Recommendation from ECM Versa owners

Servopkg · Feb 6, 2021

When available I plan on getting two Versa (yes I know they have been out of stock for a while...) for AWC only. My mixing station is in the basement 10 foot down and roughly 50 foot away from my display tank. I already have the dual 1/4" RO tubing lines run from the DT to water change station.

The question I have is the Versa powerful enough to pump that distance. I plan on running both pumps on the same schedule to not have my ATO kick in. YouTube videos show this pump moving water a long distance and my BRS 50 ml/min pump is strong enough so fingers crossed versa can pump water accurately enough....

Let me know from you guys that have similar situations.

Thanks!

Poochaku · Feb 7, 2021

Yes, I use the versas like this with similar distance requirements.

Servopkg · Feb 7, 2021

Great to know. Accuracy / calibration was not an issue ? Do you recalibrate often? I was thinking every 3-6 months and using the full tubing distance.

Poochaku · Feb 7, 2021

Servopkg said:
Great to know. Accuracy / calibration was not an issue ? Do you recalibrate often? I was thinking every 3-6 months and using the full tubing distance.

I recalibrate every 2 weeks. There is sometimes small drifts. It takes less than 5 minutes though.

I haven't replaced the tubing yet in 6? Months. I probably should...

bluerider098 · Mar 6, 2021

Poochaku said:
I recalibrate every 2 weeks. There is sometimes small drifts. It takes less than 5 minutes though.

I haven't replaced the tubing yet in 6? Months. I probably should...

What do you use for a failsafe to make sure you don't overfill or under fill your tank. Do you have your ATO disabled when changing?

Servopkg · Mar 6, 2021

bluerider098 said:
What do you use for a failsafe to make sure you don't overfill or under fill your tank. Do you have your ATO disabled when changing?

I run both pumps on the same schedule so it pulls DT out and adds fresh SW in at the same time to keep water level constant. Each water port is at different points in the tank/sump. If I could I would disable the ato, pull DT out, than refill and then turn on the ATO...but I do not have a aquarium controller.

bluerider098 · Mar 6, 2021

I have my ATO on a solonoid so I think I might try what your wanting to do by shutting off power to my ATO with a smart power strip. Once a day have the ATO automatically power off, and during that time run the water change.

I still would like some sort of backup via another solonoid on a level sensor or something to make sure that over time I don't overfill the tank or cause the salinity to creep. Not quite sure how I would do this part yet.

Servopkg · Mar 6, 2021

I use the Tunze Nano ATO kit. Found it reliable with the water level sensor. I do have some concerns with my current AWC system using a pretty cheap Jaebo DP-4 and using two of the four pumps. If the Jaebo pumps fail, im either pumping a lot of fresh water into the tank or other way around, flooding the tank.... Certainly waiting for the Versa's to come in so I can put it out my mind that I am running a better pump!