jrpark22000
Premium member
I'm using the same setup. Exact same water in and out and have floats setup on the new saltwater resivour to shut off the pump if I run out.
aotomatic weekly water changes
- Thread starter Bowhunter4250
- Start date
ultimatemj
Active member
I keep coming back to the benefits and the risks....
Benefits: Less effort, more likely to happen,
Risks: If "full auto" failures can be big impact
Due to the risk, I'm aiming for a "semi-automatic" approach...push button, watch it go, address anything that is not the way it needs to be. Keeps all the benefits and eliminates the risks.
Additionally, IMO the 2 primary reasons for WCs are nutrient export and trace element replacement. For nutrient export, I'm not sure it's all that effective unless you "stir sh!t up" (or have a collection point that can be drained). Otherwise you are just taking out very very diluted waste and leaving detritus in your sump to decompose. Today when I do manual WCs, I shake the bag of Seachem Pond Matrix in my sump like a tea bag and put all the settled detritus into the water column.
Thinking peri-pumps would provide accurate volumes, but not move volume fast enough to export significant detritus.
So I'm thinking about a program that would 1) stop return pump 2) kick on powerhead in sump (stir sh!t up) 3) pump out dirty water 4) pump in fresh water 5) restart return pump. The catch is matching the volume of out/in...more so because I have 25' of return and drain line, so the water level in the sump is different from shut down to having enough to refill the 25' return line. Might need to consider more check valves LOL
Anywhose, thanks for sharing!
Benefits: Less effort, more likely to happen,
Risks: If "full auto" failures can be big impact
Due to the risk, I'm aiming for a "semi-automatic" approach...push button, watch it go, address anything that is not the way it needs to be. Keeps all the benefits and eliminates the risks.
Additionally, IMO the 2 primary reasons for WCs are nutrient export and trace element replacement. For nutrient export, I'm not sure it's all that effective unless you "stir sh!t up" (or have a collection point that can be drained). Otherwise you are just taking out very very diluted waste and leaving detritus in your sump to decompose. Today when I do manual WCs, I shake the bag of Seachem Pond Matrix in my sump like a tea bag and put all the settled detritus into the water column.
Thinking peri-pumps would provide accurate volumes, but not move volume fast enough to export significant detritus.
So I'm thinking about a program that would 1) stop return pump 2) kick on powerhead in sump (stir sh!t up) 3) pump out dirty water 4) pump in fresh water 5) restart return pump. The catch is matching the volume of out/in...more so because I have 25' of return and drain line, so the water level in the sump is different from shut down to having enough to refill the 25' return line. Might need to consider more check valves LOL
Anywhose, thanks for sharing!
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madjoe
Premium member
Thanks yea i bought a house in addison now and upgraded to a 150 gal and been slackng on water changes just cause its a pia to carry buckets up the stairs from basment lol . Im with ya on time is limited and valuable hopefully it keeps working for u which it should . I will set something up dont need to be fully automated but if i can do a water change by just few clickes of the key board and the reefkeeper net life be so much better . Keeps us informedno problem man .... Ive seen your tanks and gotten frags from you ... beautiful !! i have 2 small kids so time is very valuable , for now for me this works great ! i don't have to spend the time every other week or weekly getting wet , buckets , hoses etc.... my parameters should stay stable and healthier overall with doing weekly water changes ? and if i remember correctly you just recently set up a bigger tank correct ? you moved ? im sure you will figure something out
Bowhunter4250
Active member
i do have 2 power heads in my sump now just to keep water moving , not sure how much they are doing but at least its something to keep some junk from settling ?
ultimatemj
Active member
Thats one approach....some folks feel like it keeps detritus from ever settling out. From my experience it will always find a spot in your system to settle. So I try to get the settling to happen in the sump, where I most easily export it. Just means that I have to stir it up when doing WCs.
Some folks use mechanical filtration (socks, floss, etc) for this purpose...to me it's more hassle
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Some folks use mechanical filtration (socks, floss, etc) for this purpose...to me it's more hassle
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
jrpark22000
Premium member
You are 1000% correct. You can count on peri pumps taking out zero detritus. I rely on stiring the tank up with mj power heads and a filter sock on the drain every other week.
madjoe
Premium member
Thats a not a bad idea idea my sump can get nasty