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Automated Water Changes


drock59

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I have a 300 Gallon reservoir outside that has freshly mixed saltwater. A Litermeter III pulls 10 gallons a day out of the system and dumps it down the drain, at the same time pulling 10 gallons of fresh seawater out of the reservoir and into the system. This is done slowly throughout the day, everyday.

At the end of each month I shut down the Litermeter III, use an AATOC to automatically fill the reservoir with with RODI water over a day, pour the salt in and let a Reeflo Dart mix it all for another day. Then turn the Litermeter III back on.

Each month its about 1 hours worth of work and absolutely no mess, buckets, or hoses.

Best thing I have ever added to my aquarium, keeps my salinity very stable and the system is healthier for it.

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Not to highjack the thread but, how long can mixed salt water last, I have a 35 gal container on wheels that I want to mix, it will take me about 1 - 1 1/2 months to use it all, I will keep a pump in the container mixing, also light free...any issues with this, although not automated, I would be able to do a 10 gal water change in about 15 mins.

 

Ken

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Not to highjack the thread but, how long can mixed salt water last, I have a 35 gal container on wheels that I want to mix, it will take me about 1 - 1 1/2 months to use it all, I will keep a pump in the container mixing, also light free...any issues with this, although not automated, I would be able to do a 10 gal water change in about 15 mins.

 

Ken

I was told a week to 10 days

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Unless you completely drain your tank and start over, water changes continue to dilute older water...technically speaking, there is water in our tanks from a LONG time ago...it just isn't there in large amounts...mineral concentrations may get used, but salt water (unless contaminated) doesn't go bad...

 

DrMerle

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I need to get something like this. I'm so tired of weekly water changes. I was considering getting the Bubble Magus quad doser to do this with. That way i can also dose alk and calcium. And its cheaper than this unit.

 

 

Most people go with a masterflex controller with 2 heads on the same motor.

You can find some used units for about $150 on ebay. This is the way I'm planning to go.

At first I didn't see you were gonna use the quad. The quad is a slave so you need the main unit too. This raise the cost of the doser to about $600

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Most people go with a masterflex controller with 2 heads on the same motor.

You can find some used units for about $150 on ebay. This is the way I'm planning to go.

At first I didn't see you were gonna use the quad. The quad is a slave so you need the main unit too. This raise the cost of the doser to about $600

 

Yah i was just looking into that. I really need a total of 4 dosing pumps but nobody makes that!! (flame) I'll look into the masterflex controllers thanks for the info :D

 

I could probably also get a couple of the BRS dosers, as long as they pump at an equal and consistent amount.

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I think Bubble Magus is as low as I would consider to go, as for quality.

If something goes wrong with an automatic water change you risk to drain out all your tank and fill it with freshwater. That's why medical grade controllers and pumps are probably the safest way to go.

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Well if its a fixed flow doser, and you have it set to go off 3 or 4 times a day as long as you are checking on things periodically you should be ok. If one fails, you would either dose NSW for a short time while the old SW isn't being removed or vice versa. I'm thinking of changing out roughly 1 gallon a day with the doser.

 

I'm now thinking of doing a DIY for this sort of thing. You can get these APT dosing pumps that dose 100ml/min for $76.

 

http://www.aptinstruments.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AI&Product_Code=SP200FOHD

 

I'd need 2 and I could install it in a project box, and wire in some LED lights to tell you at quick glance if its currently running. I think it'd be pretty slick. But you also might be able to snag a couple masterflex pumps off ebay for a similar total price. Only problem is where are you going to mount 2 pumps that are as big as microwaves? (laugh)

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lol, they are big. Actually the motor is. But you can mount 2 heads on the same shaft, so the unit is not so big. Like this one: http://web1.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1361702

The good of Masterflex is that if you decide to not doing automatic water change anymore and you want to get rid of the equipment, they keep a good market value.

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