- Thread starter
- #101
Small update-
The basement mixing station is more or less complete. It's nice to work in here compared to the cramped sump cabinet.
CO2:
ATO:
AWC Mixing Station:
I've set it up in HA that I enter a target GH/KH and the dose is set from my stock concentrations - and the display will eventually drift towards the target. Volumes are tracked as well, and the overall ECs are trended over time for before salts, after each salt, and of course the final mix.
I've primed the pumps, calibrated the flow meters, and set everything up - but of course I want to watch the first few changes to make sure everything runs as intended, after which it will run a ~10-11L change nightly. I calculated the volume in my display + sump as ~200L of actual water (by measuring EC before and after replacing exactly 10L with RO water) - so this works out to about a 5% change daily. I will do the first AWC this weekend!
The flow meters should keep the sump volume relatively steady during the change, but the system will also use the ToF sensor in the sump to trim the final level by adjusting the calibrations of the supply/drain pumps over time to keep it within 1mm.
I also printed a new basement floor drain cover as the number of pipes ziptied to it was getting silly, and the mineral deposits were taking over. The AWC pump drains directly into here - but I'm considering setting up a quarantine tank down here where the AWC would drain into it instead, and an overflow bulkhead would drain overfill.
As for the display tank, I added 30 blue diamond shrimp in, day 1 they were exploring and all over, day 2 - could only see one or two at a time. Day 3 - found them all chilling in the overflow box. Enter the printer.
Designed this to drop into the weir box and printed 2, so I can occasionally lift it out to clear plant debris and rotate them - keeping the adults out of the overflow box. Smaller ones will still pass through and wind up in the fuge which is fine.
The basement mixing station is more or less complete. It's nice to work in here compared to the cramped sump cabinet.
CO2:
- Load Cell for Cylinder Weight
- 2x Solenoids In Line
- AFS01 Flow Sensor
ATO:
- ATO Solenoid to Sump
- Solenoid to Fill Tank + Float Valve as Backup
AWC Mixing Station:
- 3 Dosing Pumps for CaSO₄, K₂CO₃, and MgSO₄
- 2 Larger Pumps for draining the sump and supplying the water from the Mixing Bucket to the sump
- Flow sensors on Drain and Supply lines as well as the RO line to the bucket
- Water Detect sensor on the Pickup tube in the bucket (to know when the bucket is empty)
- EC (+ temp) Probe in the bucket, to monitor RO water quality - and verify the salt remin. doses added one by one.
- Small powerhead in the mixing bucket + Current sensor to detect if pump is running with bucket empty, or if its jammed.
- Emergency Float switch if bucket is overfilled.
I've set it up in HA that I enter a target GH/KH and the dose is set from my stock concentrations - and the display will eventually drift towards the target. Volumes are tracked as well, and the overall ECs are trended over time for before salts, after each salt, and of course the final mix.
I've primed the pumps, calibrated the flow meters, and set everything up - but of course I want to watch the first few changes to make sure everything runs as intended, after which it will run a ~10-11L change nightly. I calculated the volume in my display + sump as ~200L of actual water (by measuring EC before and after replacing exactly 10L with RO water) - so this works out to about a 5% change daily. I will do the first AWC this weekend!
The flow meters should keep the sump volume relatively steady during the change, but the system will also use the ToF sensor in the sump to trim the final level by adjusting the calibrations of the supply/drain pumps over time to keep it within 1mm.
I also printed a new basement floor drain cover as the number of pipes ziptied to it was getting silly, and the mineral deposits were taking over. The AWC pump drains directly into here - but I'm considering setting up a quarantine tank down here where the AWC would drain into it instead, and an overflow bulkhead would drain overfill.
As for the display tank, I added 30 blue diamond shrimp in, day 1 they were exploring and all over, day 2 - could only see one or two at a time. Day 3 - found them all chilling in the overflow box. Enter the printer.
Designed this to drop into the weir box and printed 2, so I can occasionally lift it out to clear plant debris and rotate them - keeping the adults out of the overflow box. Smaller ones will still pass through and wind up in the fuge which is fine.
