OOOHH "I gotta get me one a these"

[Smann]

if only I had enough money....To have money to burn!

Anyone have one of these systems or know any info about them, I did show it to my wife(threaten)

http://www.seavisions.com/prod02.htm

[spectra]

Hey only 3 grand better get 2(laugh) They look nice but for he money are they really worth it? I think the TOTM posted last week had one on it aftrer eading the article.

[Smann]

Thats where I saw it, looks like quite the system the auto water change was what caught my eye in the article I'm the worst when it comes to water changes. If you read all the specs on the home page it does alot more than just that

[andy]

You should check out the cool system MadMike has -- he's using a LiterMeter to do automated realtime waterchanges. Very, very slick.

[spectra]

You should check out the cool system MadMike has -- he's using a LiterMeter to do automated realtime waterchanges. Very' date=' very slick.[/quote']

 

Already pmd him about that one;) It is still about a grand to do it that way but it is a sweet set up.

[defigart]

Already pmd him about that one;) It is still about a grand to do it that way but it is a sweet set up.

 

Scott,

 

You're looking at it all wrong. Your not spending a grand. You're saveing 2 grand. (whistle)(laugh)

[Smann]

Thanks for the info, I did PM madmike to ask about his setup, if you read the details of this system it does a lot more then auto water changes

http://www.seavisions.com/dialyseas_aquarium_dialysis_equi.htm#DialySeas%20Aquarium%20Dialysis%20Equipment

 

There are good points made about stressing the system doing large water changes as I’m doing now. Since I have been stuck in my house for the last few days and recently finished my Refugium project(I’m working on a thread to share) I’m in the mood to do some tinkering

 

Here is my setup now, 40 gal Rubbermaid can kept about ¾ full with a ro/di unit on a sprinkler timer, a genex pump at the bottom with a riser, a T aerating, then a ball valve (closed) with a ½” nipple at the top. A maxi jet in the can pumps 2 minutes on the hour thru the night as an auto top off (thru kalk chamber also). When I want to do a water change I move the maxi to a 5 gal bucket, fill the can, add salt, aerate a day or two then shut down the system, vacuum, clean, siphon out tank water. To refill I attach a hose and tank bracket, plug the T, open the ball valve then pump the water back in. not bad but still a fairly involved process plus draining my tank down 3-4” exposes some of my corals for the time it takes to complete the water change

 

How about this:

Move the maxi/rodi top off to a 5-7 gal bucket permanently, fill the can with salt water continue with the aeration. Install matching pumps hard plumbed from the can to the tank and from the sump to waste. Then using the aqua controller:

Turn off the main pumps (I have backflow valves so minimum drain down) pump a few gallons out and back in.

With the system running, pump a few gals out and in at the same time

Set an auto program to pump small amounts in and out, a pump failure would be a problem

Set a reverse feed cycle instead of turning the pumps off, have them turn on for say five minutes by pressing the feed button

Would the salt water be good for a few weeks as its drained down or could half be used then replenished with ro/di and salt biweekly or so?

 

Thoughts or ideas?

 

And yes I am bored, stuck in my house for the last 3 days I need something to pass the time!!

[madmike]

I have found a few good deals on reefcentral for used litermeter pumps. My main pump was used and cost a fraction of what it would have been new. Still not cheap by any means, but the only thing I have to manually do with my system is pour salt into the storage container and check the salinity. The really great thing about these pumps is that you tell it how much to pump, not how long to stay on like other brands of peristalic pumps. These are dead on accurate and dont create any instability because only 1 of the pumps can be on at a time and they pump 150 times per day.

 

 

I just set up a 70 gallon cube that will be my carpet anemone and harlequin shrimp tank, and I plan on redirecting the 4 gallons per day removed from the 225g sps system into that system, and then have a pump move 4 gallons from that system to the drain...I think that this will give me an almost 100% water change per month, so hopefully I will never have to dose or test, it should be identical to the 225.

 

Mike

[Smann]

Thanks mike, if possible could you go into more detail on how the system is set up and how it works. maybe in the mean time i'll do some shopping for a pump

[madmike]

Sure, you need a LMIII control module...it is the brain peristalic pump and has the ability to control 2 more "remote" peristalic pumps that are pluged into it. In my sytem I have the main unit, plus 2 remote units. The main unit pulls out 4 gallons a day of tank water and the hose is routed into a utility sink I have in my garage. One of the remote pumps pumps in 4 gallons a day from a 160 gallon saltwater resevoir that sits behind a structural wall in my garage(the wall was placed there to hold the 225gallon show tank directly above it on the 2nd level of our home. The thrird pump pumps freshwater into a geo kalk reactor and then into the sump for all of the evaperation...(I am running into high ph problems currently so I am putting a soleniod valve inline to shut off the flow to the kalk reactor and reroute just freshwater when my ph rises above 8.45).

 

My freshwater and saltwater resevoirs have "latching" float switches inside them that turn on the RO/DI when the bottom float switch is engaged, and turn the unit off when the top float engages...this way the RO/DI is not cycling all of the time. I allow the freswater resevoir to fill anytime it needs, but have to turn a switch to let the saltwater resevoir fill(that way if it fills and I don't notice it, no diluted saltwater is being added to the tank)

 

When i do notice the saltwater resevoir getting low, i flip the switch and shut off a valve that allows the saltwater to flow to the peristalic, then i remove the tubing from the sump where the other peristalic removes water from (this allows the pumps to still run, but no water will be passing thru. The saltwater resevoir then fills and I dump in about a full bucket of salt and let it mix for about a 1/2 of a day, check salinity, and turn the system back on. My maxcap 180 gallon RO/DI system with pressure pump can fill the 160 gallons in about a day to day and a half.

 

So with this system, there are still some manual steps and I designed it this way to remove the chances for any type of malfunctions. The good thing about the manual steps is that they are all pretty easy and don't require me to lug anything really heavy except the salt,lol.

 

Let me know if you need any more info. you are welcome to come by and see it anytime(weather permitting,lol)

both spectra and andy have seen the setup.

Mike

[Smann]

Mike

Thanks for taking the time to explain your system, i've got a good picture now. I agree on keeping some manual steps as these things can be quite a balancing act. I've got the opposite problem with low ph and had to start running kalk just to keep 8-8.2, I took alot of small steps to correct the ph and i'm sure water changes (or lack of) contributed to the problem so i'm hoping a daily exchange of clean salt water will help in correcting the problem. I would like to take you up on your offer to see your system, I will PM you after the holidays to set a time.

Thanks Again

Steve

[madmike]

No problem, just let me know and i'll shoot you my address.

later

Mike