top off system?

[thomas975]

Any suggestions on an easy way to create a top of system for my 10 gallon nano-reef? Any help would be appreciated.

[NanoReefer53]

buy a mini floatvalve from grainger. Should be around $13 then you just hook it up to your pump.

[Jefe12234]

Hey NanoReefer53, do you you mean a float SWITCH? I've never used a float valve, but I thought they used gravity instead of a pump.

 

I use a float switch with a peristaltic pump. I love this setup. It supplies water slowly, and only when the tank water level drops. If you do use a float switch, I would make some kind of enclosure for it. That way its movement won't be inhibited by snails and algae. I made mine out of 1.5" PVC. It's worked flawlessy for several months now. I can upload a picture if anyone's interested.

 

-Chris

[NanoReefer53]

egh...i meant float switch

[pulpsmack]

I'd like to see it. Any successful DIY project is worth a look.

[NanoReefer53]

once i get my phreakin digi cam drivers

[Jefe12234]

K, here it is.

 

It consists of a tee, a cap, and a street elbow. I drilled several holes in the bottom of the cap so that water can enter and exit. The float switch goes in the top of the tee. I wrapped foam around it to hold it in place. It can easily be adjusted up and down this way as well. It then hangs on the back of the tank. You can tell from the pic which part goes in the tank. I put another piece of foam between the outside pipe and the outside glass to hold the entire thing in place.

 

This works great on my 20 gallon. I'm not sure how it would work on a smaller tank (width of top lip, etc) since I've never had a smaller tank.

 

-Chris

[thomas975]

You guys think a 5 gallon with a tube placed above the tank will work? Just place the tube a little under the water, and when it goes below the tube line water will come out?

[quiksilver5768]

Huh? I didnt really get what you meant by that last post...??

 

Hey Jefe, where did you get the switch and how much did it cost? Im really intrested in this since this summer i will be gone for about 3-4 days at a time and can not always be there to top off my tank. Right now, Im using a waster drip with a siphon and the hose tied at the end to regulate the amount of drops come out. It works well but the container im using is not very big and it must be re-filled with new RO/DI water about every 2 days...

[NanoReefer53]

I bought my float switch from this guy.

http://www.californiareefs.com/evaporation7reef.htm

 

You can buy a whole set-up for $25 or just the float switch for $12.

[Dazureus]

thomas, I think that would work.  You'll have to make sure the tube is large enough to allow the air to pass. but .5" would might do.  To get you straight, you're thinking about a sealed container with one output, the tube, which will hold water and the end of the tube is in the tank water right?  The only thing I would worry about is an ion equilibrium between the two fluids.   Although no water would visibly flow from the bottle-tube to the tank, osmotically, the fresh water might dilute the tank and the tank would make the fresh more saline.  I'm not positive on this, but I think it to be true.

[thomas975]

Yes that was what I was thinking of doing?hmmm that might be a case of diluting the water. Does anyone else have an opinion on this?

[Dazureus]

I'll run an experiment right now.  I just mixed up some very high salinity salt water.  Let me get some slurpies, and I'll invert a bottle of fresh water in if for a while and test it in an hour with my refractometer.  I'll be up.

[thomas975]

Your an idiot! If you dont have any thing good to say. Get off the msg board. This is a fish msg board.

[Dazureus]

Who are you writing to?  I'm sorry if I offended you with my experiment, but I'm running it anyways.  If I wasn't clear, I'm not putting the inverted bottle of fresh water into the slurpies, I'm putting it into the high salinity salt water.  Please clarify your target.

[thomas975]

sorry Dazureus I thought u were making a joke about my question. And you were talkin about some experiment with a slurpy.

[thomas975]

I didnt even notice the name (duh!) and that u originally replied to me.Sorry for the confusion.

[Dazureus]

It's okay, my rhetoric was confusing.  Well, after my little experiment, the freshwater had a SG of 1.002 from 1.000 of course, so there was some ion exchange.  I used a large mason jar to contain the salt water with a SG beyond my readings and placed a plastic bottle with the mouth diameter of 1.25" upside down, full of fresh water, into the mason jar.  I covered the bottle with plastic wrap and removed it when the mouth was under water to minimize direct water transfer.  My experiment is in no means conclusive as a smaller mouth might restrict the interface and more current might increase ion transfer, but from a static point of view, some transfer took place.  Also water temperature would play a vital role in this instance.  Since the tank water will most definitely be warmer than the top off water, there should be a tendancy for the tank water to turn over the topoff quicker and the top off water will drop through the tank faster.

 

(Edited by Dazureus at 4:05 am on April 19, 2002)

[jstewart0]

I got a float switch off of ebay for $9 with shipping.  Just search for float switch and you will find it.

[NanoReefer53]

Quote: from jstewart0 on 9:06 pm on April 28, 2002[br]I got a float switch off of ebay for $9 with shipping.  Just search for float switch and you will find it.

 

Watch out ! If you notice, the bottom piece is metal which will easily rust inside saltwater.

 

Here's a pic of my float switched hooked up to a pump inside a bucket next to the tank.