My fully automated in wall 220. Visible from two rooms

[Brett S]

In the middle of my water station is my 150 gallon per day 7 stage RODI filter from BRS

This was a recent purchase for me and it replaced a cheap no name RO filter that I had added a two stage DI filter on after. I actually purchased the BRS RODI unit as a 5 stage RODI with a single DI canister as well as a three canister bracket and took the two DI canisters that I already had as well as the single canister that came with the new RODI unit and built my own 3 canister DI unit. I emailed BRS and asked if they could send me the sticker for their 3 canister DI filter and they were kind enough to do so

If you look closely you can see that one of the DI canisters actually has nothing in it right now. My intention is to switch to the single bed DI resin as the canister labels suggest, but I want to use up the mixed bed DI resin that I have first, so until that happens I’m just running two mixed bed DI canisters.

There is a DOS installed in the garage that controls the auto water change system

I elevated the DOS slightly because I recently installed an apex flood sensor right under it. This DOS is worked pretty hard. It changes about 3 gallons of water a day and moves the water through about 40 feet of tube to get it from the garage to the tank and then another 40 or 50 feet from the tank to the laundry room. It seems that the tube in the heads lasts about a year before they spring a leak and the head starts dripping whenever it runs. The first time it happened I wound up with a bit of a puddle on my garage floor because I didn’t catch it right away, but I figured it was just a fluke and changed the head and forgot about it. Then about a year later the new head sprang a leak and I got another puddle. This time after I replaced the head I put the flood sensor right under the DOS so the apex will catch it right away and shut off the AWC and send me an email to notify me. Hopefully no more puddles this time. Now that I’m thinking about it, it might make sense to put the DOS and the flood sensor in a little tray to further contain any drips. I think I’ll do that.

Just as a quick note, I don’t think that this is really an inherent problem with the DOS. I think it’s just because I’m seriously overworking this unit with the fact that it’s moving so much water every day and it’s moving it over such a long distance. I have another DOS that I use to dose two part at much lower quantities and over a much shorter distance. That one has been in service for close to three years on this tank and the one before it and it has never had a head start to leak.

Under the shelf (for lack of space anywhere else) I have installed five 120V solenoid valves that are controlled by an apex EB8.

These are the heart of what automates my RODI filter and my ATO system.

The single solenoid was recently added and that’s the one that controls the RO membrane auto flush. The flow restrictor on the waste line is bypassed through that solenoid valve. Normally the valve is closed, so the waste water is forced through the flow restrictor and the RO membranes make water as normal, but whenever the RODI unit is on the apex will open the solenoid for 18 seconds of every hour to allow waste water to exit unrestricted and flush the membranes, which is supposed to help increase the life of the membranes. (For what it’s worth, BRS sells a standalone automatic flush valve and it operates for 18 seconds each hour, so that’s where I got those numbers. I had no idea how long it should run, but I assume that the manufacturer of that unit did some research to determine that flush time)

There is another solenoid that controls my auto top off. The auto top off is gravity fed from the reservoir on the shelf in the garage.

This reservoir holds about 20 gallons and is automatically refilled by the apex whenever it runs low. There is a siphon line in the reservoir that goes through the solenoid, then up into the attic and over to the tank, then through a float valve in the return pump section sump.

I have a few failsafes in place to help ensure that there are no floods from the automated system. The float valve is the first line of defense. When the water is at the correct level the float valve is closed and no water comes in. Additionally the apex only turns on the solenoid that runs the ATO for 2 minutes every 10 minutes. Because the system is gravity fed and it has to cover a long distance the water comes out at a very slow trickle. Running for 2 minutes every 10 minutes provides only slightly more water than is normally required to make up for evaporation. Even if the float valve were to fail, because the solenoid valve stays off most of the time the water level in the sump would only rise very slowly and it would be days before it could overflow. I also have two high level float switches in the sump that would alert me when the water level is starting to rise well before the sump would actually flood. One float switch is set at just slightly above the normal operating level and one is closer to the top of the sump and would indicate a more urgent situation. If either float switch is tripped the apex shuts off the ATO and notifies me of the problem.

 

[Brett S]

The remaining three solenoid valves control the RODI filter. One valve is on the line that feeds the RODI unit and when nothing is calling for RODI water that valve is off and the RODI is depressurized. The output of the RODI is sent to a T and there are two solenoid valves on each branch of the T. One controls a feed sent to the ATO reservoir and the other controls a feed sent to the NSW reservoir. By having solenoid valves on both the input and the output of the RODI filter this allows the RODI to depressurize when it’s not in use and also means that two solenoids need to be open for water to actually be able to flow through the unit. This way even if one solenoid valve were to fail it wouldn’t cause a flood as the other would still stop the water.

As a further failsafe, the feed for each reservoir goes through a mechanical float valve. So if something crazy happened and two solenoids failed or I seriously screwed up the apex programming and left both valves open then the float valve would still cut off the water flow and prevent a flood.

As a last resort I also have another flood sensor on the floor of the garage. If somehow there is a catastrophic failure that causes water to start leaking out then that flood sensor will detect it which will cause the apex to turn off the RODI filter, turn off the auto water change, and notify me of the problem.

Below is the top of my NSW reservoir with the float valve on the bottom of the picture and the high level float switch on the top. There is also a low level float switch installed on the bottom of the reservoir, but it’s difficult to see.

The ATO reservoir has the same configuration with a float valve on the incoming line and a high level and low level float switch.

Both reservoirs are automatically filled in the same way. When the water gets down low enough to trip the low level float switch the apex detects this and turns on the solenoid valve that feeds the RODI filter as well as the solenoid valve that feeds the empty reservoir. Water starts flowing into the reservoir until it is filled and once the water level trips the high level float switch then the Apex turns off the RODI filter. I don’t get any email alerts or anything when this happens for the ATO reservoir. The apex just always ensures that the reservoir is full.

The NSW reservoir has a little extra though because obviously I don’t want the auto water change system to run when the reservoir is getting refilled with fresh water. So for that reservoir as soon as the low level float switch trips the apex also shuts off the AWC system while the reservoir is refilling. Once the high level float switch trips and the reservoir is full the apex turns off the RODI filter and sends me an email to let me know that I need to add salt to the reservoir. There is also a circulation pump in the NSW reservoir. Normally the pump runs for a few minutes every few hours just to keep the water from getting stagnant, but when the reservoir is refilled the apex turns the pump on to run constantly. That way when I add salt to the reservoir the pump will mix the salt in for me. Once I’ve added the salt and it’s been mixed in then I let the apex know and it will resume the AWC as well as put the circulation pump back on it’s intermittent schedule.

In the end I don’t need to worry about any buckets or manually topping off the tank or changing water or even refilling reservoirs with RODI water. The apex takes care of all of that. All I need to do is add salt to the NSW reservoir after it has been refilled and change out the DI resin and filter cartridges on the RODI filter occasionally.

 

[Brett S]

Just a quick note about mixing salt. I use Instant Ocean salt and I buy it in the boxes that are designed to make 200 gallons of water. Those boxes come with 4 bags of salt that are intended to make 50 gallons of water each. Unfortunately my NSW reservoir is only 45 gallons and the low level float switch trips with a little water left in the bottom, so when I needed to mix in salt I was using about 90% of a bag. This was annoying because I would need to measure out the right amount each time and then deal with storing a partially used bag until the next time I needed to make salt water.

Recently I realized that there’s an easier way. Now I just add the full bag of salt to the reservoir each time I need to make salt... no measuring or storing partially used bags needed. This makes the water a little saltier than I need (it mixes up to about 38PPT instead of 35PPT), but what I did to compensate was configure the AWC DOS to take out slightly more water than it puts in. Then the ATO will make up the difference with fresh water and keep the salinity of the tank the same. Since the DOS only changes out about 80ml of water every 10 minutes there is no worry about the salinity in the tank fluctuating during this process.

Additionally you may have noticed that there is a jug of the BRS magnesium mix on the shelf of my water station. Each time I mix a new batch of saltwater I add about 600ml of the magnesium mix. This will add magnesium to the tank each time the AWC runs and keeps the magnesium level in the tank at about 1350.

It also has the side benefit of keeping the magnesium level in my NSW high, which helps keep the calcium and alkalinity from precipitating out since I am mixing the NSW to a slightly higher than normal salinity. Instant Ocean tends to have a moderate level of calcium and alkalinity anyway, so precipitation hasn’t been a problem even at the slightly higher salinity level.

 

[Diablo2112]

Fantastic description, very well written. Just a couple of things. When I ran NSW tubing from my utility room to my tank (about 70 feet through walls and ceiling (having neither a basement nor attic), I used 3/8" PEX tubing. I also ran this as a single piece, with no fittings what-so-ever. PEX is tried-and-true in in-wall plumbing applications, and I didn't want to skimp on this critical element, especially the possibility of hidden leaks in my walls/ceilings. Just a bit of advice for others thinking about the same thing.

Brilliant idea to mix a single-bag of IO into your NSW tank, and use the DOS AWC + ATO to compensate. Only downside I see to this is if you needed a large amount of NSW in an emergency, such as need for a rapidly assembled QT or holding tank. Even then, you could likely mix down your 38ppt NSW to the acceptable range pretty quickly, since you have a good amount of RODI available as well.

Anyway, some great work here. Oh, one last question: how reliable do you find the 120V solenoids? Especially for ATO, those will cycle dozens of times a day. That adds up on the solenoid, something that concernned me as I was planning out my ATO/AWC system.

Once again, fantastic job and thanks for the detailed description.

 

[Brett S]

I used 3/8" PEX tubing. I also ran this as a single piece, with no fittings what-so-ever.

PEX is a great option too. Given that it’s a very low volume and low pressure use case I don’t think the vinyl or polyethylene tubing really has any risk, but PEX would definitely be a good option. I ran mine as single pieces as well and I think that’s definitely a good idea too.

Only downside I see to this is if you needed a large amount of NSW in an emergency, such as need for a rapidly assembled QT or holding tank. Even then, you could likely mix down your 38ppt NSW to the acceptable range pretty quickly, since you have a good amount of RODI available as well.

That’s true, although tbh, even if the NSW was mixed to 35ppt I don’t really have a good way to move a large quantity in an emergency situation. The DOS is great for doing an auto water change, but it wouldn’t work to change 40 gallons in a short time. The one time when I needed to do a large water change after using chemiclean I literally just used 5 gallon buckets. It wasn’t pretty. Or fun. I might need to try to come up with a better option here.

Oh, one last question: how reliable do you find the 120V solenoids? Especially for ATO, those will cycle dozens of times a day. That adds up on the solenoid

I have had zero issues with my solenoids. The ones I’m using are very inexpensive ones that I got from eBay or amazon and as I recall I think I paid like $10 or $15 each and then added my own power cord. Four of my five solenoids have been in use for more than two years including the one used for ATO, which cycles about 150 times a day and I have had no failures at all. A few of them are starting to buzz a little when they are operating, but it doesn’t affect their performance and since they are in the garage I can’t really hear them anyway so it doesn’t bother me.

Even though I haven’t had any reliability issues, as I said above though, in no cases am I relying on a single solenoid to stop water from flowing. The water going through the RODI filter goes through two solenoids and a manual float valve and the water for the ATO goes through one solenoid and a float valve, but it is only gravity fed, so it is very low volume and low pressure as well.

 

[AshwinRavi]

Great setup!!! Wifey and I were just discussing something like this for our future home, currently, I have a 75G in the living room, can't wait to get a larger tank!

 

[SPR1968]

This is an excellent write up and everything is very well thought out, so thank you so much for sharing it with us.

I run Apex but only for basic functions, but your system makes me realise exactly what it’s capable of doing.

Anyway following along with great interest and looking forward to the next up date, and pictures!

 

[aurora.k]

Thanks! Flagging this so I can copy you! Automation is my next step!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Hi @Brett S! any updates to this beautiful reef?

 

[Brett S]

Hi @Brett S! any updates to this beautiful reef?

Thanks for the kind words I’ve actually done very little with the tank over the past few months. Unfortunately one of my sons had some medical issues at the very end of the year and so far this year has been pretty crazy dealing with hospitals and doctors and such. The whole story is here if you want to read it (and if you want to send him a postcard that would be awesome. He’s been collecting postcards from around the world since everything happened) - https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/looking-for-postcards.584049/#post-5938353

But the good news is that because of how automated everything is the tank has been taking care of itself. Periodically I need to fill the auto feeders, fill the alkalinity and calcium supplement reservoirs, and add some salt to a fresh batch of RODI water for the auto water change, but there have been periods where I haven’t touched the tank for weeks at a time over the past few months.

I know I’ve seen posts that talk about how the hands off approach is best and I am starting to become a believer. Even though I’ve done almost nothing at all with the tank over the past 4 or 5 months I feel like it’s looking better than ever. Here are a few shots from today:

This bubble coral has gotten huge. It’s a good foot in diameter when it’s fully open.

And this yellow sponge literally appeared out of nowhere and has been growing over the past few months. It’s almost baseball size now and all I can think is that it came in on the live rock and survived until now because I have never added a sponge to the tank.

Unfortunately the only casualty was this coral. I had an issue about 8 or 10 months ago where the alkalinity went way up, then as I was trying to slowly lower it I got a bad batch of alkalinity supplement and that caused the alkalinity to suddenly go way down. Most of the corals were pretty unhappy for a little while, but they recovered. Unfortunately this one died way back, but luckily there is still some life in the middle and I’m hoping it will come back. I’m debating whether I should cut off all the dead (and now algae covered) branches or just let nature take it’s course.

 

[Fudsey]

I wouldn't touch it unless you really dislike it. I like the reaquired skeleton look

 

[yachtman]

Not sure where in fl you are. We're in SE Florida and needed a chiller because of the metal halides. Are you running a chiller?

 

[Brett S]

Not sure where in fl you are. We're in SE Florida and needed a chiller because of the metal halides. Are you running a chiller?

I just have LEDs, so I don’t have the heat that halides would produce. I do have a fan in the sump that the apex turns on when the tank temp goes above 80.

 

[Leslie Tabor]

Beautiful tank...that yellow sponge is amazing!

 

[RobW]

Really nice job! Like the wall unit around the tank. Into a similar project myself with a 280g. Floor to ceiling wall unit built in.

 

[Brett S]

Really nice job! Like the wall unit around the tank. Into a similar project myself with a 280g. Floor to ceiling wall unit built in.

Thanks much. I’d definitely recommend going through the wall with your tank too if that’s an option for you with your placement. Being able to see if from both sides is a huge advantage.

 

[Dsnakes]

Amazing tank! My next upgrade will go through the wall for sure. I should have started with that on this tank

 

[RobW]

Thanks much. I’d definitely recommend going through the wall with your tank too if that’s an option for you with your placement. Being able to see if from both sides is a huge advantage.

That would be a nice idea. Unfortunately, it backs up to a bathroom wall where the toilet and vanity are and would look right through the glass shower on the opposite wall. Lol not much for privacy.

 

[mmw64]

So now I had a tank in the wall that was full of water. I spent a very long Saturday pulling the livestock, rock and sand from the 75 gallon tank at the old house and bringing it all to the new tank. I reused the sand, since it was less than a year old, but I did make an effort to rinse it with some of the old tank water.

I think I had around 20 or 25 five gallon buckets filled with rocks, sand, and livestock.

I finally got everything into the tank although the water was still pretty cloudy

I brought the apex and the two Gen 3 radion Xr30w pro’s that were over the 75 and added a third radion. The electrical stuff was installed on a board to the right of the tank

Everything was in the new tank and the tank was up and running at this point, but it was still unfinished.

It stayed in this functional, but unfinished state for a couple of months until my father came to visit and he build the wood cabinetry that goes around the tank. Woodwork has been his hobby for a long time and he was able to make it look amazing over a long weekend.

He started framing out the bookshelf on the left of the tank and the cover for the electrical equipment on the right

The radions were held up by shelf brackets and 1x2’s in what was supposed to be a cheap temporary solution until I got the canopy built, but it turned out that it worked quite well and was hidden by the canopy, so they are still held up the same way now.

The bookshelf on the left was finished and the canopy was started to get framed out here

And then the framing for the cover for the stand

Doors were made and the wood was painted

Then everything was put into place and the doors were installed

Gorgeous!

 

[Brett S]

That would be a nice idea. Unfortunately, it backs up to a bathroom wall where the toilet and vanity are and would look right through the glass shower on the opposite wall. Lol not much for privacy.

Haha, yeah, perhaps it’s not such a great idea then. For a little while I debated using the other wall in the living room which would open to the master bedroom. I thought it would be cool to see the tank while I was in the bedroom, but seeing through the bedroom wall would be less than ideal.