Auto Topoff Again?

[Anonymous]

I am going on vacation for a week in 5 weeks and I need to get a auto top off running ASAP. I will have someine checkup on the tank every 3 days to refill the top off container if needed.

It must be fail safe. I live on the second floor of a condo.

The tank has a sump. The evaporation rate now is about a gallon a day. Will probably increase when the summer arrives.

The sump is a glass 20G high tank.

I would plan on putting a 10 gallon rubbermaid container of some sort near the tank for a reservoir for the RO top off water.

What should I do?
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gremlin seeds

 

[Marcosreef]

http://www.tunze.com/usa/en-gb/dept_129.html

Tunze 3155-000 Osmolator Universal. I used it on my 29 and now have it running on my 75 reef. It's a great system, very reliable and accurate. Check out the link for more info. Premium Aquatics and Marine Depot both stock this unit.

Marco

 

[Chaser]

I've also been battling the topoff issue. My 40gal tank is on a hardwood floor that my wife wants to keep dry (sooo picky!). I've ended up with a redundant system that has worked well for a year now.

I have a 20 gal tank of RO/DI water. I have a powerhead piped to the tank. The powerhead is hooked to a reed style float valve. I've had the valve stick open (with a near miss on a flood), so now I plug the float valve into a digital timer (from Home Depot), set to run one minute, twice a day. I've measured my pump output at 1 gal/min, so this gives me a topoff amount of 2 gal/day. My evap runs about 3 liters a day, so there's a good margin for error. I've found that delaying the topoff to 12 hours has no measurable impact on my salinity.

I also have room for an extra 4 gal in my sump, even if the main pump fails and the tank drains into my sump. So if the reed valve sticks the pump will only add an axtra 1 gal/day, giving me an 8 day buffer zone.

Another lesson learned is that the tube that discharges the water from the storage tank must end at a height higher than the water level in the storage tank, otherwise it will have a siphon effect and continue to drain the storage tank.

Hope this helps, and your floor stays dry...

 

[Boatwizard]

I have a powerhead piped to the tank. The powerhead is hooked to a reed style float valve. I've had the valve stick open (with a near miss on a flood), so now I plug the float valve into a digital timer (from Home Depot), set to run one minute, twice a day. I've measured my pump output at 1 gal/min, so this gives me a topoff amount of 2 gal/day.

Chaser that's the best idea I've heard of lately.
Mind if I steal it and use it on my tank?
Uhhh, I mean borrow, of course.

 

[Anonymous]

Great idea, I am off to get the goodies.

I got a 13 gallon garbage can that I was planning on using for the reservoir but now that you mention the siphon effect I got to figure out what to do.
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Australian Forum

 

[Chaser]

Glad you like it. Steal away.

As for the top-off siphon effect, I put in eye screw in the top of my stand (being careful not to go into the bottom of the tank), and hund the top-off tubing from that with a zip tie. It works fine.

Another trick is to place the ree switch in a non-turbulent place in the sump. Mine is where the top-off water pours ino, and the wave action causes the float valve to trip on and off more.

That reminds me. The suction cup on mine kept failing and the reed valve would fall into the sump, causing it not to fill. This led me to silicone it to the sump wall, and to mark the desired water level in the sump.

Hope that helps.