One Touch / Automatic Water Changer

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Thats pretty sweet CHOMPERS!!

In your diagram, in the fresh fill sump, you have a toilet fill valve, but you dont mention what it is for in the description. I assume its to stop the flow of water into that sump when it gets to a certain level rather than just relying on the timer.

Using sumps that can age is cool because you can also put a heater in the fresh fill to bring it up to the same temp as what is in the tank.

One question though.

The pump in the fresh fill sump does not have an automatic on switch. Does that have to be turned on manually?
 
mjime714 said:
In your diagram, in the fresh fill sump, you have a toilet fill valve, but you dont mention what it is for in the description. I assume its to stop the flow of water into that sump when it gets to a certain level rather than just relying on the timer.
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Yes you are correct, it is to stop the water flow before the water flows on the carpet :naughty: Using a timer and a ball valve will work but they are not fool proof. If you are on city water, your water pressure changes throughout the day. Late at night when everyone is asleep, water pressure can be higher than 55psi. In the early morning when sprinklers start kicking on, water pressure can be as low as 20psi. There are too many variables in city water pressure to rely on a timer and a manual valve. Your tank could be too low after a water change and then another time you have water on the floor. The toilet valve ensures that the sump is filled to a preset level. The volume of the sump at that level will give you a constant dosage every time. (I like to over do it so that there are fewer chances of something going wrong down the road.)

mjime714 said:
Using sumps that can age is cool because you can also put a heater in the fresh fill to bring it up to the same temp as what is in the tank.
Click to expand...
Good idea. I don't use heaters, except during the winter (all two weeks of it) so I didn't really think to put that in the diagram.


mjime714 said:
The pump in the fresh fill sump does not have an automatic on switch. Does that have to be turned on manually?
Click to expand...
It is turned on by the timer. Irrigation timers have a power connection labeled as "pump relay". A relay is a magnetic switch. The timer is usually 12 volts DC and the pump is usually 120v AC. The twelve volt current closes the switch to turn on the 120v circuit (the pump). The pump will run during the operation of all three zones, so that is why I included the valve to limit its operation. The pump could be turned on and off by puting the relay on only that zone but I do not know if that would affect the valve's solonoid. If so, then you would need two relays; one for the pump and one for the valve.
 
One question, when the process starts at the very beginning how do you start the siphon from the fish tank to the waste sump?


Very cool design, once I get the gist of it I think I may try to recreate it for my 125.
 
Just built this thing and I am having some problems.....



I can't get the siphon to start??


It seems like there is not enough pressure to push through the sprinkler valves???
 
X3R0X said:
Just built this thing and I am having some problems.....



I can't get the siphon to start??


It seems like there is not enough pressure to push through the sprinkler valves???
Click to expand...

Valves should be free flowing when on. You could bypass the valves just to test your system. Is everything below the main tank level ?
 
ok well I think I have figured out a solution to my problems.....

1st problem (Siphoning the water out automatically)....
Sprinkler valves do not work like normal valves (DUH!!!)... When they are off they are not completely closed and when they are on they need a decent PSI to get some decent flow. With 2-3 psi you're looking at around 3-5 gallons a minute....which really isn't that bad but it's hard to get a decent PSI off a siphon.

Solution two...
Make sure to buy valves that have a flow control. Use an external pump hooked up to the drain line to increase the pressure in the line to make the draining part of the process quicker and more efficient or you can just deal with it and let it take 10-20 minutes to drain the tank to the level you desire.


2nd problem (Controlling the water from flowing in places it shouldn't be)
Like I said when sprinkler valves are off they are not completely closed allowing water into places it shouldn't be going. So when you try to pump that water from the bottom new fill tank into the main tank with normal sprinkler valves it will still push the water through the valve that is supposed to be closed, making a mess....


Solution...
Buy anti-siphon sprinkler valves!! or buy seperate inline anti-siphon breakers. Trust me you are going to need them with this project.


So far I have made my mistakes with this project, but I am learning and figuring out how to solve them. I am going to home depot tonight to get new valves! Wish me luck!!
 
Hi Matt, I just replied to your email. I wasn't thinking about the anti-siphon valves correctly in my reply. While reading your post, I got to thinking that if the anti-siphon is a flapper then it will work if in the proper direction. If it is spring loaded, then we are back to the same problem with low pressure. Great data so far, and keep up the good work. I will post the data from my valves here.

Ron
 
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