DIY AWC

[Kens Bees]

I feel like our IT guy who says everything in acronyms! I have a GHL and didn’t want to spend a ton (more) money just to get an auto water change working so I’ve diy’d it together, to a point. I’m using two float sensors on one port. I rigged up some pumps and the whole thing works Until it doesn’t.

I start the change, the drain pump kicks on and empties out just as it should. The top sensor drops, the bottom sensor drops and the drain pump stops. The fill pump kicks on and starts filling, but shuts off about halfway through filling what was taken. The bottom sensor barely begins lifting from its low point before it shuts down. I've increased the maximum on time to what should allow way more than needed, but it still won't refill all the way. I tried the pump as an Always On and it runs as it should. I’ve put the pumps on different switch channels, no love there either.

Any thoughts on troubleshooting from anyone who has tried something similar?

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

@this is me uses GHL and has awc. Maybe he'll chime in. I believe @rock-n-reef does as well.

 

[this is me]

What I have is a Continuous Water Change not Auto Water Change.
I use a Masterflex peristaltic pump with dual channel head to continuously and equally pumping in new water and pumping out tank water. No controller or program needed.
I don’t know anything about GHL auto water change mode.

 

[JPags]

I do the same thing. I have a pump with 2 heads I bought from Greg Hiller pretty cheap. It takes out water and replaces it at the same time. Runs off and on overnight so I dont hear it since my tank and sump are upstairs. Only thing I have is my apex to monitor salinity and if the salinity is too low or high I dont run it because I figure something is wrong.

 

[Kens Bees]

Do you just have the pumps set to a timer or is there a level sensor involved?

 

[JPags]

Timer. And a check for low sump level again incase something goes wrong.

It’s been running successfully for over 2 years

Never done a manual water change since

 

[thrillreefer]

This sounds very nice! No easy way to connect source water or drain in my current setup location #aspirations

 

[JPags]

Yea I had a pre-existing hole from an old baseboard so I used that and ran several 1/4 lines to my basement containers for salt, ato and sink. You really cant seem them since I pinned them to the baseboard and its white too.

 

[Kens Bees]

Once I get everything working the way I want I'll have this basement corner cleaned up. It's nice not having ATO water in the same room.

 

[JPags]

buy a few of these

1/4" RO Tubing Brackets - 5-Pack - Neat Aquatics

Keep RO or other 1/4" tubing organized with Neat Aquatics' Brackets Keeping your plumbing runs aesthetically clean will usually lead to easier maintenance and if an issue ever comes up, troubleshooting. Neat Aquatics has easy to use 1/4" RO Tubing Brackets that let you easily push the tubing...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

They help keep the tubes aligned and running along the baseboard. I used all white to hide them more. Just had to label the ends so I remember which is which.