AWC with DOS questions

Steve1500 · Mar 2, 2020

Looking at using the Neptune DOS for a AWC system. Couple of questions:

1). I plan on doing 2-3G daily WCs from the sump. Do I turn the ATO off during this period? I assume the water is removed first and then the new water SW is added afterward.
Obviously concerned about ATO running when water is removed.

2). I want to run old SW and fresh SW to/from a utility room that is about 30 ft away horizontally and the vertical rise is about 8 feet ( running tubing through the ceiling from fish room to utility room). Can the DOS pumps handle an 8 ft rise and then a 30 ft horizontal run from the fresh and old SW containers?

infinite0180 · Mar 2, 2020

1. It does them at the same time and rate so it has no impact on your ato

2. thats well within the limits of the dos

Kevin Duprey · Mar 2, 2020

I'm using a DOS to change about 5 L daily, so about half of what you want to do. In answer to your questions,
1. No need to turn off the ATO. The pumps (in and out) run simultaneously. I draw the old SW out of the inlet section of the sump, and return the new SW to the return section. Very little chance of sucking out water I just put in. Also, if you tell Apex that you want to change 2 gallons over say 8 hours, then there's not much volume changed each time the pump runs. I have mine set to change 5L between 10pm and 6 am. It runs for about 2 minutes every 10 minutes, changing about 110 ml each time. One thing to note is that when they run at these high speeds, they are LOUD. My tank and fish room are in the basement, and I can occasionally hear it at night from the main floor of my home as a faint whine. Just be aware of that.
2. The literature states that they have a 24 ft. lift capability, so I would thing 8 ft. would be no issue. Mine is setup with about a 10 ft. run, and about a 3 ft. lift. I think you'd be fine, but other might chime in here, as I know I've seen others describe setups similar to what you're proposing.

YankeeTankee · Mar 2, 2020

1. Most people run their AWC in and out simultaneously. If you do it simultaneously just drain from and add back to different parts of the sump, not right next to eachother, this will be easier so you dont have to worry about ATO. However, it's slightly better to dump first then add, this way none of the newly mixed saltwater turns around and gets dumped. If you're interested in optimizing tooth and nail then yes you will need to turn off your ato during the change.

2. No problem