A little math help

[Elricsfate]

Sadly, I suck at math. I'm sure some of you do not. So here is what I am trying to figure out.

If I want to have an ATO attached to a reservoir, and I want the maximum amount of water in that reservoir to only be able to raise the level of water in my tank by 1 inch (in case a pump gets stuck in the on position). How many gallons of water is the max that should be in the reservoir.

The tank is 72x24x24 (180 gallons)

*As an aside, I am planning to connect my RO/DI system to the reservoir and use the Tunze RO Water Controller. I just need to know how big of a reservoir to buy.

Thanks in advance

 

[heathlindner25]

I'm going to say around 7 gallons( but I did just get off at 12 hours shift) if you want to play on the safe side use a five gallon bucket

 

[ecotanker]

72 in x 24 in x 1 in = 1728 cubic in
since 1 gal = 231 cubic in

1728 / 231 -> 7.48 gal

so about 7.5 gal

 

[Greybeard]

72 in x 24 in x 1 in = 1728 cubic in
since 1 gal = 231 cubic in

1728 / 231 -> 7.48 gal

so about 7.5 gal

I get the same...

 

[Elricsfate]

Thank you kindly gentlemen.

 

[Rybren]

Just curious, do you not have a sump or is that tank your sump?

 

[Elricsfate]

At this moment I have a completely empty, dry, 180g aquarium sitting in my living room. It was a freshwater tank a week ago. I am looking into various options. I want to use a sump, but drilling the glass is a bit of a barrier. Not so much that I am concerned about drilling it, but that my wife and I cannot easily move this tank around to do something like take it outside or flip it on its' side and then get it back on the stand.

I'm considering all my options, including a HOB overflow.

But to get directly to what I believe you are asking. I intend (one way or the other) to have a sump. So I am looking at basically:

RO/DI --> Bucket --> ATO --> Sump --> Tank

So now I'm curious Why do you ask?

 

[rocsec1]

Sumps are great places for equipment so your tank will have a cleaner look. Skimmers, heaters, ato's, probes and whatever look distracting in the display tank.

 

[Rybren]

So now I'm curious Why do you ask?

If you have a sump, then the water volume calculations would be based on the size of the return area, as that is where you would see the effects of evaporation.

As for drilling, I highly recommend that you find a couple of people to help you flip the tank so that it could be drilled easier. It could be drilled upright, but it would be a royal pain. You really don't want to use a HOB overflow.

Look into the Bean Animal overflow. IMHO, it would be the best choice for your tank.