Help with ATO plans

[beatle]

In the design of my 120, I'm going to be using a Litermeter3 to provide all my water changes, and I'd hoped to use it for ATO as well. I have RODI and salt reservoirs in the basement directly below my tank, and I ran three 1/4" lines plus a vinyl line for the pressure float switch for the LM3's water exchange module. I also have a GSA kalk stirrer and an AC3 that I plan to incorporate and tie into my AC3 with a PH probe to avoid a possible kalk overdose, but this is where it gets confusing.

 

The LM3 and its pumps were to go to be in the basement and pump all the water up to the sump. This keeps additional equipment out of the stand and is one less thing to hear. However, even with the LM3 being somewhat set-and-forget, I don't see how to incorporate it into a PH based failsafe with the AC3, unless I also run an extension cord through the wall to allow the AC3 to shut off the LM3 in case of a PH spike.

 

I'm considering going with an Avast ATO and a digital out to the AC3, and then have that control a dosing pump that can pump water from the basement through the kalk stirrer and into the sump. That would leave me with a useless LM3 pump, but maybe this is my only option.

 

Any other ideas for this?

[John]

Will a litermeter handle that kind of headspace? I've never used one.

[beatle]

Peristaltic pumps like those used in the LM3 in general cope with head pressure very well. The LM3 will pump water with a "draw height of 12 feet or to a delivery height of 60 feet."

[Origami]

What about just putting another DC8 or DC4 in your setup in the basement, and running another control line between the AC3 (which I presume is upstairs with the tank)?

[beatle]

I've thought about that. I have an extra DC8 anyway, but I'd have to run a cord to the basement through the wall. Had I been smart enough when I was running the RODI lines, I would have recognized this deficiency.

[Origami]

I've thought about that. I have an extra DC8 anyway, but I'd have to run a cord to the basement through the wall. Had I been smart enough when I was running the RODI lines, I would have recognized this deficiency.

When you say "cord," do you mean the phone cord? You certainly don't need to run a power cord there. The phone cord is pretty thin. You could even pull the carpet back just a touch and drill a small hole into the floor there, pushing the telco cord through the hole. You then just push the carpet back into place. That is, if it's carpeted.

 

How are you running the three 1/4" tubes through to the basement anyway?

[beatle]

No carpet. It's laminate, though I'm thinking about drilling it anyway.

 

The 3 tubes were run through the wall. It's an insulated exterior wall which made finding the fish tape (no pun intended ) a lot of fun. The current tubes are hidden behind the tank. To get another tube/wire down the wall would have to be a bit more obvious in sight as I can't move the tank out of the way again.

[Origami]

You may be able to drill at an angle through the quarter round or baseboard. Later, you can just putty and paint to hide the hole. Or, if you pull the quarter-round, you can drill behind it (into the baseboard). Then, later, you can just replace the quarter-round and nobody will see the hole.

[hypertech]

Its easy enough to put ends on those cords. It doesn't take a very big hole if you are only sending the cable without the jack on the end. You can get all the bits to put ends on at Home Depot and Radio Shack (or at least you used to be able to. Otherwise you could just cut a chunk off and solder it back together once its pulled if you don't want to put a new end on.