Water change automation

[- Josh -]

Hey there!

Hi everyone, I don't post often ( also because I speak bad English and I don't want to bore you to translate ahaha ) but I always read you!!!

I have a question regarding water change automation.

I have no problems with the various settings of the floats of the pumps etc etc my only question is how do I automate the water that from the water supply goes into the tank that contains the water for the change?

Let me explain, I have the possibility to directly attach the hoses to the water supply, but I don't know how to modulate the water flow, so that once the water from the topping up tank has been poured into the aquarium, automatically the topping up tank fills up again without my intervention.

There is any valve, or I don't know...???

Thanks a lot

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey there!

Hi everyone, I don't post often ( also because I speak bad English and I don't want to bore you to translate ahaha ) but I always read you!!!

I have a question regarding water change automation.

I have no problems with the various settings of the floats of the pumps etc etc my only question is how do I automate the water that from the water supply goes into the tank that contains the water for the change?

Let me explain, I have the possibility to directly attach the hoses to the water supply, but I don't know how to modulate the water flow, so that once the water from the topping up tank has been poured into the aquarium, automatically the topping up tank fills up again without my intervention.

There is any valve, or I don't know...???

Thanks a lot

Use a float. I just added float to my system and it shuts the water supply off immediately

 

[- Josh -]

mhh okay a float switch connected to a valve that opens and closes the faucet? does it exist already made or do I have to make it myself home made?

BTW thanks for your reply

 

[Fish Fan]

I don't have my water change station full setup yet, but I do have my RODI water line coming into a bucket with a float valve that shuts off the flow of RODI water once the bucket is full. Something like this valve:

Additionally, behind this float valve I also have an automatic shut off valve installed. When the float valve above closes, pressure builds up in the RODI line and that pressure causes this automatic shut off valve to also close. This is an RODI automatic shut off valve:

These two valves, the float switch and the auto shutoff valve, work together to shut off the flow of RODI water once your bucket or container is full.

Furthermore, I have a simple, manual quarter-turn shut off valve installed on my RODI line in addition to these other two automatic valves. Like this shut off valve:

Once my bucket is full of RODI water and the two automatic shut off valves have turned off, I come along sometime later and manually turn this third valve to completly shut off the RODI water. This way, I'm not relying on only the automatic valves (though so far they have never failed me).

I hope this makes sense and helps! Good luck!

 

[Fish Fan]

mhh okay a float switch connected to a valve that opens and closes the faucet? does it exist already made or do I have to make it myself home made?

BTW thanks for your reply

I'm not an expert, but I believe there are solenoid valves that would be able to shut the water off at your faucet, but this is an advance installation. Instead of thinking about turning the water off at your faucet before it gets to your RODI filter, think about turning the water off after your RODI filter. If done correctly, your faucet can stay on feeding the RODI filter, you can stop the flow of water after the RODI filter with the float switch described above. The float switch doesn't control another valve, it is its own valve, and shuts the water off once the float is pushed all the way up by the water. Again, I hope that makes sense

Here's a diagram of how the float switch and automatic shut off valve fit into a system typically:

Here's a video about the float switches and how to install them. The video is older, but still has good information:

 

[- Josh -]

I get it, with this system I wouldn't even need electricity, it's just a mechanical action, the float is down because there isn't water and it refill the tank, the float is up and it stops the inflow of water. right?

The only bad thing is that at the time of emptying the topping up tank, those 2 to 3 minutes that the water drops and goes into the aquarium, the float comes down and starts to refill the tank, without waiting for it to be emptied...it's a minor problem though.

The alternative would be to connect a top-up system already on the market ( there are many ) and make it custom made, and connect it to the solenoid to make them interact...With all the risks involved.

Thanks for your reply!!!

 

[Fish Fan]

I get it, with this system I wouldn't even need electricity, it's just a mechanical action, the float is down because there isn't water and it refill the tank, the float is up and it stops the inflow of water. right?

Yes, exactly! There is no additional electricity or powered anything in this type of setup, water pressure drives it all.

The only bad thing is that at the time of emptying the topping up tank, those 2 to 3 minutes that the water drops and goes into the aquarium, the float comes down and starts to refill the tank, without waiting for it to be emptied...it's a minor problem though.

Some people actually like this setup. When your ATO starts to use RODI water out of the reservoir, the RODI system automatically replaces the lost water, so you never run out of fresh water. The only downside to this is something called "TDS creep", but that's a different conversation.

If you don't like that setup, simply install a quarter turn shut off valve somewhere in the RODI output line. Once your top off reservoir is full, turn this shut off valve off. Then, your ATO system will use water from the ATO reservoir until it's fully drained. Whenever you decide to, simply turn the quarter turn valve back on, and your RODI system will start to produce water and refill the ATO reservoir.

The alternative would be to connect a top-up system already on the market ( there are many ) and make it custom made, and connect it to the solenoid to make them interact...With all the risks involved.

The sky is the limit! There's all kinds of advanced setups using solenoid valves and controllers like an Apex or home built from Raspberry Pi's and Arduino micro controllers. There are monitors, leak detectors and alarms that can alert you and/or shut off the water if something goes wrong. But these are advanced setups for sure, and beyond what I can help with. I'm sure someone would be able to help you with this kind of setup if that's what you'd like to do.

There's risks to anything, there's a risk when you connect a water line to your refrigerator for the ice maker. But if done correctly you can really minimize the risk. Try to add redundancies where possible, and I personally never just leave my system on it's own, when it's done making water I turn that quarter turn shut off valve off for peace of mind ;-)

Again, others may have a better setup for you, but I have had good luck relying on a float valve/switch, and an automatic shut off valve, and a manual quarter turn shut off valve in combination.

 

[Snoopy 67]

Using a dual float switch configuration allows this.
The upper float switch shuts off the water when activated.
The lower float switch turns on the water when activated.
A search should turn up something for you.

 

[- Josh -]

Yes, exactly! There is no additional electricity or powered anything in this type of setup, water pressure drives it all.


Some people actually like this setup. When your ATO starts to use RODI water out of the reservoir, the RODI system automatically replaces the lost water, so you never run out of fresh water. The only downside to this is something called "TDS creep", but that's a different conversation.

If you don't like that setup, simply install a quarter turn shut off valve somewhere in the RODI output line. Once your top off reservoir is full, turn this shut off valve off. Then, your ATO system will use water from the ATO reservoir until it's fully drained. Whenever you decide to, simply turn the quarter turn valve back on, and your RODI system will start to produce water and refill the ATO reservoir.


The sky is the limit! There's all kinds of advanced setups using solenoid valves and controllers like an Apex or home built from Raspberry Pi's and Arduino micro controllers. There are monitors, leak detectors and alarms that can alert you and/or shut off the water if something goes wrong. But these are advanced setups for sure, and beyond what I can help with. I'm sure someone would be able to help you with this kind of setup if that's what you'd like to do.

There's risks to anything, there's a risk when you connect a water line to your refrigerator for the ice maker. But if done correctly you can really minimize the risk. Try to add redundancies where possible, and I personally never just leave my system on it's own, when it's done making water I turn that quarter turn shut off valve off for peace of mind ;-)

Again, others may have a better setup for you, but I have had good luck relying on a float valve/switch, and an automatic shut off valve, and a manual quarter turn shut off valve in combination.

WOW perfect thank you very much, yes I think I will eventually look for a custom made solution, I found solenoid valves that are always CLOSED ( they are called always-closed here in Europe I don't know if it is the same in the US ) and when electricity is passed through it opens letting water pass through and controlling the pressure, when the electricity goes out it comes back closed ( which is also an extra security when the power goes out or whatever ) so I just need to connect a float to an Arduino and Arduino to this solenoid valve, I think it is a pretty easy thing, I am not a programming wizard but I should be able to do it with which tutorial.

Thanks a lot again for your help!!!