Autoaqua water changer

[Blz14me1]

so I just ordered a autoaqua awc auto water changer from bulk reef supply. I’m totally excited about this equipment. For the water change / ato storage I picked up a 55 gallon tank on a dollar per gallon sale from pet supplies plus. Going to the glass place to get a piece cut for a divider to install to split the tank. I use about 1.5 gallon per day top off water and I’m planning on 2 gallon per day water change ( just over 2%) I should get about 9 days worth of storage with this setup. Has anyone tried out this equipment yet? Pros/cons? I’m currently manually adding top off water and yes I mix in buckets and manually do the water change thing as well, so going automatic is is going to be rainbows and unicorns in my eyes.

 

[Fudsey]

In for info. I have been looking at this and would love some insight. I have the room and already have the brutes I can use. I am doing manual 1 gal/day top off now like you are and this would be perfect for both

 

[Blz14me1]

In for info. I have been looking at this and would love some insight. I have the room and already have the brutes I can use. I am doing manual 1 gal/day top off now like you are and this would be perfect for both

For sure I just ordered it today so I should see a Wednesday delivery. I’ll post pics once I get it installed. As long as it works as advertised this will turn my daily maintenance into weekly.

 

[Blz14me1]

So I received my equipment today and got it all hooked up. The drain is going into a bucked at the moment, this weekend I will take it to outside. So far I love this thing. I had to read the directions 4 times before I understood it all but I believe I have it set up. I guess I’ll find out in the morning if the top off is working properly and tomorro night if the water change is. I did a manual water change and it went great. Exactly what I expected. Here’s some pics of the install.

 

[Fudsey]

So any update on this @Blz14me1 ? Thinking of getting one.

 

[Blz14me1]

Yes it works just fine. To be honest I absolutely love it. A few things I don’t like are when you have it set to auto water change the lights never dim or go off on the head unit so that’s important to know for placement. I ended up moving the head unit so I didn’t notice the lights on all the time. Other than that the magnets are kinda weak for the optical sensors. They hold them in place just fine but it’s easy to accidentally move them when your messing around near them. That’s the only flaws I have found so far.

 

[Blz14me1]

Yes I have had no issues with it at all. Works well. There’s a couple thing I don’t care for about it but overall it works as advertised. When you have it set to auto water change the lights on the head unit never dim or go off so head unit placement should be taken into consideration. I ended up moving mine. The other thing is the magnets that hold the optical sensors are enough to hold them but if your screwing around near them it’s easy to bump them out of place. Other than these 2 things I’m happy with it

 

[Blz14me1]

Whoops dbl post

 

[Fudsey]

I'm thinking maybe a little double sided tape on the outside one will hold it in place if you accidentally hit it

 

[Blz14me1]

I'm thinking maybe a little double sided tape on the outside one will hold it in place it you accidentally hit it

That’s not a bad idea.

 

[FrancineJ]

I know this is an older post but hoping to get a bit more info....
My question is so let’s say I have it set up to do small changes everyday....
Then in a month or whatever I need to do an actual water change in my DT say to vacuum the sand or blow off some rock work or whatever reason.... how will it know to refill it with salt water and not just dump in a bunch of RO/DI (top off) water?

Or is it like you just shut it off while you do your water change and complete it like normal and then turn it back on?

I can’t seem to find an answer so how do you guys get around that part?

Hopefully someone will help answer this that has been using there’s for a few months!

 

[Blz14me1]

This does your water change and top off water for you. No need to manually do a water change

 

[Blz14me1]

Ok sorry I was half asleep answering that question. If u would like to manually do a water change you can always unplug this unit do your thing as normal and than plug it back in. Just make sure to put your water back to the same level.

 

[FrancineJ]

Yes lol ok the second answer was better....
I just wasn’t sure how people cleaned their DT if needed... like I said blowing off rock work and cleaning sand bed if needed...

Thanks

 

[Blz14me1]

I usually blow off my rocks with the power heads before I change thefilter sock. Than it all gets done at once. I really love the water changer it’s been maint free since I got it. If it ever fails I will be getting a new one comming instantly. I really do not think I can live without it now.

 

[FrancineJ]

No filter sock... AIO tank... Biocube 32

 

[FrancineJ]

Thought of another question.....
Every morning when I feed I turn my pump off for a bit (maybe 5-10 minutes at most) to make sure everything gets eaten

What happens for anyone who has a biocube or maybe all AIO tanks (biocubes are the only ones I have ever had for AIO)
Is that the back chambers where the sensors will be rises up (so it will go over the sensors) will some kind of alarm just go off or will it start draining water on me because it’s over the sensors what exactly would happen?
As soon as I turn the pump back on the levels go back to exactly where they were before....
I’m just curious how this would effect the system? Obviously I would not have it scheduled to do any water changes during this time (I feed once a day at most- they have starvation days too... but they are always fed at the same time everyday)