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Thread: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

  1. #1
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    Default Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    Considering properly maintaining 4 individual tanks of fish is quite the time consuming endeavor, I have been looking into ways to automate this process either partially or fully while still maintaining separate aquariums that are not centralized.

    What had fascinated me most with this kind of system are the tanks at Lucky Tropical Fish Farm and how they do water changes.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWMnPZKJWaE

    They drain the tanks and pump water in at high pressure while the tanks are still draining to effect a 100% water change. This is one of the most effective means of doing water changes but they are essentially permanent installations with drilled tanks. Something I do not wish to do because it would mean drilling nice fat holes into my house to run pipes from my tanks to my barrels outside.

    So how to accomplish a similar feat using what I have access to and without drilling?

    1. Swap out the tank drain for an actual water pump and place one in each tank as a powered drain. All these pumps can be connected to a single switch to drain at the push of a button and be stopped at a moment's notice just by turning them off. The water will be pumped into a large diameter PVC pipe above the tank rack which will serve as a gutter, bringing the waste water through some spiral tubing leading outside and into my pond.
      I can get Aquatop NP-306 496GPH pumps for about $17 each so they can act as my powered drains for each tank. I also have other pumps at my disposal if needed, though at a bit higher cost.

    2. Utilize removable pool spiral hoses attached to unions to bring water into the tank area and from the gutter system to drain water out, when the maintenance is done, the hoses can be removed and stored outside.
      I ordered some Haviland Heli-X tubing to come on tuesday, hope it is good.

    3. Fresh water can be brought in using a PVC pipe manifold placed above the tank rack, I already have this built for the most part. Water is pumped into the manifold by an Aquatop CQP-10000 pump which delivers about 2600GPH and will go through some spiral tubing from outside. Flow will be controlled by some ball valves.


    This setup is already well underway, for several reasons:

    First, maintaining 3 tanks currently takes me about an hour if everything is already setup, each one must be done consecutively

    Second, since I have to do everything manually, cross contamination is inevitable. The top two tanks probably have been crossed from one to another already just by my feeding order. I will most likely contaminate one of the top tanks with something from a bottom tank with just a bit of carelessness someday so putting together a system that limits hand water contact will lower those odds and allow me to do a proper quarantine when the time comes.

    Finally, my fish don't appreciate my current clunky means of draining and adding water so this will help them out a lot.



    Water manifold already in place, PVC gutter will go in the hooks above that.

  2. #2
    Registered Member Wes's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    Quote Originally Posted by kris2341 View Post

    [LIST=1][*]Swap out the tank drain for an actual water pump and place one in each tank as a powered drain. All these pumps can be connected to a single switch to drain at the push of a button and be stopped at a moment's notice just by turning them off. The water will be pumped into a large diameter PVC pipe above the tank rack which will serve as a gutter, bringing the waste water through some spiral tubing leading outside and into my pond.
    I can get Aquatop NP-306 496GPH pumps for about $17 each so they can act as my powered drains for each tank. I also have other pumps at my disposal if needed, though at a bit higher cost.


    .
    There is problem with this. If the pumps are in the tank and you have the end of the tubing lower by the pond. When you shut off the power to the pumps there will be a siphon effect still going on draining the water untill the pumps pull in air. You will need a shut off valve in the drain line also to stop the water from siphoning out.
    Thank u to all guys and girls for all your help and hard work at NADA Chicago 2016 [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    actually that has already been covered, the pumps job is quite simply to bring the water up to the gutter and thats it! the pumps only have 1/2 inch tubing, what i plan to do is run the 1/2 inch tubing up to the 1 1/2 inch or 2 inch gutter up top and the water will just exit up there, it looks a little ugly but there should be no problem as once the pumps stop, they will only suck up air. Once I get it together, I will show it here but essentially, each tank's gutter is going to be a tee in the pipe above, the 1/2 inch tubing will run up to the tee and just point the water into it without any direct connection so no siphon can be made.

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    Registered Member Wes's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    That works
    Thank u to all guys and girls for all your help and hard work at NADA Chicago 2016 [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    Gave my new water manifold a spin today with the juvie tank and MAN this thing is awesome! Though it also scared the crap out of my baby discus because of how much force the water puts out...



    now I just need to get the gutter assembled and functional and get the pumps for draining.

    after looking at the flow, I figured I would be best served using more powerful pumps because I would want about 600GPH+ output from all tanks.

    considering i can get Rio pumps, those will probably be my go to choice, but they are considerably more expensive than aquatops...

    I am considering getting Rio 14HFs for each tank, I dont really want to think about how much that will be out of my pocket but if they work, they work...

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    Registered Member rickztahone's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    That discus looks like it is about to eat those tiny discus! lol. Looking good Kris. Very good execution with the plumping.

    Click here to view my 75g Acrylic Tank w/ Bean Animal Overflow with 40g Sump Thread

    Also, click here for my 25 group of discus grow out thread


    http://i3.cpcache.com/product/162117...ht=75&width=75
    Want to look like Al did at his ACA talk with his white Simply Polo shirt?(You can catch Al's awesome Discus talk HERE)
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    thanks Rick, all this stuff is essentially in preparation for my upcoming semester, where I will only have a few minutes of free time for anything.... best use the loads of free time I have now to build and plan for the future so I can maintain the same quality for my fish in the coming months.

  8. #8
    Registered Member rickztahone's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    Quote Originally Posted by kris2341 View Post
    thanks Rick, all this stuff is essentially in preparation for my upcoming semester, where I will only have a few minutes of free time for anything.... best use the loads of free time I have now to build and plan for the future so I can maintain the same quality for my fish in the coming months.
    makes sense, and very practical. I hope this makes it easier on you

    Click here to view my 75g Acrylic Tank w/ Bean Animal Overflow with 40g Sump Thread

    Also, click here for my 25 group of discus grow out thread


    http://i3.cpcache.com/product/162117...ht=75&width=75
    Want to look like Al did at his ACA talk with his white Simply Polo shirt?(You can catch Al's awesome Discus talk HERE)
    You can get this and many more items such as T-shirts/Polos/hoodies/cups from our merchandise shop:
    Cafepress.com

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    So.... my supply only had Rio 20HF pumps available.... they costed me MUCH more than expected but my dad helped me out with that thankfully.

    This means my tank draining speed is going to be MUCH faster than anticipated as the Rio 20HFs have a flow rate of 870GPH at 6 ft and 990GPH at 4 ft, the approximate heights of my tanks. Less than 5 minute drain times sounds amazing.

    I just have to be careful though, I sized up my gutter to 2 inches but it is highly unlikely that it can handle the flow of all 4 tanks at maximum. I only anticipated using pumps with outputs in the 500GPH range, but these pumps nearly double up on that and a gravity fed 2 inch pipe has a maximum flow of about 3300GPH going by a basic chart i read.

    The complete system goes live tomorrow!

    Sure hope I dont flood my room...

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    when you drain all 4 at the same time and then shut the pumps off wont that possibly create a cross contamination situation? If all 4 tanks are pumped out at the same time they will mix in the gutter, then when the pumps are turned off any water left in the line will come back down into the tanks or am i missing something?

  11. #11
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    Gave the system a run today, and it was amazing...

    However, putting away a 100ft 2 inch diameter spiral hose, not so amazing.... my hands are still cramping.



    that should tell you everything you need to know.

  12. #12
    Registered Member rickztahone's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    That looks very legit

    I like it. How are they all doing?

    Click here to view my 75g Acrylic Tank w/ Bean Animal Overflow with 40g Sump Thread

    Also, click here for my 25 group of discus grow out thread


    http://i3.cpcache.com/product/162117...ht=75&width=75
    Want to look like Al did at his ACA talk with his white Simply Polo shirt?(You can catch Al's awesome Discus talk HERE)
    You can get this and many more items such as T-shirts/Polos/hoodies/cups from our merchandise shop:
    Cafepress.com

  13. #13
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    the piwows are doing very good, in an effort to save water, i decided to just lower the water changes on their tank to every other day. Still doing fine, the big guy still tries to intimidate the smaller guy through the eggcrate and they both eat decently.

    my potato chips are doing well for the most part but one of the runt culls came down with a major case of bloat so I have been treating their tank with epsom salt and metro while doing the daily water changes. Even if it is a runt, it is still valuable as a hero fish for discus mixing and as a general companion animal.

    Overall, they do seem a little behind in growth according to the stendker growth guide, but they show no signs of stunted growth so far, I have been making sure to keep their water extra clean.

  14. #14
    Registered Member rickztahone's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    Good. Keep up the WC's and you will be fine. The larger piwows do not need as many WC's because they aren't eating as much.

    Click here to view my 75g Acrylic Tank w/ Bean Animal Overflow with 40g Sump Thread

    Also, click here for my 25 group of discus grow out thread


    http://i3.cpcache.com/product/162117...ht=75&width=75
    Want to look like Al did at his ACA talk with his white Simply Polo shirt?(You can catch Al's awesome Discus talk HERE)
    You can get this and many more items such as T-shirts/Polos/hoodies/cups from our merchandise shop:
    Cafepress.com

  15. #15
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    Default Re: Project Log - Semiautomated Maintenance System

    I gotta admit, watching this big turq change colors all the time as he goes about his business is fascinating and quite a sight to behold.

    Sometimes he is a very dark red, almost maroon with extremely vibrant blue patterns and quickly shifts to a bright yellow/red with face stripe when he looks at the smaller turq

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