Topoff question... for those who tie a knot in their tube to drip topoff water

[AngeloM3]

I'm planning on going away for a couple of days and need to get my auto-topoff working. Seeing that I only need a temporary topoff setup, I'm just going to use a 5g bucket and tie a knot in the tube and drip my RO/DI water in my sump.

Just curious what drip rate is good? Or what drip rate other fellow reefers use for this setup. Right now I'm testing it out at: 1 drip every 2 seconds.

[egdevilboy]

The drip method is never full proof. Id recommend getting a float switch at the LFS. It sits in your filter and once the water gets to a certain level the "floater" will drop and open up the h2o reserve.

[aclos3]

How much do those float switches usually run, I'm going to be getting one soon and I don't want to get ripped off.

[JHemdal]

Figure 20 drops = 1 milliliter, so a bit more than 2 liters a day would be my guess. However, I would not trust the drip to remain constant.

Jay Hemdal

[maddyfish]

I use a needle valve in my top off line. No need for the inaccuracy of a knot. I use the kind that you get for an air line, like the kind you use for an air driven aquarium filter.

[drummereef]

Check out autotopoff.com I use the double float switch. Has worked flawlessly for months now.

[Shoestring Reefer]

Originally posted by AngeloM3
Just curious what drip rate is good? Or what drip rate other fellow reefers use for this setup. Right now I'm testing it out at: 1 drip every 2 seconds.

Everybody's evaporation rate is a little different. You'll have to watch it for a few days to see what works.

[Shoestring Reefer]

I've used one of these $8 float valves for a long time and it works fine in salt water. It's HDPE (plastic) and stainless.

They are WAY more adjustable than my Kents, you can even mount them with the tube connection on the top instead of the side.

[conorwynne]

Just be carefull, as my tank almost overflowed after a week of being away.
Coral were not too impressed either!

[duongtony]

How much should I top off my ( fast or slow)?

[uchiha]

Originally posted by duongtony
How much should I top off my ( fast or slow)?

huh?

top off slowly and consistently (via auto-top off or diligence in manual topping off). when i first started the hobby, i used to swear by the "drip" method and was confident enough to go on a 1 week vacation leaving some top off h2o dripping into my tank. alas, i came back to a tank of death, apparently the airline control valve got a bubble stuck in it or something, and the top-off failed to drip. volume dropped, salinity increased, corals & livestock died. after that experience i never went back to dripping ANYTHING (cept maybe a liter of kalk), but for topping off, if not manually, do it with a float switch.

[tobyp]

just put a saddle valve on 1/4 '' line and ajust a slow stedy drip

[hex]

Keep in mind, too, that the drip rate will decrease over time as the water level in your bucket decreases (less water pressure).

[jaredloo]

I think everyone has had pretty consistent experiences with the drip system. It is to inconsistent, and not reliable. Go with the float valve, that's the best bang for the buck. I'm going on vacation in December for 2 weeks. Very scary. But I'm having some local reef keepers drop in every couple of days to check up on things. If you're going for long, try to find reefers in your area, or train a reliable neighbor.

[Krazy]

Originally posted by drummereef
Check out autotopoff.com I use the double float switch. Has worked flawlessly for months now.

Ditto, Just hooked mine up last week, I bought it back at MACNA...

[Afishianado]

Go with the "float valve", it is by far the simplest, least expensive and most reliable. I am using the Kent one mentioned earlier but that link to the PVC ones look good too. don't mess with the switches and pumps, blah blah blah. Just a good ole resvoir gravity fed to the float valve.