DIY Top-off

[fifty_fifty22]

Hi all,

Can anyone direct me to a thread or give me instructions on how to make an auto-topoff system for a 75 gallon tank?

Thanks.

[dattack]

http://www.ozreef.org/diy/index.html#TOP_UP

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/jg/index.htm

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~delbeek/topoff.html

http://www.janetsreef.com/auto.htm

[wickerj]

Check out Snailman's site. He has instructions for buliding a top off system using a float switch. I put one on my tank a few months ago and it works great.
Jeff

[lbussy]

Lookout... three KCers in one thread!

You know I was looking at a DIY Nurce setup. I think that may be how I do it as I have a relatively small water volume and a pump is not the way i want to do it (too much at once).

There's a great thread on it here. (http://archive.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26477&highlight=nurce)

Soon......

Hey Jeff, gimme a shout on the Artistic Aquatics road trip! :) I need little critters!

[kstockman]

take a look at my website. http://home.att.net/~rstockman/index.htm

If this interests you, then email me because I have made significant modifications to the system. Same concept, just a little more fool proof.

[Afishianado]

if your sump is big enough then put a 5 gallon bottle upside down on a stand in your sump. Adjust the height of the stand to place the mouth of the bottle equal to the water level in the sump. Fill the 5 gallon bottle with RO water and presto. I use this on my stsems. I use a 3 gallon bottle on my 29 gallon system, it lasts for about 5 days. THis system works great, I have never had any problems with it. No float switch, no pump, just gravity. When the water level in the sump drops below the mouth of the bottle then the bottle gurgles out some new water raising the level in the sump and stopping the flow out of the bottle. When the bottle is empty I just lift it out, and drop a new full bottle in place. Too easy. If I was trying to compensate for evaporatiopn a 200 gallon system then I might have a different approach, but this is best system I have found yet.

[postenje]

I do what Afishianado does. Very nice simple and cheap. For the stand just use large diameter PVC (4" or bigger), drill lots of holes in it so the water can flow in and out.

Jeff

[Taligent]

Afishianado,

How are you preventing the freshwater from mixing with the system's saltwater? If the two are in direct contact there will be ion flow into the freshwater and a drop in total salinity until evaporation starts to bring it back up to where it was when the bottle was first placed in the sump.


As far as top off, if you maintain a freshwater reservoir it's fairly simple to automate the task. Place a powerhead in the reservoir and plumb it to a ball valve above your sump. Set the powerhead on a timer, and have it turn on a couple of times a day for 15 minutes - from there it's just a matter of setting the ball valve such that your daily evaporation amount is dispensed over the day.

The nice thing about this is that since the evaporation rate of a system is pretty much constant, changes in water level in your sump will not trigger top off - my level changes often with water changes, new livestock acclimation, etc, and it would be a nuisance to need to remember to disable a float switch system until water level is back where it is expected to be.

HTH,
Nikhil

[Afishianado]

The toal area of contact between the sump water and the top off water is a circle with maybe a 1 inch radius. My opinion is that the ammount of chemical and/or Ionic change incurred by this is minimal, especially when compared to the alternative. Even your system requires a powerhead a ball valve and a timer. Mine includes a container of water, which you have to have anyway. My stand is made from basically a stool of PVC, I will post a pic tomorrow.

Chris

[Larry Grenier]

Where's the pic?

[Afishianado]

Here is the overall Top off bottle. This is on the new system that I am currently leak checking/leveling etc. It is exactly the same as the one I have currently in use on the other tank.

[Afishianado]

oops try again, had to resize image.

Here is the overall veiw of the gravity fed top off system.

[Afishianado]

here is a closer view of the stand as it sits in the sump.

[Afishianado]

Top view of the bottle stand. It barely fits inside the 20 Gallon sump. You can see it is touching both sides.

[Afishianado]

Again, I beleive the interaction between the two bodies of water to be minimal at worse case scenario (except of course when the bottles releases water as needed.) I also think that since my top off water is not exposed to Air, it has a more stable PH.

I don't think that this is perhaps the absolute best way to add make up water. It cost a grand total of like $8. For me DIY is about saving $$$, not inventing a better mousetrap.

Next month I plan to add a Nilsen reactor, but that will be separate and apart form the make up water so the top off resivoir should last even longer. My Nilsen reactor plans do not include a dosing pump either, just a circulation pump. Again driven by Cost here, I think I can build a fully functioning Nilsen reactor system for under $30 not including an old mag 250 pump I have laying around( PA sells these for $34.95. So my target is a grand total of less than $75 including the pump to go from a system without a Nilsen reactor to a system with a fully functional one, all equipment included.

Chris

[Afishianado]

I was able to get my hand with the camera in it down and behind the sump so here is a close up picture of the original version in action.

[Afishianado]

!@#$, did it again, here it is...

From the bottom inside the sump.

[Afishianado]

ok and one from the top, you can see that the water level is right at the mouth of the bottle.