auto water change help please

[random-cichlid]

Hey guys and gals
So i am setting up my 2x 3 tier stands and i was wondering the best way to go about plumbing this set-up so its fully automatic with water changes.
I was wondering if i can get ur pics of ur auto water set up and opinions and overall advice would be great

[random-cichlid]

bump bump bump
130 ppl viewed this thread i believe i need some assistance Maybe i should add some more info i need some help plumbing and working out what heavy metal filter unit to use i plan to use a 1000lt water container for water storage from the heavy metal filter
THe tanks ill be using are
8 2foot breeders
3 3foot standards
2 4foot standards
Should i use ball valves at a certain lvl so i open valve it does say a 60 percent change or something, or should i just have bulkhead at top.

So when i put new water in old water drains off i could do that twice a day on a timer for instance so it pumps like 30 or 40 lt in to the 65 lt breeding cubes

i have not drilled all the tanks i have running atm and water changes with a hose is time consuming

[random-cichlid]

I am at that stage now were i need to make decisions for plumbing can some 1 please assist me i have just acquired my 1000lt storage so i need some ideas now so i can make my waterchanges very simple

[joeymac]

Have you tried using the search?

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[random-cichlid]

oh yes i have read thru this forum for a quite a while

[Altum Nut]

I wish you the best of luck...but I would think someone setting up 13 tanks would have planned out thier plumbing first.
If you can get a photo or a drawing of your system...it will help and someone maybe able to assist you.

...Ralph

[DerekFF]

Really no matter how you do it.....they all have to be drill. 60% up or at the top doesnt matter really. At 60% it will just drain faster and possibly allow for a more complete WC.

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[random-cichlid]

i am trying to find the most efficient way of doing water changes id rather not even be there when there happening is what i am trying to achieve

[ZX10R]

id rather not even be there when there happening is what i am trying to achieve

Sounds like you need to get a small PLC, solenoids, and some float switches to make it fully automatic.

[DerekFF]

Sounds like you need to get a small PLC, solenoids, and some float switches to make it fully automatic.

Yeah lol if youre going for a truely 100% auto changer its going to be more complicated and more $. You didnt think this out before hand?

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[ZX10R]

Yeah lol if youre going for a truely 100% auto changer its going to be more complicated and more $. You didnt think this out before hand?

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I already thought about doing all this and priced things the solenoids is what will cost you the most.

[Carolina discus]

Not sure if it will help but I had kicked around the idea of auto water changes for years and never could come up with or saw a design that didnt have issues....I decided on using a 1" bulkhead about 50% up the tank for fast water changes....I went this way incase there was a break or a valve got left on....that way you didnt lose the batch of fish....
takes me about 3-5 mins to make a 30-50% water change on a 75G....you can just plumb a return line from your storage tank with 1/2" PVC and valves to refill...
best of luck...

[dbfzurowski]

here is what I will do for my monster build if I ever get to do it.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn29/wadopl/jd_zurowski321.jpg

Top water line even on both tanks that are connected together. Bottom on small tank will be how much water will get drained from main tank.
In the small tank, there will be a float device that is used in toilet flushing. Float goes down, water starts flowing till float reaches a desired height.

Now, pump connected to main tank will be on timer, lets say 15mins. It will pump out water evenly between two tanks. Once the water reaches the bottom in the little tank the water will start pumping in. Most likely the pump will still pump some water out while the new water goes in(thats good)
Timer runs out, small tank will keep filling water in both ttanks since they are connected.
Thats all, easy and as cheap as it might get. I dont know your system but this can be modified. No expensive solenoids that might go bad.
How often does a toilet float break down? Timer, just a cheap analog timer with 15min steps.
let me know if you have any questions, will check back on this sunday.

[random-cichlid]

ok so i have all my water-change gear now im so excited to put all this together i decided to go a heap of solenoids and all automatic except for the big 80 or 90 percent changes i will plumb those so they take 2 min to do a 90 percent change and ill have fresh water pumped in to them also 3 times a day that will be my automatic part of the system