Automatic Water Change System

CDaubs said:
WOW Dennis, fantastic job!! :bowdown: You da man.

I have a couple queries? What is your RO/DI rating for gallons per day? How long does it take to fill the FW tank?

Thanks :Cheers:

Charlie
Click to expand...

Woah, missed this one.
It's a 75gpd unit but I think it took a little longer to completely fill the 65g tank.
 
Rcpilot said:
How do you mix up the new salt water?
Click to expand...

1. Turn on pump which pumps fw into sw tank. Turn off pump when full.
2. Throw salt in the top
3. Let the pump (that's constantly running inside the sw tank) mix it up.

Whole process takes less than 10 minutes and is good for 2 weeks worth of completely hands off water changing. :beerchug:
The LM3 pumps such a little amount at a time, that the fact that the saltwater hasn't mixed for very long the first few hours is not really a big deal.
 
d2mini said:
1. Turn on pump which pumps fw into sw tank. Turn off pump when full.
2. Throw salt in the top
3. Let the pump (that's constantly running inside the sw tank) mix it up.

Whole process takes less than 10 minutes and is good for 2 weeks worth of completely hands off water changing. :beerchug:
The LM3 pumps such a little amount at a time, that the fact that the saltwater hasn't mixed for very long the first few hours is not really a big deal.
Click to expand...


And when you say SW tank, just to be clear you're talking about the tank in the garage not the DT.
 
d2mini said:
1. Turn on pump which pumps fw into sw tank. Turn off pump when full.
2. Throw salt in the top
3. Let the pump (that's constantly running inside the sw tank) mix it up.

Whole process takes less than 10 minutes and is good for 2 weeks worth of completely hands off water changing. :beerchug:
The LM3 pumps such a little amount at a time, that the fact that the saltwater hasn't mixed for very long the first few hours is not really a big deal.
Click to expand...

All you need is a small hopper and a little auger. Set it on a switch to dump X lbs of salt each time the pump comes on to fill the FW tank with new RO water. Then that baby would be fully automatic!! :Cheers:

It's really cool Dennis! Wish I had the space and $$ to do something like that. I LOVE automation.
 
Hi, I have a 130 Gallon Reef and a 30 Gallon sump and would love to implement the same setup. Would you be able to give me an estimate as to how much you invested to make this happen? BTW - Great Job!
 
Hi,
Aquarium Specialty has the best prices on the LiterMeter stuff and I got my tanks from tankdepot.com, but I was able to pick them up locally and not have to pay the expensive shipping charges. The water line i got from thefilterguys.biz... best prices i've seen on that stuff.
 
This is a quite amazing setup. It makes me jealous. Even more so that I don't even have an rodi unit and am still carrying water
 
Rcpilot said:
All you need is a small hopper and a little auger. Set it on a switch to dump X lbs of salt each time the pump comes on to fill the FW tank with new RO water. Then that baby would be fully automatic!! :Cheers:

It's really cool Dennis! Wish I had the space and $$ to do something like that. I LOVE automation.
Click to expand...


hehehe, and i have the plans and a built working stepper motor drive design, and i can show you how to make an auger outta pvc pipe... then just use a stamp processor or heck even a propeller chip, program it up to have a display, heck even measure things in the tank, radio it to the computer, and broadcast it on the web.... temp measurements, water levels, warning alarms... hehehe i could really go ape :pooh: on this one....


i'm thinking the paralax website is gonna be getting some traffic soon... hehehehe
 
That looks fine, but it's pricey. You can find ones at other places for around $100. Try the Filter Guys and Filter Direct as well.
 
Will do, thanks for the tip. I thought it sounded expensive but it seemed as if it came with everything you would want. Regards.
 
It does come with everythign you need. More than a $100 one will.
For that size system it's a good price.
Mine is from thefilterguys.biz and i recommend them to everyone for their awesome customer service and fair prices. I mentioned this earlier.
I have their Ocean Reef +1
You might want to look at the one at the bottom of their ro/di page to compare to the one you linked to above.
 
d2mini said:
Hey guys, I completed my AWCS this weekend!
I figured I'd show you the setup in detail to make it easier for anyone else who wants to give it a go. I couldn't find anything like this, even though I knew it had been done before, so I had to research different forums, talk to a couple vendors, and pm people before I had everything I needed and knew what to do with it.



Ok, here we go! :bounce:
Click to expand...

awesome build! one question... what did you use to seal the small (1/8?) tubing at the bottom of the FW tank? are this mini uniseals?
 
kermit_criminal said:
awesome build! one question... what did you use to seal the small (1/8?) tubing at the bottom of the FW tank? are this mini uniseals?
Click to expand...

They are plastic John Guest quick fittings, meant specifically for this tubing. Home Depot and Lowes carry them, but under a different name which i can't recall. It starts with a "W". And they are located with the rest of the small pipe fittings. For the one you are asking about, i used the fitting that has a shut-off valve. This way i can disconnect the line that goes into the house and then connect another short piece of hose if I need access to the FW.

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/fittings.htm
 
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