Is this an insane idea?

[bonebrake]

I was thinking of a system for my "dream aquarium" where I would calculate the rate of evaporation, rate of calcium absorption, etc. and not only have an auto top off but also an auto water change fed into the tank via siphon, then at the lagoon/refugium area have an overflow that goes down the drain.
I would have the holding tank positioned at a higher elevation than the display, and have an airline tubing dripping into the main display somewhere out of site. Above the holding tank I would have a mixing tank where I could prepare say 200-400 gallons of saltwater and have my RO/DI unit fed into this and dump this water into the holding tank when it is at the correct levels. These tanks would be in a fish room upstairs above the main display. Has anyone ever tried this? A continuous water change system?
It would probably be rather expensive, but other items are in this hobby as well. My reasoning behind this is because I feel it is more natural than say using calcium reactors, denitrators, ozone, UV, etc. and it may be less time consuming than tinkering with these gadgets constantly. It would probably cost just as much if not more because of the amount of water and salt mix you would use.
:thinking:

 

[bonebrake]

I want to see what Bang Guy thinks about it!

 

[sprang]

Hey...Sounds good to me! Hows your engineering skills? I wonder how they do it at big aquariums like shedds and sea world? Anyway, good thinking!

 

[dgott2000]

I read once in a fish magazine about a guy who had a continous drip water changing system that worked automatically, i think this is a great idea because rather than sudden weekly water changes, the water is constantly being changed. As far as automatic evaporation and trace element detectors, I don't think thats practical or worth it. As long as the salt you buy has trace elements in it you shouldnt have to worry about other additives except maybe calcium and a little iodine every so often. Let me know if you every get around to designing this idea, it sounds cool!

 

[bang guy]

Sounds interesting. The auto waterchange part sounds complicated but feasible. You would want the sump in a location that won't be harmed by saltwater spills

 

[gold strip]

And I thought I was done. Thanks alot! Now I have a new project to start.

 

[bonebrake]

*LOL* Thanks for the support guys! I thought for sure I would be run out of town for this idea! Those were my thoughts exactly, continuous water change equals less shock to the system. Say you have a 200 gallon display and a 900 gallon lagoon and have a drip system that tops off for evaporation and changes water say 100-300 gallons a week. If you do it slowly at first and take readings religiously and run an excel spreadsheet you can calculate how you need to adjust the salinity and calcium addition in the top off reservoir. I would assume if you wanted to maintain a salinity of 1.026 in the display and lagoon, your top off would be slightly lower than 1.026 in order to account for evaporation.
Bang, are you going to try this?
:cheer:
Other experts out there: Do you think this would be a less expensive and less time consuming alternative to tank maintenance? Equal? Greater? I have not crunched numbers to really figure it out. Even if it costs more, I think I will do this some day.
:joy:

 

[gold strip]

Evaporation tends to change with the seasons and even between day and night during the winter so trying to calculate a mixture based on the rate is going to be tough. But I think I am going to take your water change idea independent of the top off.
I already have a good top off system complete with RO unit, holding tank, dosing pump, kalk reactor and float switches so I am going to leave that alone and just set up a separate water change system to drip water out of my main display and drip new salt water into my sump which will then cycle back to the display. If i can protect it with a float vaulve or switch system and plenty of backup and get the change speed correct then that will be a much more convenient and safe way to do water changes.
I have a 180 Display with a 125 sump and 75 refugium so doing a water change is pretty harsh on the system the conventional way. The drip method will have much less of an impact but still add the trace elements that I need. .

 

[bonebrake]

Wow. Let us know how it works out for your Gold Strip!
:joy:

 

[jonnywater]

They actually have those things. They are called saltwater mixer dispensers. Some of them are hang on and some are "ballast style". Some can be set to put a "reader" in your tank so that it automatically detects when your water level drops below a certain line and tops it off. You can use either clean water or pre-mixed salt water. Some of them can also be plumbed directly into your water source in your wall. That is what most people use when they have to go away on vacation for over a week or so. Some of them even have built in "IV" style calcium readers and replenishers. I think it might be cheaper to just buy one.
Also engineering would be nearly impossible for something like that. As in most states vary and do not stay at a consistant humidity level all the time. Unless you have a built in furnace or whole house humidifier that regulates your humidity at a constant state. You could always try it though. The hardest part would probably be the electrode that somehow reads your water levels. I know that there are some things on the market that you can stick in your tank or sump now adays that just get LOUD if your tank drops below a certain level warning you of a leak.. Good luck

 

[bang guy]

Auto topoff is fairly easy. Mine has been working fine for years. It's just a floating topoff line in the sump and a float valve connected to a pressure sensitive valve that shuts off the water supply line when the RO tank is full.
The auto water change would be the difficult part IMO.

 

[pfitz44]

Auto water change would be tricky, but doable. You would have to make sure the SG is the same for each (waste and new), and weigh what you take out, and add that much new water. wouldnt be too tough.

 

[fishamajig]

i think it would be less expensive to run the uv, cal reactor whatever then spend all that $$$ on salt and water. plus how are you going to calculate evap ect with ambient temps changing from day to day. you would have to have a temp controled room with maybe a chiller incase the room fluctuates to stay dead on. then you would know if your calculations are correct. it think it would be a monumental task, and it would suck if you put all the time and $$ into it and it failed

 

[bonebrake]

I am going to try it in about twenty years, I will let you guys know how it goes.