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drip rate for top off?


siskiou

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I set up a simple top off with a one gallon jug, some airline and an adjustable irrigation dripper.

 

Am trying to figure out the settings.

 

Right now I have it set for 1 drop per second (I have about 1/4 of a gallon of evaporation per day).

 

Has anyone figured out how many drops there are to a gallon?

 

I searched and found a few websites, but they can't agree on how many drops are in a milliliter, which makes it hard to do the math. :unsure:

 

Or maybe I'm getting way to analytical and should just watch my tank for a few days and change settings until it looks right????

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Thanks for the plug:D.

 

Drip count will vary heavily depending mainly on tube internal diameter and gravity will play a roll too. It'll drip faster the more full the container is.

 

The best way to do this IMO is to:

 

--Set a drip rate...

--Count how many drops per minute occur...

--Mark your container at the 1/8 gallon or 1/4 gallon or whatever...

--Start dripping the system at the top of an hour (probably a weekend) and see how much time (in minutes ideally) it takes to drip 1/8 of a gallon or whatever you chose.

--Multiply your drips per minute by the time it took to drip 1/8 gallon and multiply that by 8 to get drips per gallon on your individual setup.

 

It'll take some time but it's accurate to your particular setup.

 

Cameron

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About 20 drops/ml of water *roughly* .......Along with all the stuff that physh mentioned........the amout of dissolved solutes (Kalk, Buffer, etc) in the water will cause the 20drops/ml to vary as well.

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Thanks for the info, all!

 

I seem to have hit the correct drip rate pretty well right off the bat.

 

It's stayed at the correct level over the last 24 hours :)

 

At some point in the future I'll probably go for a float switch type top-off, but for now this system serves its purpose for just a couple of bucks!

 

Siskiou

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