Measuring amount of water

[aklaum]

Hello all,

A question has been rolling around in my head for a week now. It seems to me that for a number of reasons I won't list, it would be really important to know exactly how much water you originally added to your tank (i.e. your tank's actual capacity with the substrate and rock in place)

I know with my freshwater tank I neglected to do this and to this day I am still not sure exactly how much water it holds with the gravel and plants and such (around 18 gallons...maybe?).

Once my RO/DI arrives I plan to directly fill my new tank from it just running a hose from my nearby sink. So is there an inexpensive little flow meter or something I can stick on the line to tell me how many gallons have flowed through the hose?

I bought the following RO/DI unit and it doesn't appear to have this kind of meter.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7740041019&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:1

 

[oyam123]

not sure why you need to know, but run the ro into a tub so you can measur it.

 

[szwab]

never heard of a flow meter of that type.

one way to do it .. you could time how long it takes to fill your tank. then time how long it takes to make a gallon of water. divide then you should know how many gallons are in the system.

 

[oyam123]

good idea!