Automatic Water-Changer using LiterMeter III

[SpectraPure]

For sure. It could handle two more stories easily.

Jeremy

[StevieK]

It will pump btwn floors

[SpectraPure]

We lave run it vertically much further reliably.
This pump can generate more than 28" of vacuum, and push a column of water easily two to three floors up, and horizontally a hundred feet or more.

[shifty51008]

Hate to budge in here but if i were to use the lm3 for a water changer and change out 2gal a day what is the life span of these pumps? I keep going back and forth between a lm3 and a dual head stenner pump.

Thanks

[SpectraPure]

Originally Posted by shifty51008

Hate to budge in here but if i were to use the lm3 for a water changer and change out 2gal a day what is the life span of these pumps? I keep going back and forth between a lm3 and a dual head stenner pump.

Thanks

If you perform pump maintenance every three months the motor will last for 20k hours of operation. The metal pump housing will last longer than you will be alive granted you don't drop it in water. The tubing is designed to last years. The rollers will last years. The electronics is good for 5+.

Everything is based on how well you take care of your equipment. It is kind of like a car engine. If you change the oil every three months it should last you 10-20 years. The people whom don't take care of it will not experience that type of longevity.

It is ultimately up to the end user on how long it lasts, but it was built to last a decade or two. We still have original Litermeters out in the field that are over 10 years old. We have RODI systems out in the field that were built in the mid 90's.

Jeremy

[StevieK]

Originally Posted by SpectraPure

If you perform pump maintenance every three months the motor will last for 20k hours of operation. The metal pump housing will last longer than you will be alive granted you don't drop it in water. The tubing is designed to last years. The rollers will last years. The electronics is good for 5+.

Everything is based on how well you take care of your equipment. It is kind of like a car engine. If you change the oil every three months it should last you 10-20 years. The people whom don't take care of it will not experience that type of longevity.

It is ultimately up to the end user on how long it lasts, but it was built to last a decade or two. We still have original Litermeters out in the field that are over 10 years old. We have RODI systems out in the field that were built in the mid 90's.

Jeremy

This is a correct statement. My original was sold after eight years in perfect working order. After that (I changed up my tank yet again) and moved todo auto water changes, bought a new one and been using it for 3+ for water changes. No issues, except the tubing is a bit expensive. I need new ones and tried to think outside the box, but you have to buy theirs.

[biecacka]

Jeremy would this work for AWC.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2544211

Corey

[SpectraPure]

It will work for sure as long as the pumps are still good.

JEremy

[Fishbulb2]

Originally Posted by Aaarrrggg

Next up was getting the water from the 2 tanks to the aquarium. Both the SW and RO tanks have tubing inside that extends to the bottom.

So I'm pulling up a very old thread. Does anyone know how to make the RO tubing make these very sharp 90 degree turns? I'm setting up something very similar.

Cheers,
FB

[SpectraPure]

We have 90 degree double push fitting.

Jeremy

[ReefRealEstate]

This is a great thread. I am doing something similar. I have a 55 USG tank for RO/ATO feeding into my DT, a QT, and a 40 USG tank for saltwater. (Should I reverse that? Have more saltwater or RO storage - DT will be around 290 USG) I have a line to my QT for ATO and a line from DT to my QT. I was wondering if my Apex gold will handle all this from my DT. It will be about 20 ft away in a different room or will I need a separate controller? Thanks in advance all this is really helping my planning.

[Fishbulb2]

Originally Posted by ReefRealEstate

This is a great thread. I am doing something similar. I have a 55 USG tank for RO/ATO feeding into my DT, a QT, and a 40 USG tank for saltwater. (Should I reverse that? Have more saltwater or RO storage - DT will be around 290 USG) I have a line to my QT for ATO and a line from DT to my QT. I was wondering if my Apex gold will handle all this from my DT. It will be about 20 ft away in a different room or will I need a separate controller? Thanks in advance all this is really helping my planning.

The main reason to use the 55 for salt is that you can dump in an entire bag of salt mix with no measuring. Much easier.

[ReefRealEstate]

Okay been a while since I have had a tank. The perfect amount of say Instant Ocean salt is 55 gallons (US) per box? Are all the salt mixes in the same volume? Thanks for the tip.

[SpectraPure]

Absolutely. It could go up 3 floors easily.

Jeremy

[StevieK]

Originally Posted by ReefRealEstate

Okay been a while since I have had a tank. The perfect amount of say Instant Ocean salt is 55 gallons (US) per box? Are all the salt mixes in the same volume? Thanks for the tip.

What I did to set up my mega brute (55g), was to add a bag of reef crystals and slowly add water until I reached 1.025. Drew a line where it was perfect and drilled a hole there. This is where I installed the float.

Now every change over. I just turn on the RODI until it stops, drop a bag and power head in. No fuss, no mess, no measuring required.

Done

[Vipete1985]

Originally Posted by Aaarrrggg

Now comes the LiterMeter magic!







Here's the email Scott at SpectraPure sent me explaining how everything should hook together:







The LiterMeter plugs into the Top-Off Control Module which is then plugged into a power socket.







The funny tube is a water level sensor. It's placed in the constant lvl of the sump to guard against overflowing. If the water rises it will shut off the LiterMeter and all the attached pumps. (Oh, I almost forgot to say... we flipped the sump around so the water now runs from right to left.)







The LiterMeter has a built in pump (Pump A). It draws water from the tank via the white tube and carries it outside through the white/black line. The tip is held 1" under the water by a magnetic clip so if something ever did go wrong, it couldn't drain the whole system.







There is a tiny hole drilled in the wall next to the dog flap so the water can empty into the garden.







The water is replaced by the Remote Pump Module (Pump B). It pulls water from the SW holding tank via the red line and delivers it to the sump.

Awesome idea I will be hoping to try this out real soon....how has it faired for you so far? Any changes you made?


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[texdoc77]

Here is the video of my AWC system. Please note I don't have a monetized Youtube channel, I just like to try and help others that may be as clueless as I am. I hope you enjoy the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xxurylqY_o

[SpectraPure]

Awesome!

[atl14]

Anyone had one up and running for a few years?

[biecacka]

Question as I am considering this more and more, are these controlled via apex or the head unit? I know ppl use them for daily continuous water changes, but could it be set up for once a week or bi weekly auto changes?
I'm not opposed to daily, just curious is all.

Corey

[Fishbulb2]

I've had mine up for about 6 month and just love it. I tried both the Apex DOS system and the LiterMeter. The DOS is easier to calibrate and control from the apex, but it was so loud that I had to take it off line. I own two DOS and both are super loud. The LiterMeter is silent. I don't control my LiterMeter through the Apex, but I do have it hooked up to an outlet so that I could turn it off remotely if I needed to.

You might technically be able to run the LM through the apex but just turning off the outlet 6 days a week. It stores the settings in the memory, so when power comes back one it just continues the automatic water change. But then it would run continuously and I think that might annoy you. I think the whole benefit of this system is to have it just on all of the time and keeping things more stable. I absolutely love the liter meter. Great pump.

FB

[biecacka]

So you use the head unit to program the water change? Like 1 gallon a day so to speak.

Corey

[Fishbulb2]

Yup, absolutely.

Not hard at all. Really nice unit. Quiet. You can also locate the head unit remotely from the tank or sump if you like. But then you would not be able to turn it off remotely with the Apex or use the over flow protection.

FB

[delmo]

I like the DOS and it's controllability. I mounted it in the garage, so I don't hear it. So I have a LM3 and an RPM kicking around. Pm if interested.

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[texdoc77]

Originally Posted by delmo

I like the DOS and it's controllability. I mounted it in the garage, so I don't hear it. So I have a LM3 and an RPM kicking around. Pm if interested.

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Only fly in the ointment with the DOS is the chance of back siphon since it is a two roller pump vs the three roller pump of the LM3. Just something to consider.


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