Water changes SUCK. Here's my automated system!
- Thread starter jcardona1
- Start date
Awesome, I've been planning the same thing as far as drainage goes but I don't want to waste the water with all the plants I have.
Here is a tip for people who are still leery of drilling their tanks, this is the float valve I use.
They are only ~$10 at farm and ranch stores like Tractor Supply Co.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/little-giant-reg-trough-o-matic-trade-plastic-float-valve-2170322
Here is a tip for people who are still leery of drilling their tanks, this is the float valve I use.
They are only ~$10 at farm and ranch stores like Tractor Supply Co.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/little-giant-reg-trough-o-matic-trade-plastic-float-valve-2170322
Too many things to go wrong that is to much water to be playing with in a house. If you have a dog or kid forget it disaster in the making. Cool system but got a friend who had a sweet drip system setup on temperature everything built under his house for less than $350 worth of parts. Pretty much had fail safe system incase of a leak and clean build unless you went into his crawl space or inside the stand you didn't see anything.
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This kind of system works, and it works well. A system like this can be built for less than $70-100, depending on which pump you go with. Mine is in my crawl-space as well, no equipment whatsoever under my tank except my feeding timer. It is fail-safe as they come - I was a plumber for five years before going back to school and I know what works.
By the time you have spent $350 on a water change system there is plenty to go wrong...
Not sure what adamantium walls are, but basically it's due to load baring walls, lack of space, and not that easy to run / hide all the lines without them all being exposed, since most if not all the walls in most apartments here are made from concrete, plus you'd have to work around where the pipes are laid, unless you want to renovate the whole flat...
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HA! This is seriously as simple as you can get for an automatic water changing system. There's hardly another way to do it easier.
Nice tip! I thought about buying a new float valve but I already had this one laying so I just went ahead and drilled. The only problem with these over-the-tank valves is that the water level can't really be adjusted too much. For those that like to run a lower level in their sumps, they might need to drill.
Can you elaborate on what could go wrong? I'm curious to hear. Kids and dogs...that's a non-issue in my case. And if it were, easy enough to make it tamper-proof. Aside from that, I see no other potential issues. I think there's more risk with a drip system than with a drain/refill type of setup. My house is on a slab, so going underneath is not an option.
Yup! I already had the parts laying around so it was even cheaper for me. There's basically 3 components to make this work: 1) drain pump; 2) a float valve; and 3) a way to treat chlorine/chloramines.This kind of system works, and it works well. A system like this can be built for less than $70-100, depending on which pump you go with. Mine is in my crawl-space as well, no equipment whatsoever under my tank except my feeding timer. It is fail-safe as they come - I was a plumber for five years before going back to school and I know what works.
I'm not a plumber but from my basic understanding of how things work, I can't see a more fail-proof way to automate your water changes.
And you guys think this is complicated...check out what another member did to fail-proof his indoor tank running a full-time drip system. Now THAT is complicated
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?317516-Automatic-Water-Exchange-System
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?317516-Automatic-Water-Exchange-System
I'll take your word for it Homer, impossible just seems like a strong word...
Jcardona1, when you did run your RODI system as a full RODI did you have anything to bypass the first few minutes of RO water so your DI resin didn't get eaten up from TDS creep?
Jcardona1, when you did run your RODI system as a full RODI did you have anything to bypass the first few minutes of RO water so your DI resin didn't get eaten up from TDS creep?
No, never did that. In fact I didn't even know it could be an issue! For the whole time I had it the DI resin kept putting out 0-1ppm water, even though it had turned fully yellow-gold. How would you bypass the DI for the first few minutes? Does this have to be done manually?I'll take your word for it Homer, impossible just seems like a strong word...
Jcardona1, when you did run your RODI system as a full RODI did you have anything to bypass the first few minutes of RO water so your DI resin didn't get eaten up from TDS creep?
