Easiest water change...
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drukkosz
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I dont do wanter changes often but it nice to have an easy option.I was thinking the easiest water change... was not doing one.
Easy sure, but *** - are you perhaps a plumber by trade?
Nope not a plumber, just 15 years in the hobby
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Eric R.
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That's pretty easy. Though I think Rich Ross has you beat on easiest water change. He has a guy regularly deliver 500 gallons of saltwater from the ocean to him, then has an Apex Dos setup to do auto water changes. So he doesn't have to mix water or hit buttons. He is "king lazy" though!
Still you have a very nice setup! Feel like explaining exactly what you setup that green/black button to do?
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drukkosz
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hehe must be nice but we are talking big money here. Mine is average Joe kind of setup
the green button activates power to the pump that pumps the saltwater from the drum to the tank.
One drum is fresh water for ATO and second is saltwater.
Eric R.
Well-Known Member
hehe must be nice but we are talking big money here. Mine is average Joe kind of setup
the green button activates power to the pump that pumps the saltwater from the drum to the tank.
One drum is fresh water for ATO and second is saltwater.
I'm not sure what all the details would include to replicate, but probably not hugely expensive. A controller, a two head peristaltic pump, some level sensors, some holding tanks, someone to deliver saltwater (easier if you live by the ocean).
I'm going to setup an AWC on my next tank, but since I don't live near the ocean and don't have as large a tank, I'll mix my own salt with a mixing station like yours. I just bought a lightly used neptune Dos for $220 shipped, and have a used apex classic that I picked up previously for less than $200.
If you're like me and enjoy looking at other people's behind-the-scenes equipment setups, and considering how I can "borrow" ideas to improve my own, you can check out an "under"-the-scenes tour of Rich's crawl space. His setup definitely doesn't look nearly as nice/clean as yours, but as he says, he is king lazy! Lots of neat ideas he's incorporated into his setup though, especially for those that want controllability/peace-of-mind when away from home.
a.t.t.r
Well-Known Member
I got it even easier. Dosing pump pumps in 1/2 gallon of water then kicks on a second dosing pump to prime a siphon that breaks right above the auto topoff sensor. Holding tank autofills to hold exactly enough water that 1 box of instant ocean mixes to 1.026. Once every few weeks open valve fill tank drop in box of salt and forget about it for another few weeks. $80 4 head dosing pump.
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drukkosz
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Thanks I will have to check it out when I have an extra hour
.Controller - check
dosing pump - check
sensors - check
holding tanks - check
someone to deliver 500 gallons of ocean water cannot be cheap no matter where you live... i think!
Like I mentioned I dont do water changes often, I do mostly LPS and I am on well water so to make 0 TDS water is quite expensive (filters, resin etc)
Here is my current RO/DI setup:
Build Thread - Drukkosz upgrade - something little different
Fun little project, made a frag rack for the downstairs tank
www.reef2reef.com
Daniel@R2R
Living the Reef Life
That's pretty slick!
Yodeling
Active Member
It’s nice but I think there are even easier ways. The only thing I do is much up a new saltwater batch every 2 weeks. Looking at your setup, I think you could do something similar.
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drukkosz
Active Member
How much did it cost you? Like I mentioned earlier I dont do many water changes. I do mostly LPS and have a very good filtration system.It’s nice but I think there are even easier ways. The only thing I do is much up a new saltwater batch every 2 weeks. Looking at your setup, I think you could do something similar.
Yodeling
Active Member
I believe you could get a similar setup for around $600 if you find good deals on eBay. You’d want a brushless pump if you care about noise. But you don’t have to get this exact setup. The dual heads on a Masterflex just give you that extra peace of mind. But there are lots of ways to set up CWC. Litermeter will work, or heck even Apex/DOS is an option. For me, this is a necessity because I’m lazy and I hate doing water changes. Now I’m always doing water changes without thinking about it.
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