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My venture into my new 760 ltr planted tank .

Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

Been finishing off the mechanics of it all.
All the sump is finished

This is my home-brew water change and top up system The relay on the right is the Circ pump control .It stops the pump when the sump level drops and the restarts it when it has risen again.
The one on the left is the water top up. It is operated by the top float in the sump.
the one in the centre is there to stop the auto top up working when the water change pump is running.
All simple stuff really but super reliable

DSCF0001Medium-1.jpg


These are the 3 float switches that control it all. Top one is water level control
Bottom two are circulation pump control. When the timer sets off the water change pump , the main circ pump still pumps water from the sump to the tank thus lowering the level in the sump.
First the auto top up float drops but the solenoid dose not open as the water change pump relay has disconnected it. Then the middle float drops, the pump still runs until the bottom float drops. The pump then stops . All the time the water change pump is still emptying the main tank.
When the bottom float drops the circ pump stops. The water in the return pipe drops back to the sump ,raising the level a bit. As it is not enough for the middle float to raise the pump dose not start.That is the reason for this float to take into account the water level going up after stopping the pump. When the timer stops on the water change pump the solenoid valve is reconnected and starts filling the main tank. This fills and overflows down the weirs into the sump where it the raises the circ pump top float and starts it going again. The level continues to rise until the top float lifts and cuts off the water feed. Water change complete. Simple :thumbup:

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Re did the Co2. Spent ages playing with it. In the end it work just as good by injecting it into the input of the return pump.
This pump is 10,000 ltrs per hour at 110 watts.

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Also made a new bubble counter. I will machine up a nice stainless cap for it when I have time

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The timers are fitted. Just awaiting the lighting unite to plug into the two on the left.
the first one on the right is Co2 . The second is water change. By adjusting how long this is on for I can alter how much water gets changed. Set to change 50% once a week at the moment. Need some tidying of the wires yet.

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This is the water feed from the solenoid valve for auto top up and water change. Heated to around 26* by the combi boiler

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These are the Syphon breaks . the closest one is the pump out from the tank to waste for water changes The other is the main pump return .

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I have just got the new weir covers to make when the black acrylic turns up , box in the water change pump and make the new spray bar. Light unite is on order.
Should all be good to go by next weekend .
I bought some 3mm PVC sheet and cut it to size for coloured backgrounds The wife wanted blue and I wanted black At the moment they are blue but I can turn them around and they will be black :thumbup: . They just sit behind the tank with some foam pads keeping them pushed against the glass.
Oh and still waiting for Parcel force to pick up my wood I bought :twisted:

Simon
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

Some people are just in a totally different league!! Amazing stuff, would love to see some detailed diagrams on how all this is put together and how it all works. Keep it up and I will just sit back try and take it all in and drool!
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

LondonDragon said:
Some people are just in a totally different league!! Amazing stuff, would love to see some detailed diagrams on how all this is put together and how it all works. Keep it up and I will just sit back try and take it all in and drool!
Click to expand...

Just added an explanation to the above post if it helps.
Perhaps you can then help me with my plants :thumbup:

Simon
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

Unbeleivable :woot: .
Simon you are going to need a week off to give your brain a rest just from doing all the mechanics.
I really hope this becomes a success for you, given the amount of effort you have put into your project, top stuff. :thumbup:
cheers, tel
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

Thanks for the kind comments.
That was the easy bit for me.
Now I am into unknown territory with the plants .
I am going to be asking a lot of questions soon and I am defiantly going to need all the help of the people on here to make it a success.
As I said from next weekend on the tank will be ready.
I will try and put some sort of plant list together from the information so far ,but at the moment I am strugling with that.
I also need to order the Ferts etc.
I am going to use the EI method.This seams the best way forward for me I think from what I have read and doing 50% water changes is no problem. Now where is the best place to get what I need. Could someone give me a list in plane English that I can understand. I still am unsure of what quantity's to mix and also feed.
I have read James article but it is still not sinking in. I struggle to understand this sort of thing.
Hope you can help with this.

Simon
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

Hi Always Broke

How do you intend to add ferts - dry or mixed with water?

Thats from ceg 4048 estimated index write-up - hope you do not mind ceg ;)

consider this

NPK (Nitrogen + Phosphorus + Potassium) Mixture for 20 Gallon Tank
1 month = 4 Weeks
3 doses of NPK per week
Therefore there are 12 doses of NPK per month
Multiply a single dose teaspoon value by 12 => [3/16 tsp KNO3]*12 = 2 ¼ tsp KNO3
[1/16 tsp KH2PO4]*12 = ¾ tsp KH2PO4
[1/2 tsp MgSO4]*12 = 6 tsp MgSO4
Add these to 600ml of tap or distilled water

Now this mixture must serve 12 doses so each dose is 600ml/12 = 50ml
This makes life easier because you need only dose 50ml of this NPK solution 3 times per week.

Always separate the CSM+B from the NPK because it has a tendency to react with the phosphate. You can dose the CSM+B as a powder or if it more convenient add 8 * 1/16 tsp => ½ teaspoon to 200 ml of water and dose 25 ml two times per week.

Naturally, the mixture scales in the same way. If the tank is twice as large than you would add twice as much powder to you 600ml of water and so on. I have also been asked “What is a teaspoon?” “Do I use a heaping teaspoon or a level teaspoon?” The answer: It just doesn’t matter. Just be consistent so that if you need to make adjustments to the dosing (either up or down) you will be able to do it logically.

and conclude this

So simply if your tank is 160 uk gallons you should mix 8times more ferts to 600ml water if you wish to add 50ml to the tank. Be careful as there is some % that can soluble in water same as with sugar and water. You can obviously fiddle with amount of water and accordingly add desired amount of ferts to suit your dosing pump.

Hope that helps. No much of match and I think it cannot be simpler.
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

Bloody impressive setup there!

I cant realy help much with plants/ferts but i wish you the best of luck getting this planted up and il be following keenly :)
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

gzylo said:
Hi Always Broke

How do you intend to add ferts - dry or mixed with water?
Click to expand...

I thought it would be best mixed with water. I could then set up a couple of dosing pumps on timers.
I go away a lot in the summer so I would not then have to rely on anyone else doing it for me.

Dose that seem sensible .

Simon
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

So am I on the correct track taking my set up is 160g

I mix 8tsp of MgS04 with 6tsp of KH2P04 with 18 tsp of KN03 in 600 ml of water.

On Monday I would add 50ml of it again on Wednesday and Friday.

I Mix 2 tsp of CSM+B to 200ml of water and feed 25 ml on Tuesday and Thursday.

Saturday I do nothing.

Sunday I do a 50% water change.
Monday start again

Where do you get measuring spoons from or is there a conversion to grams. I have gram scales

Have I got this correct.

Thanks Simon
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

Always Broke said:
...I am going to use the EI method.This seams the best way forward for me I think from what I have read and doing 50% water changes is no problem. Now where is the best place to get what I need. Could someone give me a list in plane English that I can understand. I still am unsure of what quantity's to mix and also feed.
Click to expand...
Well, this is child's play compared to what you have already done. Just pretend this is a 200 USG tank. If that's the case, then the dosing scheme is just 10X the dosing for the reference 20G tank.

Sunday – 50% or more Water Change then dose [2 teaspoon KNO3] + [1 teaspoon KH2PO4] + [2 teaspoon MgSO4]
Monday – 1 teaspoon Chelated trace mix
Tuesday - [2 teaspoon KNO3] + [1 teaspoon KH2PO4] + [2 teaspoon MgSO4]
Wednesday - 1 teaspoon Chelated trace mix
Thursday - [2 teaspoon KNO3] + [1 teaspoon KH2PO4] + [2 teaspoon MgSO4]
Friday – Rest
Saturday - Rest

Now this assumes a sump volume of zero. To make the adjustment for the sump simply determine what percentage the sump is of the tank and add that percentage to the dosages above. So lets say you have a 50G sump. If so then that means you need to add 25% more of everything - instead of 2 teaspoons KNO3, you'll need 2.5 teaspoons.

These are just your baseline numbers. You would adjust up if you note deficiencies or you could adjust down to save money if the baseline numbers work right off the bat. I'd buy the 2Kg bags first.

Cheers,
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

It might be childs play to you.

Thanks again for a detailed reply that I can understand.

I have got the idea of that . So a teaspoon size is just what you stir your tea with. Silly question I know.
What sort of water. Is tap water ok to mix it or do I need something better.
Also should I run my water change water through pre filter treatment cartridges or just straight from the tap.

so many questions.

Thanks Again Simon
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

ro is fine


yea if you are going to get fishes you should add some kind of filter to get the chlorine out or if you have 350l barrel you could let the water sit for 24h before adding it to the tank. Im not sure whether chlorine is bad for plants but i suppose it will kill all your beneficial bacteria in filter so please do use some kind of filter or barrel.
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

Simon,
There is no need to mix anything. Go to the kitchen, grab a teaspoon that you stir your tea with (third drawer on the left - make sure the wife is not looking), dig into the bag and toss it into the tank. These are just salts. In fact, MgSO4 is called Epsom Salts. Make you life simple. You don't even have to wipe the teaspoon in between... :wave:

Cheers,
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

Would he not be better off dosing into the sump? as it would get mixed better running into the tank?

Or doesn't it really matter if you have good water flow in the main tank?
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

ceg4048 said:
Simon,
There is no need to mix anything. Go to the kitchen, grab a teaspoon that you stir your tea with (third drawer on the left - make sure the wife is not looking), dig into the bag and toss it into the tank. These are just salts. In fact, MgSO4 is called Epsom Salts. Make you life simple. You don't even have to wipe the teaspoon in between... :wave:

Cheers,
Click to expand...

I like that. Strait to the point.
That's what I will do to start with. Thanks again. Will go shopping .

gzylo said:
ro is fine


yea if you are going to get fishes you should add some kind of filter to get the chlorine out or if you have 350l barrel you could let the water sit for 24h before adding it to the tank. I am not sure whether chlorine is bad for plants but I suppose it will kill all your beneficial bacteria in filter so please do use some kind of filter or barrel.
Click to expand...

So some sort of carbon filter with pre filters before hand ??. I have an empty 4 pod unite at the moment . What sort of filters are best to fit in them.
I am not going to fit a RO unite.


Simon
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

Hi Spanerman,
It just doesn't matter.
What does matter is that we do the easiest thing possible. The reason is this; The easier something is, the more likely you will continue to do it and therefore the more effective it will be. Do people really go through the trouble of trudging to the supermarket just to get RO/DI water so they can mix their powders? Why is that best? Doesn't that get old? The plants don't care. I don't even want to bend over to dump powder into the sump. I think bending is too much trouble...

Cheers,
 
Re: My venture into my new 760 ltr aquariam.

Good thinking, thats why i have my premixed ferts on a shelf directly over my tank :)

Sam.
 
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