Auto water changer idea - Calling all gurus

[jcardona1]

Ok here's the deal, and bear with me. I know what I want, but I don't know what it's called or how to build it

I basically want to run a 24/7 drip system like I did on my 400g tank through a carbon chlorine/chloramine filter and drip emitters. That's easy, the problem is how to drain that water.

Since the tank is in the living room, I can't take advantage of gravity to drain the excess water outside. I know I've seen it before, so basically what I'm thinking about is an extra tank hooked up to my sump. The excess drain water flows into this tank.

So what I need is some sort of pump on a solenoid that is activated based on the water level. When the water reaches the the sensor, the solenoid turns on the pump and drains the reservoir tank, then shuts off when it reaches the minimum water level. Any ideas where I can a solenoid with sensors like this?

Would this thing work, just reverse the min/max sensors? http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=13959

Now in the event of a power outage, this would mean that the drip system is still flowing, but the pump isn't going, which would flood my living room. So, I'm guessing I'll need another solenoid for the drip line. This solenoid would have to be a 'normally closed' solenoid that would stop the water flow if the power goes out. So where can I find this one?

Did that make any sense at all?

 

[Clay]

A standard ATO should do what you want. http://www.autotopoff.com/ is a cheaper alternative, but there are also JBJ, and tunze ozmolators. They are common (like, EVERYONE besides a beginner) has them on their reef tanks.

 

[Clay]

And I just saw your link, yeah, that will work. Check out premiumaquatics.com and marinedepot.com for some alternatives.

 

[jcardona1]

Thanks Clay. I found this thread, it's pretty much exactly what I was describing. I see you replied in it too. What do you think of his setup? Anything you would do differently? Seems like using a solenoid valve and vertical float switch is better than those ATOs?

Thoughts?

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317516

 

[jcardona1]

 

[gangster]

why would you drain into another tank? Your still doing work manually to drain that tank then right?

 

[jcardona1]

why would you drain into another tank? Your still doing work manually to drain that tank then right?

It would drain into another tank to act as the reservoir for the extra water. What I want is a pump in that extra tank to pump the water outside. That pump would turn on/off based on the water level in that tank.

Check this video out. It was built by another member here

[YT]31EM6OmuGxI[/YT]

 

[Pharaoh]

J, don't forget the sump setup that Chompers did. He had it draining into a reservoir tank and then it was pumped out by a sump pump. That could give some pretty good ideas as well.

Solenoids would be the way to go for power outages.

 

[Dan F]

This is a different approach, I've been using this setup for about a year and it seems foolproof.

First, set up a float valve on your sump at the desired level. I have a through-wall float valve, or you can buy one of these - http://www.petsolutions.com/storefr...shopps-float-valve/prodEShoppsFloatValve.html - , or you could DIY one using a toilet valve.

Next, set up a small pump on a digital timer to eject wastewater. If the drain you are dumping into is above the level of the sump, no problem. If it is below the level of the sump you will need an air gap to keep from siphoning your sump after the pump shuts off. You can either use your carbon filtration and line pressure to to the float valve, or you can hook the float valve to a reservoir of conditioned water.

My setup pumps 2GPH. I have it set to eject 12 gallons 6x daily, but you can tailor it to whatever level of water change you wish.

The advantages are:

It's cheap - the whole setup costs less than an ATO.
If a pump fails it won't flood your house (the sump pump setup WILL).
No drip emitters to clog.
Easily adjustable to whatever level of water change you want.
Very little chance for leaks.
Your drain can be as far away as you like.
Drain plumbing does not have to be graded.

Think it through yourself, I believe this method is superior to drip systems in almost every way. If you are concerned about changing out water in a "chunk" rather than continuously (it makes little difference in my mind) you could use a repeat-cycle timer rather than the standard cheap electronic timer, but that will add cost.

 

[fishnut]

What is below your living room? Unless you have a ranch, you can drill a hole on the floor and run it to the sink, depending where your sink is.

I am thinking of doing the same thing for my system.