My tank sitter
(nephew) informed me that he didn't want to look after the tanks anymore because it was too involved and he is afraid he'll do something wrong. So, I decided to automate most everything and make it as foolproof as possible.
Lighting: all lights are on timers including the sump light.
Cooling fans: controlled by the AquaController: on at 81.0F/off at 80.9F
Dosing: Ca, Alk, & Mg by 2 separate dosing pumps and run through the
AquaController
Sump Heaters: one controlled by a Jalli JT-1000, and one on a Ranco. Heaters
are each plugged into separate GFCI's in case of an accidental tripping.
ATO: Sump is topped up by a vacuum pump run by the Aquacontroller. Unfortunately, a 5 gallon bucket under the sump has to be manually filled each day with R/O water. I was all ready to drill a hole in the wall from the garage for the R/O tubing but the wifey caught me and informed me there was to be no more holes in any walls due to aquarium stuff. There's already 3 holes from the corner tank to the outside sump, a 6" hole in the wall of the sump room for the ventilation unit, and a 3' by 4' hole in the wall between the 225g stand and the sump room. You can't see any of the holes and what's one more little 1/4" hole going to bother right? So I'll just wait until she goes to work and drill the hole, run the tubing under the carpet of the study and she'll never even know. Then the sump can be topped up directly from the 55 gallon R/O reservoir.
Salt Water Mixing Station: 55 gallon R/O reservoir plumbed to 55 gallon salt water reservoir and filled by Quiet One 4000HH pump
Power Outages: In the event of a power outage the sump can of course more than handle the tank overflows; battery-driven air pumps keep the tanks and sumps aerated; and for a prolonged outage a generator is nearby with instructions. I've got the accidental GFCI tripping covered as well. Powerheads and return pump are on different GFCI's and the 2x MP40's are again on a separate circuit.
Skimmer: The skimmer drains into a large waste container that can handle at least a whole week of skimmate.
Emergency: equipment failure, etc. Dave and Marie's phone numbers for him to call.
So there you have it, all automated except for feeding. Any recommendations on a fish feeder?
Of course that's only one tank done. Now I have to start automating the corner tank. 