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seashell_midwest
11-08-2013, 09:05 PM
I have a 55 gallon aquarium. I have setup a automatic water change system. Wondering whether this will work. suggestion welcomed:

I have run 1/2 pex tube from my basement to the tank.

U shaped pex tube hanging on the tank, there is a check valve at the aquarium end. The other end is connected to pex tubing which runs at the floor level across to the closet, in the closet the tube makes a upward turn to ceiling (8ft), then the tube goes to the basement which is at the same level, the tube runs down for another 8 feet to the house sump pump water collection area, I have connect this pex tubing to magnum 9.5, then it makes it turns upward 8ft and reaches the celling and goes to the drain area, here it descends 8 ft, before this i have place a T to vent the air to break the siphon.

I hated placing my magpump 9.5 inside the aquarium as it takes so much space. Did not feel comfortable keeping below my aquarium either as worried about a leak. So I have kept near the sump area even if there is a leak i will not have a problem.

Is there a way to bleed the air in my pex tubing before it's connected to the mag pump without loosing the priming? Will there be issues if I don't have air vent?

I plan to use predetermine timer to pump the water out of the tank and into the tank in my absences. (out pump will pump for 20minutes, and in-pump in the storage barrel will pump for 25 minutes both are manually calibrated for filling time as a safety measure have a float in the aquarium which will switch off the in pump if it crosses a predetermined level)

55 gallon storage barrel has a float valve, planning to use a rainbird solenoid that will open for 2 hrs after the water change to fill the storage barrel, by this i will prevent any mixing of new water with the aged water.

For dechlorination, planning to use a peristalsis pump in my absence.

help or suggestion welcomed.

lx2077
11-16-2013, 06:55 AM
Awesome!! However 1 thing u failed to mention is water temperature. ..discus are temperamental to fluctuations in water temperature changes as little as 2 to 3 degrees especially if the tank drops below 82...how are u going to regulate the temperature coming back in the tank.Now u can go one step further as it appears u must be a plumber. U can add a R.O. system for only $100 bucks and wouldn't have to worry about dechlorinating the water at all

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

John_Nicholson
11-16-2013, 10:58 AM
So is the tank bare bottom? What are you going to do about the solids that accumulate? How much water are you going to put through. The trouble with auotmatic WC's is that is something breaks it get ugly in a hurry. You can drill your tank and probably do your WC's on that tank in less than 5 minutes. In my fish house I change between 400 and 600 gallons of water a day depending on how many tanks I have going at the moment. It takes me about 30 minutes and that includes siphoming the tank.

Good luck.

-john