Another top off question

[linty]

Okay, I was thinking, since I have a ton of air pumps lying around this may or may not be a good idea.  

 

If I have the air pump hooked to a float switch, and going in to a 5 gallon container on the floor, and a tube leading out from the container into the tank, I'd seal the top of the container so pumping air in should force water out and into the tank.  My question is, would this become less effective (require more pumping) when the container is low on water?  And would I need a very high powered air pump?  I'd love to use this method since I can get 5 gallon jugs of distilled water for 3$ (canadian) and I could put them out of the way somewhere.  

 

My other concern is with the float switches.  I don't like the idea that if a switch gets stuck "on" then I'd end up pumping about 5 gallons of water on to my desk, not to mention probably killing everything in the tank by diluting the water too much.  How much faith can I put in one of these switches?  Or how could I minimize the consquences of the switch failing?  

 

(Edited by linty at 10:48 am on May 29, 2002)

[flaunt]

this might be worth a try, but as with nearly all top off systems, there's the possibility of a part failing and overflowing your tank.  someone posted over on the main forum a link to a system that works off the siphon principle and stands probably the least chance of failing.  of course, that system requires that the top off water container be above the aquarium or sump into which it is dumping.

 

With the system you're talking about, you'll have to ensure that the container you use is easily opened/resealed, and i would think that as the water is evacuated from the container the pump would have to do an increasing amount of work.  also, when the container is unsealed and resealed, there's probably a certain amount of time that the air pump has to go before water will start being forced out.  if you try this i'd be interested to know how well it works!

[Jefe12234]

You're method sounds like it would work. I don't think you would need a very powerful pump, but I've never tried pumping water with an air pump so I'm not sure. One nice thing is that it would pump the freshwater in slowly, as opposed to a powerhead which could shock your animals with a blast of freshwater.

 

I've tried the siphon method that Flaunt mentioned as well. It works, but you need a glass container (like a carboy). Even rigid plastic deforms somewhat under pressure. Also the siphon tube needs to be held in position very precisely.

 

As for the float switch, this is what I currently use along with a peristaltic pump. Here's a thread where I discuss it along with a pic of the PVC enclosure I built to keep snails and algae away from the switch.

 

-Chris

 

(Edited by Jefe12234 at 3:09 pm on May 29, 2002)

[linty]

I guess the only thing stopping me is that I'm very hesitant to trust something with moving parts, and the consequences of the switch failing could be very serious.  (my tank sites by my monitor, my 300$ comp speakers, two computers, and a few other precious things.  I could always put a hole in my tank near the top with a tube leading to an empty 5 gallon jug.  Still, I'd end up losing probably everything in the tank to salinity shock.

 

Are there any more reliable alternatives to float switches?  or are float switches themselves pretty trustworthy?  

 

I'm starting to wonder if I might just want to top off the tank the old fashioned way

[flaunt]

well if you're paranoid you might just do it the "hard way."    lazy man's way it more fun, sure, but when there's so much at risk, it might not be worth it.  i was just thinking about how everyone worries about these types of devices overflowing their tanks...  maybe you could somehow rig up a second float such that if the float switch got stuck and the water level rose to a height greater than what you expected, it would trigger a different cutoff switch or valve of some type?  sure this second float could also fail, but it's better than just relying on one float to always function.  that was just a random thought, but it might be something to think about.

 

there is another possibility that my dad recently mentioned to me, but i'm not sure it would be feasible with a nano.  his idea was to use the "water cooler" device, take out the spring or whatever it is that holds the valve in the up position (such that no water comes out and into the cup).  then have a float of some sort in the sump or tank that when it rises to a predetermined height will push the valve to the up position and shut off the water flow.  when the float moves down some due to evaporation, of course the valve would open up and drain some water into the aquarium.  i thought this was a really cool idea since it would be easy to just refill the jug with water and pop it back into place.

 

you know the more i critically think about automatic top off systems, the more self-defeating they seem.  i don't know, i guess this criticism doesn't apply if you don't do water changes, but if you do, you have to have some way of disabling the top off system so that as you're siphoning out water it doesn't replace it with freshwater!  issues, issues...

[NanoReefer53]

you can encase the float switch or clean it very often to prevent the switch from getting stuck. I keep mine away from the wall to prevent snails from hanging on it. To encase it you just get a PVC pipe and do some mods to screw it in there.

[linty]

yeah, I have nowhere above my tank I could put a container, and I worry that the floats would get salt deposits and get stuck.  I'm gonna just stick with the hard way I guess.  I don't wanna lose sleep over something designed to make life easier for me

[JeffD]

hi guys, new to the forum here but thought i would pipe (pvc) up

I have a 10 gallon nano soon to be a 20 gallon and needed to come up with a more automated way of top-off due to being away on weekends. I decided to build a nurse type gravity fed syphon unit. After playing with it for about a week i finally got it tuned. I use a plastic 5 gallon culligan type water container, a rubber stopper i got from a local winebrew shop and it works perfect. Yes you do need to have the bottom of the 5 gallon container level with the the tank level you want. 4 gallons of water in the container does my 10 gallon for quite a few days and no parts or switches to stick.

no worries, Jeff

[scobri]

does anyone have any experience using an IV tube hooked up to some sort of resevoir to use as a top off method?....I have the IV tube...was thinking about using a one gallon plastic jug....hooking the tube up to the bottom..and sealing the edge with silicone...that way I can still unscrew top and fill when needed....

hope that explanation is clear enough...

[vanillabox]

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic.cgi?...ic=3224&start=0

here is the link to the previous post with the information.