What lengths will you go to automate your tank?

Kaiser Tang

Premium Member
I spent about 5 hours Sunday installing the water line for my auto top off system. Why did it take me 5 hours? Well, I had to run the line from my RO/DI system which underneath the kitchen sink, up the wall, through the attic, back down the wall and out. Sounds simple, but it wasn't. We have vaulted ceilings. So at one point I couldn't reach the point from the attic where the tube needed to run back down the wall. So, I had to go outside, climb a ladder, remove some shingles, and cut a hole in the roof. Then I ran the line down the wall, replaced the cut out portion of the roof, and replaced the shingles.

Here is the route the water line takes

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It was a hassle, but well worth it. I hate having to manually dump water into my tank each day.

What will you do to automate your tank.
 
We took all the trim down in a basement rec room and ran the line through the utility room, through the rec room (hidden by crown molding), through the floor and wall to the living room. My fiance' complained about it the whole time, but it is so nice having the auto top off on that tank.
 
I put my sump in the garage and ran my pvc along the wall, cut a hole though the wall and out into the garage, then boxed in the pvc with the same boards I used to for the laminate flooring. Not such a big deal, but the convenience and effects on the tank are awesome. Reading the above posts it becomes clear why our women think we are nutz.
 
Question: What lengths will you go to automate your tank?..........Divorce my first wife......:lol: My tank works flawlessly now:smokin: .
 
Although I'm not looking for a divorce, my tank's automation is complicated by my wife. If I didn't have to worry about what it looked like or if it was hidden, automation would be much simpler.
 
Nice work on the top off! Certainly beats dragging out 40' of tubing once a week :)

My automation:

Timer for actinics
Timer for MH
Timer for fan
Litermeter III for top off


Ted
 
It will just be a matter of driller through my floor to my RO/DI reserve under the house. Its actually a good thing I'm in a trailer, easy to work plumbing for a tank
 
Kaiser,

Do you have an RO/DI resevoir or do you have the system produce water directly to topoff?

If so, how do you accomplish that?
 
It's a little more difficult when you don't have a basement or a way to get under the house. A concrete foundation can be a pain. It's good when you don't have to worry about how much your tank weighs though.
 
I know I'm still a newbie, but I love my nightly ritual of caring for my tank. After about a year, its more of a nightly pleasure than a chore.
Though I must give you kudos on your job well done.
 
I have a 40 gallon Brute garbage can in the garage with RO/DI water for top off and Kalkreactor. RO line runs under the house, through two crawl spaces to two tanks, 180 and 150. LiterMeter III pumps the water. I had to drill through the foundation, and two different walls to run the lines; 150 ft total. All drilling was done when my wife was at work :rollface:

She was not happy about more holes in the wall...I did this over a year ago. I still hear about the holes in her wall pretty much every day, sometimes twice if she is on a roll :lol:
 
If you ever sell your house I would love to see the look on the buyers face when they find this. *** is this?
 
Re: What lengths will you go to automate your tank?

Not to get off the subject but do you worry about the water line sweating and causing mold?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9861924#post9861924 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HBtank
Kaiser,

Do you have an RO/DI resevoir or do you have the system produce water directly to topoff?

If so, how do you accomplish that?

My top off comes directly from my RO/DI unit. I have a float switch fom AtuoTopOff.com on my sump that lets water in. I have several safety back-ups to prevent flooding. I have a second float switch that will shut off the first if the first gets stuck open or on. My float switch is also hooked up to my ReefKeeper 2 allowing water to be topped off only three times a day for two minutes each time. That way if the both switches mess up, there wouldn't be an immediate flood. At three times a day for two minutes it would take more than a week to get to a flood point. I would obviously catch it by then. And then, I have another back-up called a "Flood Stop". It's a device that has a water sensing panel. The panel is located on the floor inside my stand. If it detects water, then it shuts another valve stopping the flow of the RO/DI water.

Probably more info than you wanted!:rollface:
 
Re: Re: What lengths will you go to automate your tank?

Re: Re: What lengths will you go to automate your tank?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9864714#post9864714 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Harold Edwards
Not to get off the subject but do you worry about the water line sweating and causing mold?

The humidity is not bad here especially in the summer and the water is at room temp., so no, sweating is not an issue.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9863993#post9863993 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by imholte
If you ever sell your house I would love to see the look on the buyers face when they find this. *** is this?

I have thought about that. There would be a lot of work that I would have to do to remove and cover up things that I have installed.

Here's a pic of where my new tank is going. You can see the 4 waterprroof outlets at the bottom and the two up top. There is a place in the middle that goes to my chiller outside and the RO/DI outlet is to the left. Yes, unless I was extremely lucky to sell my house to another reefer, all that would have to go. I don't see a normal family wanting 20 outlets in that location!:eek1:

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