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Re: [APD] automatic water changing



How do you plan to reconstitute the water? Do you have a dosing pump or 
something similar? You will also want to make sure you have the float valve 
between the water supply and the input of the RO unit rather than on the 
output of the RO unit. If you stop the output of the RO unit without stopping 
the incoming water line, you will continuously dump water down the drain 
through the wastewater line of your RO unit. 

I think it would be a good idea to go ahead and setup an overflow on your sump 
(higher than your desired water level) just as a backup in case your float 
valve gets stuck or something. But I still think the pump is a good idea... 
because of the huge flow difference between the pump pumping water out and the 
RO filter refilling the sump, it will be almost like doing a conventional 
water change rather than a "continuous" water change. This makes the water 
changes more efficient and also makes reconstituting the water (with a dosing 
pump or something) more accurate. Well it all sounds like lots of fun... keep 
us updated on how it goes.

Russ



Quoting Kurt Wiedenhoeft <kurt at saskia_com>:

> Tom, 
> 
> You mentioned automatic water changing, which is something I have been
> planning on doing with my tank. I have actually run a feed and an
> exhaust tube into the stand, but I haven't plumbed it into the house
> yet. I really wanted this tank to run itself as much as possible. We
> have a baby on the way, due in two months, and I wanted to get this up
> and running while I still had some free time. I think it will be great
> to sit and watch the tank with the baby (more for my benefit for the
> first few months), but I won't have as much time for maintenance. Plus I
> hate to do water changes. 
> 
> I figure 5 gallons of RO water every day should do nicely. My plan at
> the moment is to have a small powerhead in the sump connected to a
> digital timer. I will program it to run long enough to pump out about 5
> gallons of water per day. Then, I have a mechanical float valve that
> will shut off the flow of water when it reaches the desired level. The
> idea obviously is that the water will get pumped out, and as soon as the
> level drops, the RO water feed will turn on. When the pumping out stops,
> the water will continue to fill to the desired level and then shut off.
> That seems to be pretty foolproof, unless the float gets jammed in the
> open position or something. Power outages also wouldn't affect this
> system.
> 
> My original hope was to have a system that pumped water in, and had an
> overflow in the sump that would drain any excess water out by gravity.
> Trouble is the level of the drain to which I will connect is too high
> for this to work. The only other option is draining out onto the back
> porch, but it seems like I would be setting up a mini swamp where the
> water comes out. Plus, nothing would stop the inflow of water if the
> drain tube got plugged, it would just go on the floor. 
> 
> Am I going about this the right way? 
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Kurt
> 
> PS: You're right that I like technical toys. Tinkering with them is part
> of the fun for me. ;-) 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> 
> 
> 


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