Water change idea... Gimmicky or Innovative?

[User]

I am new to this hobby so learning something new every day I will look it up and see how the setup is done in that video. Thanks

Found it... took some looking.

Basically, 2 buckets : old water, new water, 2 pumps, 1 in sump, one in new water mix, float switches and each bucket has an overflow back to source (either sump or new water) so that they refill exactly the same amount every time, regardless if the pump stays on a little longer than usual. Then each bucket has a solenoid valve that opens up and puts old water down drain and new water into sump.

I’m planning to use my apex to control it, and use 1.25 gallon pasta containers (square) and low volume, high head pumps.

3x 1 gallon changes per day for 90g/month changed. That’s a 35% change.

Take a look at the installation instructions for the genesis renew and take it from there

 

[saltyhog]

Sitting here thinking about ways to make water changes easier, and I had this idea which could possibly work for smaller tanks (thinking 50 gallons or so).

What if a 5 gallon bucket was plumbed in via a manifold (specifically putting hoses into the lid using bulk heads), then that 5 gallon bucket would serve as a "water change reservoir." Each week the bucket could be disconnected, dumped and new saltwater mixed there then reattached. Thoughts? Too gimmicky? Too much effort for too little benefit? I'm not sure it's a good idea...just thought it was a creative moment that I wanted to bounce off of you guys.

A guy in our local reef club has a similar set up on his 300+ gallon tank. He has two 75 gallon plastic tanks sitting side by side in his fish room that are both plumbed in to his water system. The pumps can be isolated from the tank with valves and there is a valve that will drain each tank to his floor drain. One of the tanks is always on line. The other he can open a valve from his RO/DI reservoir and fill, mix his salt water in it and when he's ready, close the valve on the other tank and open the valve on the tank with the new water and voila! Instant 75 gallon water change. He then opens the drain valve on the previously in line tank and empties it to the drain.

It's an amazing set up and a 75 gallon water change take him about 5 minutes with the only "work" being opening and closing a few valves.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

A guy in our local reef club has a similar set up on his 300+ gallon tank. He has two 75 gallon plastic tanks sitting side by side in his fish room that are both plumbed in to his water system. The pumps can be isolated from the tank with valves and there is a valve that will drain each tank to his floor drain. One of the tanks is always on line. The other he can open a valve from his RO/DI reservoir and fill, mix his salt water in it and when he's ready, close the valve on the other tank and open the valve on the tank with the new water and voila! Instant 75 gallon water change. He then opens the drain valve on the previously in line tank and empties it to the drain.

It's an amazing set up and a 75 gallon water change take him about 5 minutes with the only "work" being opening and closing a few valves.

I love it!!

 

[HotRocks]

A guy in our local reef club has a similar set up on his 300+ gallon tank. He has two 75 gallon plastic tanks sitting side by side in his fish room that are both plumbed in to his water system. The pumps can be isolated from the tank with valves and there is a valve that will drain each tank to his floor drain. One of the tanks is always on line. The other he can open a valve from his RO/DI reservoir and fill, mix his salt water in it and when he's ready, close the valve on the other tank and open the valve on the tank with the new water and voila! Instant 75 gallon water change. He then opens the drain valve on the previously in line tank and empties it to the drain.

It's an amazing set up and a 75 gallon water change take him about 5 minutes with the only "work" being opening and closing a few valves.

We setup something similar to this on @4FordFamily in wall system. Tank is 500g total. We installed a 90g tank next to it that had RO plumbed to the tank. Tank has a pump in it. Flip valve fill with RO. Add salt and let it rip. Then his return pumps are plumbed to a drain. Flip one valve and let water drain. Flip another and allow the 90g to flow into sump. So it’s not a true inline system but it only takes about 15min to do a 90g WC and never do anything other than flip two valves twice .

 

[JasonK84]

Yeah. My basic idea is to have it plumbed in similar to a reactor (just without the media). I suppose it could double as a refugium too (or pretty much anything else) as long as the water volume stays at around 10% of the tank volume.

Sounds cool to me. For even smaller tanks you could use a canister filter with nothing in it. And it would add flow.

 

[Magellan]

This has been incorporated into some older builds using an extra tank plumbed into the system. Just shut valves, drain, close valves and fill. I would use the extra as a settling tank after the overflow, before the sump. That way when you empty it you also export a lot of detritus.

^^this. The OP was discussing the idea for smaller tanks, and half the benefit of a water change on my 28g is detritus export. Extra space for bio media too.

 

[Dine]

I like the idea BUT for me I need to manually siphon the tank. It forces me to turn over the sandbed, clean the glass, inspect the rocks, etc. I do run a mixing station in the garage and have a 50ft hose to refill. Yes it takes a little longer then the “extra” tank but only by a few minutes and I feel like I use those minutes well. Just my .02

 

[Phildago]

I was thinking of doing this with my canister filter. It's almost five gallons. So I figured it would essentially do the job.

Heck, you've convinced me. I'm going to set it up tomorrow and throw my tiny bag of carbon in there. Two for one deal. Reactor and automatic water change reservoir

 

[Feet4Fish]

A guy in our local reef club has a similar set up on his 300+ gallon tank. He has two 75 gallon plastic tanks sitting side by side in his fish room that are both plumbed in to his water system. The pumps can be isolated from the tank with valves and there is a valve that will drain each tank to his floor drain. One of the tanks is always on line. The other he can open a valve from his RO/DI reservoir and fill, mix his salt water in it and when he's ready, close the valve on the other tank and open the valve on the tank with the new water and voila! Instant 75 gallon water change. He then opens the drain valve on the previously in line tank and empties it to the drain.

It's an amazing set up and a 75 gallon water change take him about 5 minutes with the only "work" being opening and closing a few valves.


Great idea. Basically same as I do but have the two container separated with one in basement and one on first floor that gravity drains to the one in the basement

 

[Feet4Fish]

Great idea. Basically same as I do but have the two container separated with one in basement and one on first floor that gravity drains to the one in the basement

 

[4FordFamily]

We setup something similar to this on @4FordFamily in wall system. Tank is 500g total. We installed a 90g tank next to it that had RO plumbed to the tank. Tank has a pump in it. Flip valve fill with RO. Add salt and let it rip. Then his return pumps are plumbed to a drain. Flip one valve and let water drain. Flip another and allow the 90g to flow into sump. So it’s not a true inline system but it only takes about 15min to do a 90g WC and never do anything other than flip two valves twice .

This setup is amazing. When my ATO cannot keep up for some reason (rare) I also just turn a valve and add water. Done! So easy. Water changes made simple thanks to @HotRocks. All I do is provide world-class verbal abuse and good looks.

 

[User]

This setup is amazing. When my ATO cannot keep up for some reason (rare) I also just turn a valve and add water. Done! So easy. Water changes made simple thanks to @HotRocks. All I do is provide world-class verbal abuse and good looks.

I love the variety of people and professions here on this board.! Who knew 4FordFamily was a world class plastic surgeon, providing good looks to those unfortunate not to have been blessed?

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Sitting here thinking about ways to make water changes easier, and I had this idea which could possibly work for smaller tanks (thinking 50 gallons or so).

What if a 5 gallon bucket was plumbed in via a manifold (specifically putting hoses into the lid using bulk heads), then that 5 gallon bucket would serve as a "water change reservoir." Each week the bucket could be disconnected, dumped and new saltwater mixed there then reattached. Thoughts? Too gimmicky? Too much effort for too little benefit? I'm not sure it's a good idea...just thought it was a creative moment that I wanted to bounce off of you guys.

Better yet, instead of having to mix salt,and adj. SG. use real ocean water if possible. Fill and forget. That's what I did. works wonders.....Hahaha

Proof is in the pudding
1 of 26 carnation corals, dendronephthya
Today's photo

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Better yet, instead of having to mix salt,and adj. SG. use real ocean water if possible. Fill and forget. That what I did. works wonders.....Hahaha

Ha! I wish I had easy access to real ocean water. That would be awesome!

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Ha! I wish I had easy access to real ocean water. That would be awesome!

Bummer

 

[WallyB]

It's hard enough keeping simple plumbing flowing properly. Adding joints, elbows or any extra leak points is something I try to avoid.

 

[4FordFamily]

I love the variety of people and professions here on this board.! Who knew 4FordFamily was a world class plastic surgeon, providing good looks to those unfortunate not to have been blessed?

Hahaha! I see what you did there!

 

[AXquarium]

I do exactly what you are proposing on my 90gal using the AutoAqua AWC/ATO system. When I set up my tank I left a little over a foot to the back wall and bought a couple of 10-gal pet food containers with built-in rolling casters(!) and put them in that space, unseen. Every day water is pumped from the return section of the sump into the waste container (holes drilled in top cover for tubing), and new water is pumped in from the new saltwater container. Then, once a week I can roll the old water container across my living room to the bathroom and dump the wastewater down my shower drain (alternately use a maxi-jet and some tube to drain to sink so the container can be drained down before lifting/dumping a much lighter container). Once that is done and the container is back, I can pump new water from my basement RODI/mixing station into the new SW container and start the cycle all over again.

And yes, as mentioned above, my sump light grows algae film algae on the waste container that is easily wiped off. But not thinking of this as a scrubber of any type since the water is in the waste container and out of the sump system already, so it's just the wastewater that is getting "cleaner".

 

[WallyB]

I am actually working on using Neptune Dos with three containers, First 20 gallon brute container (holding RODI water that will feed the ATO reservoir via 1/4” RODI tubing and a second 1/2” tube connecting the second brute container) that will be plumbed using unions connecting the second brute container that will hold freshly mixed saltwater with a wave pump and heater and then have a 5 gallon bucket that will collect about 2 gallons every other day to put less stress on the Neptune Dos and run for 1.5 to 2 hours to drain and then using second pump on the Dos to fill it back with the freshly mixed saltwater. Note while I drain and replenish the sump the ATO will be disabled so the salinity is not touched. While draining my return area will drop maybe by a inch or inch and a half that will not change anything in my skimmer section and or will not affect my return pump to run dry as there will be enough for it to feed back to the display tank. While the water change will be done during the day time I can easily come home and replace the 5 gallons bucket or empty it out so I don’t have to over load or pick up heavy bucket. The drain will be put from the skimmer area and the fresh water will be added to the return area. What do you guys think of this setup?? Will this work?? Any comments or suggestions will help me as I am still in the process of planning phase and will most likely pull the plug during the upcoming holidays. I will definitely share the pictures once done.

It will work.
I just recently did a similar concept. But with a twist. I do 3 tanks. One water change flows into the next one, and last tank dumps into drain.
Yes you do have to turn off ATO during drain time. Yes you need to ensure return pump level doesn't go too low. I manage to do 1.5 gallons daily with no issues. (**I did raise ATO Sensor Level to give me more volume **)
I did play with float switches to see if I can extract exactly the same amount I add. That turned out to be very tricky alignment (with Tunze ATO Optical Sensor). The pumps I used are accurate enough.
So instead I use the float switch in each draw/return area to enable a safe go ahead on the water change. The float switch must be up which prove there is enough water in return section to not run dry during extract.

It has been working for me for 3 months. I am re-using salt water (SPS tank gets new mix, next is lightly stocked frag tank, and dirty lps/mixed tank gets the last water change). Since installing, each tank has improved (since I never really did water changes on the OLD Dirty Mixed/LPS TANK).

My new salt water reservoir is a old 65 gallon tank I tried to sell but nobody made a offer. That Volume gives me worry free 2+ months of daily 1.5 water changes. (I mix up water roughly every 3 months)

Hard to film all this working on the Setup, but this demo I did before installing the Controller gives you the idea on how things work.

The Blue Flask (Left) is the New Salt Water Reservoir.
The Blue Bottles (Middle) are the 3 Tanks Sumps.
The Empty Flask (Far Right) is the Basement Floor Drain.



The pumps I use are these [KAMOER Peristaltic Irrigation pumps] (They do go on sale for $27.99 each). Fast, quiet, long life, and can out-run a DOS Stepper-motor-Type without any over-heat or life reducing issues. (Can run full speed for an hour if needed).

US $43.9 |Kamoer KHM 12V/24V Peristaltic Water Pump With Silicon/Norprene Tube Support to Self priming-in Pumps from Home Improvement on AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

You could run them off you Apex Power bar if you have two spare outlets (and a AC adapter).

Nothing wrong with a Neptune DOS pump. I actually think it's a beautiful, powerful, accurate Stepper Motor pump, which is best used for accurate, reliable, life long dosing, not pumping large volumes of water continuously. I heard that the Neptune DOS WC Programming logic... breaks up the Water Changes into small repeat cycles to keep them from burning out.

 

[User]

It will work.
I just recently did a similar concept. But with a twist. I do 3 tanks. One water change flows into the next one, and last tank dumps into drain.
Yes you do have to turn off ATO during drain time. Yes you need to ensure return pump level doesn't go too low. I manage to do 1.5 gallons daily with no issues. (**I did raise ATO Sensor Level to give me more volume **)
I did play with float switches to see if I can extract exactly the same amount I add. That turned out to be very tricky alignment. The pumps I used are accurate enough.
So instead I use the float switch in each draw/return area to enable a safe go ahead on the water change. The float switch must be up which prove there is enough water in return section to not run dry during extract.

It has been working for me for 3 months. I am re-using salt water (SPS tank gets new mix, next is lightly stocked frag tank, and dirty lps/mixed tank get the last water change).

My new salt water reservoir is a old 65 gallon tank I tried to sell but nobody made a offer. That gives me worry free 2+ months of daily 1.5 water changes.

Hard to film all this working on the Setup, but this demo I did before installing the Controller givex you the idea on how things work.

The Blue Flask (Left) is the New Salt Water Reservoir.
The Blue Bottles (Middle) are the 3 Tanks Sumps.
The Empty Flask (Far Right) is the Basement Floor Drain.



The pumps I use are these [KAMOER Peristaltic Irrigation pumps] (They do go on sale for $27.99 each). Fast, quiet, long life, and can out-run a DOS Stepper-motor-Type without any over-heat or life reducing issues. (Can run full speed for an hour if needed).

US $43.9 |Kamoer KHM 12V/24V Peristaltic Water Pump With Silicon/Norprene Tube Support to Self priming-in Pumps from Home Improvement on AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

You could run them off you Apex Power bar if you have two spare outlets (and a AC adapter).

Nothing wrong with a Neptune DOS pump. I actually think it's a beautiful, powerful, accurate Stepper Motor pump, which is best used for accurate, reliable, life long dosing, not pumping large volumes of water continuously. I heard that the Neptune DOS WC Programming logic... breaks up the Water Changes into small repeat cycles to keep them from burning out.

Very cool man. I hadn’t realised
Those peri pumps got so inexpensive.

Have you checked calibration any in the last 2 months? How fast is the flow on those?