# Automatic Water Changer Experience



## Plum (May 4, 2006)

I had planned on setting up one of these.... but I tested my water last night (1st time in.... a very long time) and all my readings were perfect. I would have thought otherwise, as;

1) I have many pygos (not the cleanest eaters)
2) I have not changed any filter floss etc. in 5 weeks
3) I have been feeding regular/heavy
4) I have done any water changes in 3 weeks

My assumption is that the plants that I have set up are the ones creating the perfect parameters. With this being said - is there any advantage to me still setting up the Auto Water Changer System (DRIP)? I had planned on turning the water over every 7 days - should I still set up the DRIP and just scale it back?

The upfront costs are fine with me - it is only the added cost of heating up this extra water that is constantly being changed in the tank - hence my hesitation...

Thank you for your thoughts,


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Plum said:


> I had planned on setting up one of these.... but I tested my water last night (1st time in.... a very long time) and all my readings were perfect. I would have thought otherwise, as;
> 
> 1) I have many pygos (not the cleanest eaters)
> 2) I have not changed any filter floss etc. in 5 weeks
> ...


i don't think you would have enough plants to take in enough toxins, but maybe your filter is just larger then really necessary?
A drip would be fine and a good idea so you dot have to do manual changes every week as well as allowing new water to slowly enter without stressing the fish. If you go for a system, i would go full scale, then if you want, i'm sure you could use a valve or something to reduce the replacement rate of water.However, if you have perfect parameters already, a drip system would be going the extra mile and wouldn't be mandatory, but it could make you life easier if you don't mind its cost.


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## Plum (May 4, 2006)

Not many answers to this, but I thought I would share the answer I received from a friend of mine who is much more educated than myself in these sorts of matters.

Though my water has very low readings ( appears to be 0PPM though the test kits are not 100% accurate) that does not neceassirly mean the water is of optimum quality. There are many other negative impacts that can affect the water quality that we do not test for - Example: phenols, bacteria, pheromones, etc.

The best way to get rid of these is waterchanges. Therefore I will be installing my automatic drip system after all.

Hope this helps some of you.


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

the response you got from your friend was pretty decent. learnt something myself here.

i myself was gonna say that your good water condition would probably not last forever and at some point would have to do a water change. so setting the drip up is the best soloution long term.
however i have never actually seen a auto water change system before. be interested to see how you've gone about it and how it works.
any chance you could post up some pics of it when you have finished?
greatly appreciated if you could


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## blbig50 (Jan 1, 2009)

How much do these set-ups cost and how do they work?


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## greenmonkey51 (Aug 16, 2004)

Setting up an auto water change system is extremely simple and should be fairly cheap depending on your water. For my design the biggest requirement is having a drilled tank. If running a basic system having your display tank drilled, or if running a sump system having the sump drilled. Next all you need to do is have a drain near the tank such as a sink or floor. Then you just need a water pipe running by. Using a saddle valve you tap into the water pipe. If you have chlorine or chlorimine in your water you'll have hook up a basic water treatment such as this, but with chlorine blocks Chlorine Treatment Now that you have your water source, simply hook up your overflow on tank or sump to the drain and your all setup. Now figure out how much water to change and dial in the source. If you have all the major parts such as the drilled tanks, you should be able to do it for anywhere between 20$-50$.


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## Plum (May 4, 2006)

greenmonkey51 said:


> Setting up an auto water change system is extremely simple and should be fairly cheap depending on your water. For my design the biggest requirement is having a drilled tank. If running a basic system having your display tank drilled, or if running a sump system having the sump drilled. Next all you need to do is have a drain near the tank such as a sink or floor. Then you just need a water pipe running by. Using a saddle valve you tap into the water pipe. If you have chlorine or chlorimine in your water you'll have hook up a basic water treatment such as this, but with chlorine blocks Chlorine Treatment Now that you have your water source, simply hook up your overflow on tank or sump to the drain and your all setup. Now figure out how much water to change and dial in the source. If you have all the major parts such as the drilled tanks, you should be able to do it for anywhere between 20$-50$.


GreenMonkey stated it pretty simply. I will show you my plan, and then I will show you guys once complete. Not a hard things to do at all with a bit of planning, and it is relatively cheap.


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## Plum (May 4, 2006)

sean-820 said:


> i don't think you would have enough plants to take in enough toxins, but maybe your filter is just larger then really necessary?
> A drip would be fine and a good idea so you dot have to do manual changes every week as well as allowing new water to slowly enter without stressing the fish. If you go for a system, i would go full scale, then if you want, i'm sure you could use a valve or something to reduce the replacement rate of water.However, if you have perfect parameters already, a drip system would be going the extra mile and wouldn't be mandatory, but it could make you life easier if you don't mind its cost.


I did not have the plants in the tank at first, and had to complete regular water changes. I held all other factors, and then installed the heavy amount of plants. I did not record the Nitrate, Nitrite, Amonia levels before hand, though these were the results with the installation of the plants

Ammonia, 0 ppm
Nitrite, 0 ppm
Nitrate, approximately 0 ppm

Obviously, the test kits are not 100% accurate, therefore allow a few points of PPM for error, but you get the point.

My 720G tank has 22 Pygos in it, sizes ranging from 13"-14" down to 6". Feeding is rather heavy, as a strong current in the tank keeps them hungry (pump is a Sequence HammerHead which only rises 5 feet and has one 90 - So I would estimate GPH current to be approximately 5000 GPH)

Essentially what I have done is completed Hydroponics - I have installed 10 Monstera deliciosa and also Pothos plants at the waters surface, allowing the roots to grow into the tank. I have installed two grow lamps to give the plants sufficient lighting.

The reason I have chosen to grow the plants hydroponically as opposed to in the tank, underwater is that;

1) I was told that the Monstera Deliciosa is amazing at feeding on waste
2) I think the root system looks great
3) Much cheaper to provide them sufficient lighting ( i have two CFL bulbs consuming 130 total as opposed to the 1600W in Metal Halides that I have over the tank to provide my in tank plant with enough lighting (it is 3 feet deep, thus even with 1600W I don't find it all that bright)

The tank will eventually be behind a wall - I first want to install/finish everything in the fish room before hand so that it is easier to move things around. I will post some pics hopefully soon so show you how it looks and provide further clarification.


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## EZmoney (May 13, 2004)

Where are the pics of your tank with these plants and their roots hanging into the tank? That sounds badass! Ive seen the thread on setting up the tank, but don't remember it being planted.


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## Plum (May 4, 2006)

Here is a shot of the tank - 22 pygos in total









Here are the plants in behind my light set up (yes it's ugly - again, it will be behind the wall)









Monstera close up









The root system is hard to see through the front of the tank - the tanins from the new wood really darken the water, thus, here is a photo close up









With the lights over the tank off, you can really see the roots









I had to suspend the plants somehow, therefore...


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## EZmoney (May 13, 2004)

Hey that looks pretty neat! The plants seem to be doing really well, too. AND, as if it hasn't been said before, that is a badass shoal of pygos


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

thanks for posting the pics plum

great tank. keep it up


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## blbig50 (Jan 1, 2009)

That is a sweet pic with the lights off!


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## philbert (Mar 8, 2007)

you have an awesome set up man. its as natural as it gets.


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