static416
Active Member
My alk has been all over the place due to a combination of factors.
1. Less attention. Work has been intense.
2. Drops in supply. When the kalk stirrer runs low, it will start to under-supply.
3. Spikes in supply. My CaRx is calibrated a bit high, and so when the kalk stirrer and the CaRx are at peak, it's too high.
Generally, without paying attention, my Alk would swing gradually between 9 and 12 over a couple weeks, then I'd notice and over-correct in the other direction, and repeat.
Each of these have solutions that don't require spending money, but that's not why I like this hobby. So I bought a Hydros IV Pro and an X10.
Problem is, I have no space in my sump cabinet.
There is maybe some space on the extreme right, but I don't like wall-mounting the IV, and there is still not enough room for the reagent container.
It's also much nicer to put the system in my fish-room, and tap into the closed loop that runs my inline-refugiums and chiller.
So I tapped the the closed-loop with two RO lines in the center of the image below, but that expose another problem, the closed-loop has pressure in it.
Above:
- Blue arrow comes from the tank
- Green arrow goes to chiller
- RO lines between the blue and green connect to the X10 dosers
- Red shows direction of passive drains
- Purple arrow points to a normally-closed motorized ball valve that is used for auto-water-changes.
The pressure in the closed-loop meant that the X10 doser supplying the water sample was working with a pressurized input. I didn't think this would be a problem, because I should just be able to calibrate the doser to compensate, but didn't seem to work.
The fill doser in the X10 doesn't only fill, it also drains. During the pre-measurement process, the fill doser will first fill, then drain (using the fill doser) before filling again. I imagine this is to flush the container and avoid wasting water, but still means the fill doser runs in reverse.
Because there is pressure on the fill doser input, it screws with fill/drain process a bit, and the Alk numbers were always off. It's possible there were other factors at this point too, but I decided to solve the pressurization issue.
So I created an atmospheric break with a float valve. Looks like this.
Full diagram below
So how does this work?
1. Supply from Closed-Loop - Orange
This is a lightly pressurized input from the closed-loop. When water is removed from the reservior and the float dips, the input flows into the reservior until the float cuts off the flow.
2. Passive Drain to Waste - Red
This is just an open/passive 3/8in line that drains to a sewer waste. In the event that the float-valve sticks open, this will prevent the reservior from overflowing.
3. Sample Line - Yellow
This is the yellow tubing in the photo, and is how the X10 pulls in the sample. When it does that, the water automatically refills via the float.
4. Pressure Drain to Closed-Loop - Blue
This is connected to a separate dosing pump, and it cycles the full contents of the reservior every 30 minutes to the sample is recent.
5. Temperature Probe - Green
This is used to calibrate the PH probe in the Hydros IV Pro.
6. Level Sensor - Purple
This also detects overflow, and sends a notification while the passive drain lets the water exit passively.
---
Put it all together and one doser cycles the water in the reservior back into the tank every 30 minutes, while another doser uses it to fill into the Hydros IV Pro every 6 hours.
Zoom out, and you can see the X10 + reservior on one shelf, and the IV Pro and 2L reagent container on the shelf below. (Ignore the phyto mixer next to the IV Pro, and the small ATO reservior next to the X10).
1. Less attention. Work has been intense.
2. Drops in supply. When the kalk stirrer runs low, it will start to under-supply.
3. Spikes in supply. My CaRx is calibrated a bit high, and so when the kalk stirrer and the CaRx are at peak, it's too high.
Generally, without paying attention, my Alk would swing gradually between 9 and 12 over a couple weeks, then I'd notice and over-correct in the other direction, and repeat.
Each of these have solutions that don't require spending money, but that's not why I like this hobby. So I bought a Hydros IV Pro and an X10.
Problem is, I have no space in my sump cabinet.
There is maybe some space on the extreme right, but I don't like wall-mounting the IV, and there is still not enough room for the reagent container.
It's also much nicer to put the system in my fish-room, and tap into the closed loop that runs my inline-refugiums and chiller.
So I tapped the the closed-loop with two RO lines in the center of the image below, but that expose another problem, the closed-loop has pressure in it.
Above:
- Blue arrow comes from the tank
- Green arrow goes to chiller
- RO lines between the blue and green connect to the X10 dosers
- Red shows direction of passive drains
- Purple arrow points to a normally-closed motorized ball valve that is used for auto-water-changes.
The pressure in the closed-loop meant that the X10 doser supplying the water sample was working with a pressurized input. I didn't think this would be a problem, because I should just be able to calibrate the doser to compensate, but didn't seem to work.
The fill doser in the X10 doesn't only fill, it also drains. During the pre-measurement process, the fill doser will first fill, then drain (using the fill doser) before filling again. I imagine this is to flush the container and avoid wasting water, but still means the fill doser runs in reverse.
Because there is pressure on the fill doser input, it screws with fill/drain process a bit, and the Alk numbers were always off. It's possible there were other factors at this point too, but I decided to solve the pressurization issue.
So I created an atmospheric break with a float valve. Looks like this.
Full diagram below
So how does this work?
1. Supply from Closed-Loop - Orange
This is a lightly pressurized input from the closed-loop. When water is removed from the reservior and the float dips, the input flows into the reservior until the float cuts off the flow.
2. Passive Drain to Waste - Red
This is just an open/passive 3/8in line that drains to a sewer waste. In the event that the float-valve sticks open, this will prevent the reservior from overflowing.
3. Sample Line - Yellow
This is the yellow tubing in the photo, and is how the X10 pulls in the sample. When it does that, the water automatically refills via the float.
4. Pressure Drain to Closed-Loop - Blue
This is connected to a separate dosing pump, and it cycles the full contents of the reservior every 30 minutes to the sample is recent.
5. Temperature Probe - Green
This is used to calibrate the PH probe in the Hydros IV Pro.
6. Level Sensor - Purple
This also detects overflow, and sends a notification while the passive drain lets the water exit passively.
---
Put it all together and one doser cycles the water in the reservior back into the tank every 30 minutes, while another doser uses it to fill into the Hydros IV Pro every 6 hours.
Zoom out, and you can see the X10 + reservior on one shelf, and the IV Pro and 2L reagent container on the shelf below. (Ignore the phyto mixer next to the IV Pro, and the small ATO reservior next to the X10).
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