap water. So what do you guys think?:alien:

[Alight]

The devil is in the fail-safe provisions. I haven't done an automatic system in my house because I'm afraid of the consequences of a failure. In a fish room with a floor drain, no problem.

OK, so the sump drain. What prevent clogging of the overflow intake?

Reservoir shut off. What double prevents water from overflowing the storage container?

Heater. What makes sure the water is heated properly (not too much, not too little) before being pumped in to the tanks?

Alarms. Any alarms built in for power failures that reset everytning, or failure of any of the systems?

[MiamiDan]

OK, so the sump drain. What prevent clogging of the overflow intake?

Reservoir shut off. What double prevents water from overflowing the storage container?

Heater. What makes sure the water is heated properly (not too much, not too little) before being pumped in to the tanks?

Alarms. Any alarms built in for power failures that reset everytning, or failure of any of the systems?

Sump drain. That's a big 1" bulkhead drain. Water draining there has gone through a pre-filter, bioballs and a sponge trap. Just filtrated (and old) water goes there. Of course, with time, there should be an algae build-up inside the pvc pipes, but nothing to worry about. Either way, I would do regular maintenance and pressure-clean every so many months.

Reservoir shut-off under 3 fail-safe systems. 1/ mechanical floating valve (like the one used for cattle throughs) will shut-off the water once it reaches desired level. 2/ a 3/4" Programmable dual-outlet water timer (mine is GreenThumb Professional..at eBay for $34.99) which should just put enough water to fill in the reservoir, then the mechanical valve shuts it off. and last, but not least 3/ a 1" overflow bulkhead that drains in the main pvc water drain, just in case the valve or the timer misses its mark. Now, this is pure tap water, nothing to clog here.

Heater control. My titanium heater has an outside termostat, to keep the temperature a comfy 85 F. Water has been circulated and heated in the reservoir for at least 24 hours. Mine is always stable & warm. Instead of the timer, I might use an electronic float valve to turn the heater on when there is water and off when there is none. Sounds more logical.

Alarms? well my nighttable alarm clock starts flashing when there is power outage..LOL:D seriously, there is no substitute for common sense. I will monitor the system daily, just to make sure it is reliable and to work out any bugs....then and only then...I might venture on a week-off vacation!