semi automation finished product

[kalebjarrod]

guys & gals,

here are some pics of my semi automated setup thought you may be interested.

Questions?

[kalebjarrod]

pics of my tank (mind the toys thats all!)

[Mattzilla]

nice looking setup...wanna come to my place and set one up for me?...lol

[Chris McMahon]

I've got three tanks and would love something like this. Unfortunately I'm plumbing impared and would have no hope of making one myself. :lol:

Nice work. :mrgreen:

[kalebjarrod]

don't be to afraid,

once you see the system in the flesh it could not be simpler.

trick to pvc is cut all the bits and pieces and join them with no glue, see how it looks and fits and "wah-la."

always remember gravity water always flows down below the point of entry.

the hardest bit is to find the time to build it all! :wink:

[Proteus]

I can only think of one word...

Outstanding

:D

[kalebjarrod]

thanks proteus,

so often all i hear from my fish-less freinds is INSANE

good to see that somone can enjoy what others call a monster! :evil:

[flukes]

Looks great mate, might try one myself but on more tanks.
Just a question for you, when the sump level drops below the criston (float valve) doesnt the storage barrel fill it while it is still draining or does it empty first and then fill.
Please enlighten me, cant wait too givethis a go myself.
Your a pioneer!!! Must be the first person ive seen put one together sucessfully.
Another question, are you adding any chemicals too the storage container??

Thanks mate, congratulations!!!

[fishpimp]

well done kale, tidy, efficient and the wifes happy.
bet the fish are happy too.

[kalebjarrod]

hay flukes,

you always seem to ask such good questions,

ok if you look at the pic of the storage tank you can see a blue gate valve. Gate valves are often shocking at stopping water often getting blocked and not quite closeing correctly (ball valves are 100% better) but they do offer a fin-ite amount of discrection in regards to the amount of water they can let through. i have the gate valve barley on. when i say barley i mean it takes about 4 hours to fill the tank with around 150lts.

the amount that flows in while i remove the ready water from the tank is not worth worrying about.

i can also turn it down more, and i probabley will but at the moment its still a bit of a toy and any lower and i could not see it work!

i am adding chemicals at present but i will fase this out over the next month. see how things progress

thanks to everyone for thier compliments too!

and of course answering the questions on the forum to get me here.

P.S i still have the sparky coming around to hook up some new power points for the heaters etc etc so still some more pics to come.... next project fish room

[flukes]

Great idea with the delayed filling, if you like i have a DIY doesr that you might be intrsted in, ill try do some plans tommorow. Top quality plans with good old paint. pfffttt. looks like kindergarten drawings :oops: ahh well they gewt the basic ideas down.

Gonna be askingyou for some input when i implament this into that min-rack iam designing,

Thanks
Scott

[kalebjarrod]

i will be taking the automation to another level in a few months.

but again thats another project for another forum.

and as i have been asked by a few people i will post a costing after the weekend!

Ryan

[Jeff]

Nice Job. Thanks for sharing.

[fishpimp]

kale, question: when you open the valve from your storage to replenish the 150 ltrs which has dumped thru the overflow inya sump, do you have a problem with the sump starving due to the pump flowing more than the floatvalve from the storage container does?
my experience with floatvalves is that they don't have a large flowrate.

[kalebjarrod]

another good question,

and yes your right! float switchs under presure work great under gravity its more like a slugish flow.

the pump does drain the sump before i can fill it but what i have got (on order) is a simple piggy back electronic float switch which will turn the pump and the heaters off when the water level drops and back on when the water level rises again.

it should fill the tank slowly (maybe 20mins)

this will get attched when i get my sparky over.

heres a page of similar products i found perhaps its of use to some of you out there!

[kalebjarrod]

Ahhh,

finally i have got a float switch for my pump got a few new heaters and my new air compressor.

got a new overflow cut in the side of my sump and i have automated my tank totally.

i don't even need to turn a valve anymore.

just hope energex dosn't drop out other wize so does my tank

other than that i will try and post some prices and extra pics explaining my actions over the weekend

Ryan

[kalebjarrod]

update,

my float switch is to large to work in my current setup. should work great in my new display tank i am planning so it's not a complete loss. Great item, should be on most pumps that are worth thier weight, can even put a heater on it!

i have added a small pump and a digital timer, this pump turns on 6 times a day between 11:00am and 4:00pm, 7 days a week for 2min a time. the Pump displaces 9ltrs in 2mins, that changes around 378ltrs of water per week. I drilled a small hole in the top of the arch of the pipe, this stops the pump from shiponing when it turns off.

sump is getting pretty crowded now. heres a pic of the tank refilling itself after a large water change (5min).

i did a tally of all the PVC fittings i used but i havn't priced it yet

[flukes]

Hey Ryan,
Still brewing with the auto water changes idea, and was speaking a engineer, anyway came up with a design for dosing.
Thought you might be intrested.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/flukes/autodoesr.GIF

Bit of work getting the syringe too fit nicely into the pipe but i know you love a good DIY. :wink:

[kalebjarrod]

i like

let me think over it today, i'll post tonight and give you my thoughts

[Al]

Nice idea, i Like...

Although, you will probably want another check valve at the top of the conditioner bottle, otherwise it might be a little to hard for the spring to pull the conditioner into the syringe.

You might want to take a look at:
http://nucalf.physics.fsu.edu/pfohl/Fish/Diy/trace.doser
http://ozreef.org/diy/doser.html

I was planning to build one of these this weekend, but it looks like it might end up being put in the ‘to-do’ pile.

[kalebjarrod]

i've had a think and the concept is thier but the problem is the pressure

water is expensive to pressurize

air is very cheap.

i'd try the system with air being the power source,

and try to presurize from the top of the conatiner not the bottom, you'll need less presure as you will have gravity on your side.

i have done these things before, they are cheap but they need a very accurate timing system and somtime if you need tiny amount of fuild it dosen't work great best of for 30mls and up

[kalebjarrod]

update:

my tank has been doing automatic changes for over a month now

here are the deatils

Nitrates nil
amonium nil
hardness 20ppm
pH 7.1

the water clarity is excellent, i have had some conserns with alge but i realised today that it has been some afternoon sunlight hitting the tank which i never saw till today!
the fish are growing excellent! Pics to follow

[Chris McMahon]

my tank has been doing automatic changes for over a month now;
Nitrates nil
amonium nil
hardness 20ppm
pH 7.1
the water clarity is excellent,Having just finished my half-weekly 4 hour clean and water change, reading that perked me up no end. :roll:
(Wonders where I was when they were handing out DIY skills :wink: )

[kalebjarrod]

Glad to see i could cheer up your day :wink:

if you every wanted to see how i do it or want some help you know you only have to ask!

P.S do you know where i can get a couple of 24x16x18 from? :wink:

[Chris McMahon]

if you every wanted to see how i do it or want some help you know you only have to ask! I might take you up on that in a while. I've got to let my wallet recover from some recent acquisitions. :lol:

P.S do you know where i can get a couple of 24x16x18 from? :wink:Did you try Kell?

[kalebjarrod]

been trying that today

[Chris McMahon]

been trying that todayHe suffers from teenage net addicts. His kids tied up the phone all day Sunday. I know he was there at 4pm today as I was there too picking up my 4'. :)

[kalebjarrod]

i'll try tomorrow

engaged all day

[africandiscus]

What submersible pump are you using?

[kalebjarrod]

I am using a "quiet One 3000"

I reckon it only pumps 2400ltrs after head

[flukes]

I have the same trouble with pump rate after head....

[kalebjarrod]

i sort of planned that

3500ltrs divided by 490ltrs

still turns over 5 times an hour

any less i'd worry

[africandiscus]

How do you clean the gravel, or dont you

[kalebjarrod]

i still do the syphon vac

straight out the window onto the grass.

maybe once a month hardcore and everynight to pick up any uneaten food!

[africandiscus]

I must say your tank is stunning!

[kalebjarrod]

thank you

[DiscusMan]

Ryan,

How is this whole setup functioning. Has there been any changes or improvements made recently?

It looks liek a very nice system you have built yourself there.

Wayne

[kalebjarrod]

yeah wanye

there have been a couple of changes

i now have a ball vavle next to the float valve so i can fill the tank really quick

i also have a leak for the tap which keeps occuring

i belive it is because of the high presure that the reducing coupling is under

i am planning to replace this with a soliniod valve so the tank only fills once a day and tanks some presure of the grommets vavles pipes and bushes

had to remove the power points from the power box (some legal thing) and am yet to find a digital water proof timer

as most DIY projects it is always under constant improvment LOL

will post some pics soon!