usatennisfan
New member
How hard is it to rig an auto top off? I've always thought about doing so but never knew where to even start...
My 10 gallon reef office project
- Thread starter SaltSolutions1
- Start date
SaltSolutions1
Active member
It was very easy. A lot easier than I thought it would be. Shoot me a PM when you're ready to do it and I'll walk you through it. It cost me under $20. I tested it a few times before hooking it all to the tank. As long as I don't go to work tomorrow to a flooded desk I would say that it was a success.
I'll post pics tomorrow. I took a black sharpee marker and drew a line at the water level in the 1 gallon jug before I left work at 5pm. When I go in tomorrow I can see how much water was pumped out and into the tank overnight. I'll know that everything is running right if the water level dropped and the tank is still filled up to the same spot as when I left work. I can't wait!:bounce3::bounce3::bounce3:
usatennisfan
New member
Is it at all loud?
100%hydrophylic
New member
How does the gallon jug react to the pressure? in mine i used a little bit thicker containers because i know the gallons are kinda flimsy.
SaltSolutions1
Active member
Hi everyone.
To answer your questions, it's a little loud when it comes on. But the noise level depends on what type of air pump or powerhead you use.
As far as the gallon jug goes, the one I'm using is a little on the flimsy side but it hasn't really caused me any problems.
One thing I noticed though, is that the pump turns on every so often for about a second or two but doesn't stay on long enough to pump any water in the tank. I think this is because the float switch isn't completely submerged as far as it needs to be. The float switch is sitting about mid way as you can see in the picture below. I need to remold the holder to have it sit a little deeper into the water so the foam part of the switch sits flush with the top when submerged. This will keep it from turning on every now and then from the flow in the tank.
100%hydrophylic,
Do you think the flimsy gallon jug could be causing this?
But all in all, it's doing its job just fine topping off the tank. It was about an inch or two below the black line when I went into work today. And I marked it again before I left today at 5 just to see how much is used over the weekend.
Update:
My LFS had a sale......buy 2 frags get one free. I picked up an acan frag, and two different zoanthid frags. I also picked up two peppermint shrimp and a blue azure damsel. I decided to go with only one fish, inverts, and corals for this setup.
I will post pics of the new additions on Monday.
Here's the pic. You can see in the upper left hand corner that the float switch isn't all the way up pressed against the top position. It's floating in the middle.
Happy Reefing!
To answer your questions, it's a little loud when it comes on. But the noise level depends on what type of air pump or powerhead you use.
As far as the gallon jug goes, the one I'm using is a little on the flimsy side but it hasn't really caused me any problems.
One thing I noticed though, is that the pump turns on every so often for about a second or two but doesn't stay on long enough to pump any water in the tank. I think this is because the float switch isn't completely submerged as far as it needs to be. The float switch is sitting about mid way as you can see in the picture below. I need to remold the holder to have it sit a little deeper into the water so the foam part of the switch sits flush with the top when submerged. This will keep it from turning on every now and then from the flow in the tank.
100%hydrophylic,
Do you think the flimsy gallon jug could be causing this?
But all in all, it's doing its job just fine topping off the tank. It was about an inch or two below the black line when I went into work today. And I marked it again before I left today at 5 just to see how much is used over the weekend.
Update:
My LFS had a sale......buy 2 frags get one free. I picked up an acan frag, and two different zoanthid frags. I also picked up two peppermint shrimp and a blue azure damsel. I decided to go with only one fish, inverts, and corals for this setup.
I will post pics of the new additions on Monday.
Here's the pic. You can see in the upper left hand corner that the float switch isn't all the way up pressed against the top position. It's floating in the middle.
Happy Reefing!
SaltSolutions1
Active member
This picture shows it a little bit better that it's floating in the middle.
SaltSolutions1
Active member
Livestock Update
Livestock Update
Hi evryone!
The wait is finally over. The first inhabitants were purchased today:
1 Azure Damselfish
1 Purple Dottyback
2 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Duncan Frag
1 Lunar Eclipse Zoanthid Frag
1 Mystery Zoanthid Frag (I'm not sure what they're called)
I will be posting pictures tomorrow morning when I get to the office and put them all in their new home.
Livestock Update
Hi evryone!
The wait is finally over. The first inhabitants were purchased today:
1 Azure Damselfish
1 Purple Dottyback
2 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Duncan Frag
1 Lunar Eclipse Zoanthid Frag
1 Mystery Zoanthid Frag (I'm not sure what they're called)
I will be posting pictures tomorrow morning when I get to the office and put them all in their new home.
usatennisfan
New member
Huzzah! Are they actually going to send it to your office instead of your house?
SaltSolutions1
Active member
Lol!!!
That's pretty funny.
I found a new local fish store in my area and bought all the livestock there.
SaltSolutions1
Active member
I did read that. Of course it was after the LFS convinced me to put her in the tank. The fish store is great. They have a Marine Biologist on staff and everything they've told me I've researched to be true. I did not ask them about her being a jumper because I was more focused on getting a compatible tankmate for the damsel I wanted. He was in one of their frag tanks and wasn't even for sale. I knew that if I bought him and put him in first, it would have been pretty difficult to introduce any new fish to the tank. So, forced to make a decision that day, I decided to introduce two fish at the same time and chose the Dotty simply for color and compatibility.
Everything is doing well so far though. She is tank raised/bred. She's not wild. So, in addition to her not being so aggressive like a wild one would, I'm hoping that she won't be so jumpy either. She's a beautiful fish. Her and the Blue Azure Damsel seem to be getting along great. My zoanthids are about halfway open right now and the duncan is completely wide open loving the flow in the tank.
More pics will be posted this afternoon. I'm still waiting for the zoanthids to fully open up and for both fish to come out and swim around. They're pretty much taking turns exploring their new home at the moment. It's really funny. Even the peppermints are taking turns doing laps around the aquascape. I'm trying to get it on video but they're really fast.
:bounce2: :bounce1:
SaltSolutions1
Active member
Pictures!!!!!!
Pictures!!!!!!
Here is the mystery zoanthid frag. Please help with ID:
Here is what they said were Lunar Eclipses, but it's hard to tell:
Here is my duncan:
Unfortunately, it has been impossible to get a picture of the dottyback or the damsel. They were out but for very short periods of time. The rest of the time they were staying in their caves. They both claimed a spot in the tank already. And they refused to give it up.
They did come out for a mysis feeding though which was cool. But as soon as I went to grab the camera, my phone rang and I had to leave my office for better reception and missed most of the show.
Tomorrow the viewing and pictures will be better I hope.
Have a great evening everyone and once again, thank you very much for subscribing and being patient during this build.
There's still lots more to come. I have a lot of rock to fill with coral still.
:bounce3:
Pictures!!!!!!
Here is the mystery zoanthid frag. Please help with ID:
Here is what they said were Lunar Eclipses, but it's hard to tell:
Here is my duncan:
Unfortunately, it has been impossible to get a picture of the dottyback or the damsel. They were out but for very short periods of time. The rest of the time they were staying in their caves. They both claimed a spot in the tank already. And they refused to give it up.
They did come out for a mysis feeding though which was cool. But as soon as I went to grab the camera, my phone rang and I had to leave my office for better reception and missed most of the show.
Tomorrow the viewing and pictures will be better I hope.
Have a great evening everyone and once again, thank you very much for subscribing and being patient during this build.
There's still lots more to come. I have a lot of rock to fill with coral still.
:bounce3:
john miller
New member
What kind of micro algae did you end up with, and how is it doing? I must have missed that post.
SaltSolutions1
Active member
I ended up getting Chaeto for the fuge, and Halimeda and Flame Macro for the display.
SaltSolutions1
Active member
Lol! That's pretty funny.
usatennisfan
New member
Love the duncan! I have one in with my mantis. I vote a bubble is a necessity in this tank...
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