good luck..

UTR, are there any other diy's you have come up with? I built the Radar skimmer, and the battary powered auto top off is on my next list. By the way the skimmer works wonderfull, and thank you for sharing your ideas it helps make this hobby even more fun! Dave

Geeez, I have made a nano-reactor...stands...skimmer...top-off...diy halide with the regent fixture...plenty of refugiums...diy PC striplight (take 3" white PVC and slice it down the middle for a nice reflector)...for the most part I make things when the need them. Like using brochure holders that retailers use...cut them in half, drill them, and use them as overflow boxes. I have made tanks that are almost all DIY...in fact most of mine are. The only things that cant be DIYed are pumps and heaters (nor would they be worth it for obvious reasons). Recently I have had more need for little QT cubes, 3"x3"x4" that hang on the inside of the tank with multiple 3/8" holes drilled through. These make for a good area to introduce new critters...or do things like keep a pesky wandering anemone in...or do your shroom/ric fragging in w/o having the corals get lost. You get the picture.

I am also going to make a 'coral shelf' You know, when you run out of room on the bottom or have some frags you need to keep near the top? Well, it is a 6" long shelf that hangs on the inside, but w/o high side walls so they get alot of current. Nothing too brilliant however...

Otherwise, you will have to just do a search for old posts by 'wetworx101', and see all the crap that pops up.

sorry to beat a dead horse... but these stinkin' Duracell D's didn't even last a full month. Brand spankin' new batteries in this autotopoff, and I'm already on my 2nd pair of batteries.
I think I may wire an AC airpump this week. Oh well... bye-bye batteries.... hello AC outlet.

well duh. haven`t you ever been fishing with one of these things? They only last for like 8 hours.

Something isnt right then...maybe a wire crossed or something. I have been using the same pair of batteries for the last year. Im telllin' you, something isnt right. My ATO comes on once an hour or so for anywhere for about a minute...cant see how anyones could wear out so fast unless there was something wrong with the batteries or wiring. Rather than trash it you could just wire in a 3V cell phone charger like I had shown before...works fine.

naw, wiring is correct... it simply doesn't have enough 'oomph' to push the water up the 3-4 feet up to the tank anymore. I replaced the batteries with the other 2 D's that came in the 4 pack... and there is enough power to push the water into the tank. I guess that they have simply worn out.
Cell charger might be an option though.

Just out of curiosity, not not use the aqualifter pump? It does 1/8th of a gallon per hour, and I am sure it could throttle back a little (Using an airvalve) to make that a smaller amount per hour without putting too much stress on the pump itself.

1/8th gal per hour?? doesn't sound too powerful to me

oops I goofed, it does 3.5 gallons per our, but I am wondering how much you could throttle it back before you start severely stressing the pump...

i'm intersted in buying one for $20. Are you selling them?

What is the purpose of a float switch? I am a newbie..Thanks

how does it work and what is it used for?

I dont know how simple you need this, so please forgive if i make it sound too simple. In a reef, we have evaporation. That evaporation can be dramatic in smaller reefs and hurt the creatures because the salinity goes up pretty fast. So we need a way to add fresh water as it evaporates. As the water level at some point in the system goes down from evaporation, there is a little float with a switch inside of it. When the float is up, the water level is high and so no water is added. When the float goes down, it completes an electrical circuit, connected to a pump of some sort and a tank of fresh water that is activated, filling the tank up with water again until the float rises up and turns off the pump until next time.

Thanks..I never could understand that..But I get it now. Thanks again...

Are you selling these bad boys yet?

If so put me down for one!

I'll order one too, as my DIY skills are craptastic. I want detailed instructions though, since my wife may be hooking this up (needs pretty pictures).

Well I ordered my switches, got a couple of them may add a top up to my FW tank also.. Thanks for the great info!

UTR:
I think the "Radar" that someone used as RadarSkimmer in one of the volumnious posts on your thread should "stick". Your patience and helpfulness border on the superhuman or "saintly". Maybe even remeniscent of the beloved M.A.S.H. charachter.
I have followed the skimmer threads including the 45 page behemoth, and I am very impressed with your resourcefulness and diy capabilities ( tremendously informative ).
I only have 6 mos. on my 30 gallon hex reef. This forum and your threads have opened up more information and avenues of pursuit in reefkeeping than all the research and investigation that I have done "everywhere" else. Thanks, and keep up "the fun"!:teehee:

I agree you deserve a pat on the back. You could be crowned the DIY king.

can someone repost the pics of the auto top off???

http://www.floatswitches.net/autotopoff.html

I came across this while looking for the float switch used in this DIY. This setup is a little more complicated then the one undertheradar (UTR) is walking us through. UTR's setup is just the switch, a battery operated pump, some airline and a reservoir to hold the top off water. I'll work up a simple diagram and post it later. This DIY is still on my to-do list so I don't have actual pics of the wiring with the pump and float switch but it shouldn't be too hard for you to imagine.

Click to view attachment

Here is a pdf of the diagram. If anyone sees something that needs to be changed let me know. I do not have pics as this was drafted up from UTR's instructions.

Great diagram!

Thanks.

When the site got it's new look the old pics that were up didn't come back so I thought I'd do something productive with my time. There are more complicated top off's with a secondary float switch and relay and all that but I didn't want to get in that deep with my project so simplicity is good.

Beautiful diagram wetline....nicely done.

I've been using one of these for 2 years on my main tank

I'll be adapting the float switch to this pump on one of my nano's


Vacuum water pump

I have it on a true floatswitch 110 setup pumping water from a 30g drum into my sump in the garage, works great, pretty sure it's just like an airpump, but made for water

I am not able to see any of the pictures....no clue why but i cant. I do understand the concept and i do love the diagram drawn above. But could somone post a pic or a link to a pic, that shows the bracket that holds the float switch?

I finally got a chance to set this up on my tank. I don't have a sump so the float switch goes in the display, and my powerheads ripple the water and cause the float switch to bob up and down causing the air pump to constantly turn on and off. I placed the float switch in the least turbulent place, but it still does this. Any ideas for a solution other than having less flow in the tank?

make a waveguard for it. Take a pill bottle and drill holes in the bottom. Put your floatswitch in there, with the pill bottle half in, half out of the water. The level will match the rest of your tank, 'cause the water will flow up through the holes in the bottom of your tank, but you won't get any waves.

HTH

so that vaccume water pump, is that powered thu ac plug? or by batteries?

Very cool and useful DIY!
Anyone have any of the original pics saved? They are not showing up any longer. Thanks.

Being that email notification is working for me again...just let me know..I can post any pics you like from the original 2 models now...they are no longer in use but could be dug up for a photo op!

I just took down the 2nd one last week...moved my 10g+sump to a 15L with integrated sump & full glass tops so the ATO is not needed...but when I swap out the lights for halides in a week or so the glass will be removed and I will need the ATO again. So no need to worry...they work fine and all...for a long time even (I finally bought new batteries after a year and a half of using the old ones that were half dead in the first place).

On the new setup, I will have an alternative way to use the air pump to top-off. Rather than use the pump for pure pressure on a 1g jug, the pump can power an airstone attached to a 'lift-tube' in a bucket or other non-sealed container. This would mean that the pump would instead 'bubble-up' water into the tank. This means you could use any size res you want...a 10g, 20g, whatever.

Yes, pictures would be a great help. Thanks!

Have you thought about wiring up to a mini fountain pump instead? Then the container doesnt even need to be air tight :-)


Check out this little DC sucker....
http://www.mainlandmart.com/aquapump.html

Low voltage 4 speed water pump with 12V AC to DC transformer.
46 GPH.
Size: 1.25"x1.5"x1"(H),
Price: $15.95/each
Shipping included

sounds like an interesting design, I had made the battery powered one and I love it! No need to worry about top offs any more, just refill the jug every week. Definately like to see how this other design will work.

Its really basic. I use the air pump as an air-lift...like for an undergravel lift tube, only narrower to help push water up better when I need to. I simply have a bucket next to the tank / sump and rather than using pressure from a 1g jug, I use an air-lift from a 7g bucket.

where did you find your cheap float switch? I can't find them on nanotuners.

www.floatswitch.net

Now I really think I'm going to add one of these to my upcoming 5.5AGA. Sweet way to simplify and cut cost/maintnence.

I can't find on their website where to order one.

Click this link http://www.floatswitches.net/index.html
Then click the add to cart button.

Great project, thanks for posting.

One question, please.

What are you guys using for make up water storage for the air pump? I want something in the 5 to 10 gallon size.

Thanks ....

how does the switch turn on the pump? How did you wire it? I'm interested of making on because i'm sick of toping water.

When the water evaporates the float drops which closes the switch and starts the pump.

refer to the pdf diagram for the wiring
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...pe=post&id=1366
originally posted on page 7

where can i get the switch you have?

What container do you use to store the top off water?

he used a water bottle.

I am seeking something in the 5 gal size range and transparent.

Eh... where can i get the switch you have?