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Re: Solenoid Valve for water changes
Alan,
I have a water supply line that goes into a PVC manifold I built. The
manifold has three electric Rainbird irrigation valves attached to it. These
are controlled by an irrigation timer. Each valve feeds a separate aquarium.
The valve sends water thru a GAC water filter for dechlorination and on into
the tank via vinyl tubing. The valves are adjustable in their flow rates. I
have them set at 1/2 gallon per minute. I regulate the amount of water that
goes into each tank by the amount of minutes the valves are open. Two minutes
equals 1 gallon, ten minutes equals 5 gallons, etc.
I have a 65, 90 and 125 gallon planted tank on this system. Whatever
percentage each day you want to do will determine how long you program the
valves to stay on. My standpipes are plumbed to 3/8" ID tubing that carries
the wastewater to the drain. I keep the flow rate into the tanks relatively
slow so as not to flow more water in than the standpipes can drain.
The regulation factor is on the supply side, not the drainage side. The
standpipes are a simple gravity feed setup, nothing complicated, and about as
foolproof as you can get.
I add a certain amount of SeaChem Equilibrium and Alkaline Buffer to each
tank each day to maintain GH and KH at 4 each. My water comes out of the tap
with GH/KH less than one, believe it or not. I stopped using R/O a couple
years ago. Didn't need it.
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