Automatic water change

[mcarroll]

Hey thanks. I’m not a opposed to it but my kitchen sink is the closest and not sure how I would even run it and how to make it look clean and where the DOS line would terminate?

Drain saddle connection under the sink. You need an air gap higher than the tank to prevent siphoning.

If you tap into the dishwasher's drain it may already (should) have an air gap fitting that will work for you, depending on the sump level where it's coming from.

This is one type:

 

[OnePiece Corals]

Just drill your wall to the outside ( backyard i think)
You can set up your whole water change set up outside in your backyard. That's what im getting set nest month.

 

[bobnicaragua]

that’s commitment!

I would consider running it under my sink but don’t know what the connection would look like so there is no syphon

If you use a peristaltic pump, there’s no syphon. I would set up the drain line just like an RODI waste water drain.

 

[lubeck]

I decided to go with gravity fed for now.

I will get some pics once everything is in place. Calibrated the DOS already.

I have a concern, the polyurethane tanks smell pretty bad and worried about holding the fresh saltwater and absorbing odor or other unwanted chemicals. I filled it up maybe 1/4 with rodi and sloshed it around to rinse. Then I filled it a 1/4 with hose water and flipped it to all sides to rinse. Now I’m filling back up a 1/4 way to rinse out the hose water. Should I be concerned about the smell or anything leaching into the fresh SW?

 

[Staghorn]

If that’s an exterior wall adjacent to the tank(based on the door nearby I’m guessing it is) you can just drill a hole strait out. Hammer drill and a 3/8” masonry bit of the correct length will work. If you don’t own a drill you can rent one from HD. From there you can easily run the line wherever you want.

 

[lubeck]

If that’s an exterior wall adjacent to the tank(based on the door nearby I’m guessing it is) you can just drill a hole strait out. Hammer drill and a 3/8” masonry bit of the correct length will work. If you don’t own a drill you can rent one from HD. From there you can easily run the line wherever you want.

That is something I will need to convince the boss of the house which will take some time.

Any thoughts on the container smell and absorption of the fresh saltwater?

 

[UncommonSense]

polyurethane tanks

Are we confident these tanks are not polyethylene?

I primarily see Polyurethane use as a sealant/etc!

 

[lubeck]

Are we confident these tanks are not polyethylene?

I primarily see Polyurethane use as a sealant/etc!

• OEM QUALITY CONSTRUCTION: Ameri-Kart RV water tanks are made from weather resistant and impact-resistant plastics for durability; Tank is sanitary and leak-proof to ensure clean water and hygiene; Water storage tank meets IAPMO standards
• SPECIFICATIONS: RV tank dimensions - 43-Inch x 25-Inch x 13-Inch; Cube Shape; BPA-Free; QAI Laboratories certified; Proudly Made in the USA, manufactured by Ameri-Kart in Elkhart County, Indiana - the RV Capital of the World

 

[Staghorn]

That is something I will need to convince the boss of the house which will take some time.

Any thoughts on the container smell and absorption of the fresh saltwater?

They’re probably won’t be a terrible smell as long as you empty the tank periodically. But I’m thinking you’re getting yourself into. Situation here your doing water changes periodically on your wastewater tank. I think for that you may as well just cut out the middle man and do the water changes on the aquarium. A drain line to the outside really is minimal, basically the same hole that your cable tv or internet provider would drill in the wall to run a coaxial cable. Was only sealed from the outside with some exterior sealant caulking or silicone. Just my 2 cents. Wish you much luck with this.

 

[lubeck]

They’re probably won’t be a terrible smell as long as you empty the tank periodically. But I’m thinking you’re getting yourself into. Situation here your doing water changes periodically on your wastewater tank. I think for that you may as well just cut out the middle man and do the water changes on the aquarium. A drain line to the outside really is minimal, basically the same hole that your cable tv or internet provider would drill in the wall to run a coaxial cable. Was only sealed from the outside with some exterior sealant caulking or silicone. Just my 2 cents. Wish you much luck with this.

I think I can get to the point of drilling a hole but not now.

The concern is with the fresh salt water tank absorbing the current “new” smell of the the tank. Even after rinsing slightly

 

[UncommonSense]

Ameri-Kart RV water tanks are made from weather resistant and impact-resistant plastics

Ameri-Kart seems to go out of their way to avoid specifically listing materials of composition on their official website…

However, some Google-fu tells me that they use both polyethylene and polyurethane for tanks! — the latter does require specific formulation to be food-safe!

According to their site, all water storage tanks are FDA rated for potable water, so presumably they use the food safe formulation!

I’d take it outside and fill it with tap water for a day or two to try to leech out manufacturing residues/odors, possibly in the sun so it gets warm/off-gasses more!

 

[lubeck]

Ameri-Kart seems to go out of their way to avoid specifically listing materials of composition on their official website…

However, some Google-fu tells me that they use both polyethylene and polyurethane for tanks! — the latter does require specific formulation to be food-safe!

According to their site, all water storage tanks are FDA rated for potable water, so presumably they use the food safe formulation!

I’d take it outside and fill it with tap water for a day or two to try to leech out manufacturing residues/odors, possibly in the sun so it gets warm/off-gasses more!

Got it. I will fill it tonight and let it sit

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

For the stored water, over time, depending on ambient temps and length of storage time, you may notice a smell. When I decided to go bat poop crazy and concert my dining room to 650g science project, I had run my water lines to my garage yet. I had some used water in a brute from AWCs. I started to notice a smell, but not when it was full, it was days after when I drained it. Just something to be mindful of.

 

[Euphyllia098]

Drain saddle connection under the sink. You need an air gap higher than the tank to prevent siphoning.

If you tap into the dishwasher's drain it may already (should) have an air gap fitting that will work for you, depending on the sump level where it's coming from.

This is one type:

Do this, above your sink trap.

 

[Staghorn]

If the tanks rated for potable water you should be good. If you want to be sure you could fill with RO and after a few days get an ICP done of both that water and the source water as well. That would be valuable information for anyone thinking of buying one of these tanks in the future. Btw my mixing container gets stinky periodically and I clean it with RO and some hydrogen peroxide and the cleans it up well and takes away the smell

 

[lubeck]

For the stored water, over time, depending on ambient temps and length of storage time, you may notice a smell. When I decided to go bat poop crazy and concert my dining room to 650g science project, I had run my water lines to my garage yet. I had some used water in a brute from AWCs. I started to notice a smell, but not when it was full, it was days after when I drained it. Just something to be mindful of.

Good call. I probably will flush it once a month to get the stink out of the dirty tank. The clean tank could probably last six months or more.

 

[lubeck]

If the tanks rated for potable water you should be good. If you want to be sure you could fill with RO and after a few days get an ICP done of both that water and the source water as well. That would be valuable information for anyone thinking of buying one of these tanks in the future. Btw my mixing container gets stinky periodically and I clean it with RO and some hydrogen peroxide and the cleans it up well and takes away the smell

I like the idea of the ICP for peace of mind.

 

[lubeck]

I’ve officially started doing automatic water changes. About 3.5 gallons per day which is about 1.8% of tank volume. I typically change about 28 gallons per week so I might up it to at least that volume. At this rate it should last about two weeks. However, I will probably top off the fresh saltwater and drain the waste water weekly.

I’ve added the intake to the dirty water to the first chamber of the sump and the clean water in the last chamber in the sump.

I will say the new DOS QD is absolutely silent. Can’t hear a thing. I may have to upgrade my kalk doser as it’s loud and can hear it go off anytime we are in the room.

 

[lubeck]

I’ve officially started doing automatic water changes. About 3.5 gallons per day which is about 1.8% of tank volume. I typically change about 28 gallons per week so I might up it to at least that volume. At this rate it should last about two weeks. However, I will probably top off the fresh saltwater and drain the waste water weekly.

I’ve added the intake to the dirty water to the first chamber of the sump and the clean water in the last chamber in the sump. The waste water that is gravity drained using a flex tubing to an outside drain

I will say the new DOS QD is absolutely silent. Can’t hear a thing. I may have to upgrade my kalk doser as it’s loud and can hear it go off anytime we are in the room.

 

[Naekuh]

I have hard of a LOT of people burning out the old DOS when they tried to use it as a Auto Water Change.
I would probably use a Kaomer high vol. peristalic pump if you needed exact dosage, or you can probably put a water sensor for high and low in your sump, and have some form of pump or valve to discharge water as each sensors was triggered.

But i would definitely not use an expensive as heck DoS, and burning out a new QD even for this type of task would just eat at me.

They even recommend against using a DoS for Kalk Stirrers, but i think many of us are doing that, but i would call that probably the upper limit for a DoS.