need help with electrical stuff!

[fishmonkey]

I was just thinking about Auto Top Offs. I thought "what about instead of having it be an automatic top off, what if it was a way to top off without having to place your trust in a float switch". so I kept thinking. and thinking. and thinking. until finally I came up with an idea. here it is:

I want 4 light switches that are placed onto the outside of my aquarium stand. each one will do a different thing.

two of the four switches will make water changes a breeze.
The first switch will turn on a pump that has the intake inside the aquarium and the output will have a hose that most likely either be placed outside my window into the yard, or into the tub/sink/toilet(lol) .
The second switch will be to fill the aquarium. the switch will turn on a water pump that will have the input in a container that has pre-mixed saltwater inside of it, and an output with a hose leading up to the aquarium, and that will fill the tank with the pre-mixed saltwater.
the third switch will be used to top off the tank. the input of the tank will be placed into a container with RO/DI water in it, and the output will be placed into the aquarium.
the fourth and final switch will be an Emergency Shutoff Switch. It will be to turn off everything. since all of the plugs will be on a power strip that is going to be located on the inside of the stand, I am going to need the switch to turn off the power strip.

please help me make the electrical stuff work, because i havent really done any electrical stuff in my life. ever really!
thank you for your help guys!

EDIT: so i guess i should explain why i am doing this instead of an auto top off lol. its because of my dad. he is in a wheelchair after a car accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. he REALLY wants to help me with my tank and this is what i came up with. its somthing that he could easily do because the switches will be at his level. i can teach him what to do. he is really looking forward to this when i explained what i was going to try to do lol!

[InfernoST]

That's super simple, the problem I see is with switch 1 functionality where you turn on a pump to take water out of the tank, once you've removed the amount of water from the tank you want and shut off the pump you will still have a siphon effect taking water out of the tank through said pump. I think using a solenoid coming off of a T installed on the intake would work for you much better.

[partypalooza5]

Yes, I'm still working on that diagram of wiring xD.

I just keep getting distracted.

[fishmonkey]

okay. thanks

[krap101]

I never owned a ro/di, but does it turn off by itself once the container is filled? If not, then you'd need another switch/float to fill the container.

[fishmonkey]

im going to fill the container from the sink where my RO/DI is going to be lol

[krap101]

ic.. a couple years ago I was walking through Menards, and I saw a livestock water container autofiller and thought it might be useful for people with large tanks, or is this case an ro filter.

Anyways... I'm not sure about your setup, but most of the salties with larger tanks have like a pretty big container in their basement where they'd just pump water into their sump :P. But I don't have enough money ><, especially for 29 and a 10 gallon tanks.

One last thing.. personally I'd stick with the time tested method of the autotopoff (flushing toilets) rather than leaving the possiblity that I might forget to turn off the switch :P

[fishmonkey]

bumpety bump bump

[partypalooza5]

Originally Posted by krap101

I never owned a ro/di, but does it turn off by itself once the container is filled? If not, then you'd need another switch/float to fill the container.

I know they sell switches (mechanical) that turn the unit off once it senses back pressure. (such as a closed float valve).

[fishmonkey]

really? could you send me a link? and howsabout that diagram? could i buy it from like Home Depot?im trying to do this whole thing with things from home depot because it is REALLY close to my house.