Hows it goin guys, been giving this some thought and have got it in motion just waiting for the float switch to come in from ebay.
idea is using retic timer and 2 solenoid valves have 1st solenoid come on to syphon to required depth (set timer), line is always primed. float goes down on float switch making the other solenoid live. 2nd solenoid comes on and fills till float switch deactivates closing solenoid, timer then finishes at its leasure.
Beauty of this system you can set it to do as many changes as you want eg. one a week or one every 2 days whatever you need. Once I've set it up I will post some pics but hopefully this will give you the general idea. btw type in float switch on ebay and you will find a couple different types.

Appreciate feedback on how to improve this. Also its in my fishroom on my 6x2x2 so appearance isnt an issue