Auto Top Off plans ???

[UH_OH_5_OH]

Does anyone have any DIY plans for a auto top off...? My 135 is undergoing Evaporaso ridiculoso....at a 1.5-2 gallons a day. I know I know...that's not alot to some people but with my schedule its nerve racking ! ! ! Any help is greatly appreciated !

 

[radone]

Here ya go worked great for me and still working great. I got the float switches from Mcmaster.com



http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=606215

Good Luck

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

Romeo...thanks for the link. I unfortunately am downright hinky about electricty.....nearly being struck by lighting three days ago did NOTHING to help the situation. It hit a tree 10 feet from the SUV I was in at the time.

Reading all of the wire this and splice that....TOTAL GREEK ! Care to do a mod build in your spare time...?

 

[adnup]

I made mine like this. It was simple!
http://www.melevsreef.com/plumbing/auto_topoff.html

 

[reefrubble]

adnup,Got any pics of your system?

 

[sales weasel]

My 55g probably evaps around a gallon per day. I have a 20g sump under and I bought a sump mount double float switch from here:
http://autotopoff.com/products.html
I use a 5gal bucket of RO water with an Aqualifter pump and it works like a charm! I also bought a single in-tank float switch as a final fail safe measure. It keeps the main tank from overflowing by cuttin the power to the sump pump if I lose siphon.

I'm now working on a Kalk reactor that will be in-line with the topoff system.

 

[rick s]

Another option:

If your situation would allow it, this works great for me. I use gravity and one simple float:

My tank is in the living room. My RO/DI set-up is in the garage. I mounted a storage tank (10 gallon) in my garage, on a shelf, as high up on the wall as possible (almost to the ceiling). This height is higher than the height that my sump is at.

I ran a simple 1/4" line (50 feet worth) from the bottom of the storage tank in the garage to a basic, manual Kent float valve in my sump. Gravity does the rest.

Once a week, I run my RO/DI unit until it fills the storage tank with fresh water. Then I turn the RO/DI off.

As water evaporates, the water level in the sump drops, the float opens, and fills until the water level in the sump rises enough to satisfy the float.

It works flawlessly. It's cheap. No electronics to fail.

And, as a back-up plan (just in case the float should fail), I don't store any more water in the storage tank than my sump could hold.

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

WoW Rick that sounds like some serious marriage insurance right there....any chance you could shoot me a few pics of it...? I'm a point and shoot kind of guy and pictures help ALOT !

 

[rick s]

Well, there really isn't much to se, but I'll try to shoot some tomorrow.

 

[raddogz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7648102#post7648102 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by UH_OH_5_OH
Romeo...thanks for the link. I unfortunately am downright hinky about electricty.....nearly being struck by lighting three days ago did NOTHING to help the situation. It hit a tree 10 feet from the SUV I was in at the time.

Reading all of the wire this and splice that....TOTAL GREEK ! Care to do a mod build in your spare time...?

With your recent experience with electricity you may wish to go with something that is already put together for you:

http://www.aquahub.com/store/index.html

 

[Runner]

http://www.aquahub.com/store/index.html

It looks like the i-float Float Switch and the Madison M8000 Float Switch would work well for what I plan to do. I have two problems with them, though:

1. This switch is not subermersible (at least the wire entry point is not). Is there another switch on there that is similar but can go beneath the water?

2. If I go with this switch, what is size of the threads? I could probably get an adapter over to 1/2" PVC and use that as the holder and water-proofing...

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

thanks for the intel Runner.....I think I am gonna give Ricks gravity feed system a shot though. Electricity just scares the buh jeepers outta me ! You should have seen me shakin like a leaf while the guy from hellolights.com talked me through wiring up my MH fixtures.....Good Lord you'd of thought I was deciding if it was the Blue Wire or the Red Wire that I needed to cut to disarm the bomb ! ! !

 

[comatose]

I've also got a gravity feed on my system, take a look on my webpage. Under "Float switch" in the DIY section.

 

[Divetime]

Runner, I just set up my topoff like the one you are describing. The light bulb went off and I thought about what happens when the power goes off or I shut down the return pump and the switch is submerged in water. I'm going on vacation tomorrow so It was to late to purchase the suggested system that they sell.

I sent an e-mail to Aquahub and this is the managers response "If you have any pvc sitting around, you could use this and a pvc cap to keep the top of the switch and wires dry - make a hole and then put the switch through it and tighten the nut. Then put silicon around to seal up the area. Failing this, put a heavy layer of silicon around the epoxy and wires and pray! (The epoxy does provide pretty good protection, but it's just not designed to be submerged for any length of time)."

Hope that helps!

 

[rick s]

Here ya go UH OH 5 OH,

The tank on the right is my saltwater storage tank.
The tank on the left is my top-off/evaporation tank.

I use limewater.
On the bottom right of the left tank there is an output valve. I turn the valve off. Fill it with RODI water (I have another manual float valve in each of these 2 tanks to shut off my RODI if I'm not around). I turn the RODI off. Add my lime. Mix it with a powerhead for an hour. Turn off the power head, and let the particles settle overnight. Then I open the valve.

The storage tank is higher than float valve in my sump, so simple gravity pulls the water to the float.

When the water level in my sump drops, the float opens and allows water to enter. When enough water has entered to satisfy the float, it stops the flow.

I used some leftover Seio powerhead pieces to make a bracket for the float.

I use up most/all of the water in the storage tank and then make up a new batch. That's about every weekend. If you are not going to use limewater, you can turn on your RODI to add more water any time you like.

Hope this helps. . .

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

WOW......thanks so much for the pics....I will look closely at them and PM with some questions !

 

[budhorse775]

Do you think it is necessary to install one of these to an ATO
http://www.aquahub.com/store/12voltspdtrelay.html

 

[twon8]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7683407#post7683407 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by budhorse775
Do you think it is necessary to install one of these to an ATO
http://www.aquahub.com/store/12voltspdtrelay.html

Yes, because the float switches are only rated to 12 volts, and if you run 110 through them you will eventually melt the switch. Hopefully it will melt in the off position, otherwise it will keep the top off running till someone finds a wet floor.

 

[Laakmann]

http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categories/float_switch/103670.html IMO


bucket, a tube and a cheap powerhead underneath your stand and your ready to go, just install the probe with silicone to your sump so it doesnt ever fall off. No wires to deal with.

With a manual system I think there is still stuff that can go wrong, such as the seal for the things eventualy becoming to brittle from saltwater.

I have one on my FOWLR that works great, I am going to rig the one on my reef tank with my AC jr so its only on three times a day for how ever long it takes to move the amount of water that evaportes (with a little wiggle room). Extra safe that way incase it ever would get stuck on

 

[Pbrown3701]

My setup is similiar to ricks with the following exceptions:

I have my RO/DI output directly feeding the 10gal storage tank which is under my tank. There is a float valve to shut off the RO/DI filter when the reservoir is full (kent float valve system).

Then between the reservoir and sump (which is just behind the wall), water is sucked via a Niveumat 3000 dosing pump and forced through a DIY Nelson reactor (best addition I have ever made to my tank). From there, the water is added to the tank. The single dosing pump draws the water from the reservoir, forces it through the reactor and into the sump. The dosing pump is on a timer so that it only runs at night, and also controled via a float switch in the sump. ONly running it at night to counter pH drop as the Kalkwasser reactor outputs pH14 top off water.

There you go, completely automatic. ALl i have to do is replace DI/RO filters every 18 or so months. All tubing is run inside the walls, so the wife doesn't complain.