Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Officially started auto water changes yesterday with my new versa bar:
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I continue to be a big fan boy of these pumps. They are incredibly precise, even pushing/pulling water to and from the tanks/drains in the garage, which are about 30 feet of RODI tubing away. I plan to use the last 2 spots for Alk/Ca and eventually sell my Dosetronic.
Currently changing 9L per day (about 1% per day), over the course of about 9 hours. This comes out to an effective WC of 20% every 3 weeks, which is exactly what I was doing manually. This method is slightly less water efficient and depends on pump reliability. But it's less work, more stability, and provides a continuous stream of the rapidly-depleted trace elements coming in with the SW.
I think it's worth it, but time will tell. I'm not a fan of the additional complexity but am a huge fan of the additional laziness and advantages for my tank.
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Also got my sink installed! Very happy about this. Drains to sewer for both the RODI system and the AWC. It's also just super nice having a big utility sink for cleaning and rinsing things:
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I really like these pumps too, but had now my first issues with a couple of new ones I bought, and they had to send a replacement now (‚out of sync‘ error which is nowhere explained what this is about, but it stops dosing). Just to clarify though: A daily 1% change is not effectively the same as a 20% every three weeks, correct? You did not mean that, or did not intend the same outcome, vs. continuously suppling small amounts of fresh artificial SW? The reason I am bringing this up is that I do not believe in the benefit in WC as a source for traces but as removal of unwanted stuff. The impact of this effect though is bigger if WC are done less frequently in larger amounts. There is a calculator of this somewhere to show the difference, but I am sure you know.
Love your new sink. I had this exact same one in my last house in Chicago but never used it (no fish tank at the time).