# DIY Water Change.



## buzz1167 (Sep 23, 2011)

I setup a simple water change system which I think anyone here can do and it makes water changes very easy. I'm using it on my large tank, because if i didnt setup something automatic, i would never keep up with it. It also allows me to change a few % a day with almost no work.

Heres what i did. A schematic will come soon.

Bought a 1/2" water valve solenoid and T'd it into the drain line. Under normal conditions, the solenoid is closed and nothing happens. On a simple day timer, I set it to open for a few minutes. The other side of the solenoid runs outside, and drains.

I also have an automatic water top-off system. This consists of a simple carbon filter attached to a toilet float valve which is attached in the sump so that whenever the water level drops, it gets automatically filled with mostly chlorine free water.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

How did you make it only open for a few minutes. Most timers are in increments of 30 minutes. Sounds like there is a bit more than a regular timer.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Probably something like this:

http://www.eastwesthydro.com/enviro...utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=product-feed


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## buzz1167 (Sep 23, 2011)

ok, so it might not be as simple a timer as you have  however the same thing can be accomplished usig a 15 or 30 minute timer with a restrictor in the tube... Its not as crazy as you might think. using a restrictor should probably only go on the pump side so that debris doesnt ever clog it.
a simple restrictor is a fitting like a 1/4in to a small hose barb or you could just put a gate valve in line


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## buzz1167 (Sep 23, 2011)

Nono, that timer is really expensive. Look at the one i have in the pictures below. Digital timer from Home Depot for 15$, increments to 1 minute, setup for any day you want, or everyday, or every other day, etc... It has many options. I currently have it setup to empty for 3 minutes at 8,9, and 10 pm on M,W,F. This is just to be sure that the sump doesn't get to cold. That equates to about 10-15 gal 3 times a week.

Overview of my setup is below.










Under the hood:










1) CO2 bottle on the far left with some extra filters (I use the filstar XP filters from some ebay dealer. Two of them fit nicely across a 20Gal long tank)

2) In the tank, the overflow inlets are ziptied together on the left. 
I have placed restrictions on the outlets of the overflows so that they fill up to a certain level for noise some abatement. 

3) The metal strips are "C Channel" that I Siliconed in there to hold the filters in place using some plastic grating originally meant for overhead florescent lighting. 

3) In the middle is a grey paper organizer from target which i put the fill valve on and inside of. I did this so that i could weigh it down with rocks and so that it would be protected from anything accidentally touching it and causing it to turn on and overflow.

3a) The fill valve is from the toilet dept in Home depot, I just got some 1-1.5" PVC pipe to mount it because there wasn't a good place to attach it. I just shoved the plastic nut from the hose into the end of the pipe, cut it to fit a little bit so it was snug, and silicone'd it in place. Then adjust it before finally ziptie'ing it in place. The inlet is attached to a carbon filter, also from home depot, to remove the chlorine from the inlet water and to purify it a little bit. It's no RO system, but its better than nothing.

4) Heaters on either lower sides of the sump tank. Get those ugly things out of the main tank and put them where there is some real water flow. I have 3x 300W heaters installed right now and 2 more in reserve in the back. I found out that 3 is more than plenty, I used the extra ones when i was setting it up. I got them for almost nothing on ebay, like 12$ each or something.

5) 2 bags of bio balls next to the pump on the right hand side

6) Assorted bags of Carbon and Zeolite-sp?

Auto drain system pictures below:










Solenoid is on the right side, its T'd into the drain line and it is rated for 120V AC, which I have wired up to a switch on the outside and to the auto timer shown below.


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## buzz1167 (Sep 23, 2011)

Extra post, oops..


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Looks great! Next time I go to home depot, I need to look for a timer like that...


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## buzz1167 (Sep 23, 2011)

They also have timers that have a "day night" schedule, and they know the sunrise sunset times from a table... I thought about using one of these to control the dimmer somehow, it would be interesting. I didn't get it because i didnt want to get ahead of myself, but it was also reasonably priced.


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