In tank auto topoff?
- Thread starter DonaldMcL
- Start date
Donald, I just wanted to tag along with your request.
I also thought, in addition to being lazy, we would also like to keep our reefs more stable. Evaporation + occasional (even if they are regular) fresh water additions = some system shock, right??
BTW: Now that it looks like the Nurce is gone, anyone care to recomend another product??
I also thought, in addition to being lazy, we would also like to keep our reefs more stable. Evaporation + occasional (even if they are regular) fresh water additions = some system shock, right??
BTW: Now that it looks like the Nurce is gone, anyone care to recomend another product??
I saw a site where a guy did this in his sump but could easily be done in the tank also. It was a water bottle with a 3/16" hole in the bottom that sat above tank level. The hole had airline tubing that ran to a Kent float switch in the tank. He didn't drill the tank itself, just had a piece of plastic with a hole drilled in it mounted in the tank. You could probably use a clip to hang powerheads on the side to attach it to. There are tons of good DIY ideas at about.com
So what you want is for your RO/DI to dump into your tank to make up for evaporation. I wouldn't do that - only because if something failed (float switch) you could dump 50-100 gal of fresh water in your tank.
Here's what I do. I have a float switch in my tank Grainger part number 2A554 that's hooked up to a powerhead in a 10 gal rubbermaid container filled with RO/DI water. As the water in my tank evaporates the float switch kicks on the powerhead and water is pumped into my tank via clear plastic tubing. If you look at the RC site you'll see a DIY section just check out Snailman's DIY for all the info on building one.
Good luck,
Jeff
Here's what I do. I have a float switch in my tank Grainger part number 2A554 that's hooked up to a powerhead in a 10 gal rubbermaid container filled with RO/DI water. As the water in my tank evaporates the float switch kicks on the powerhead and water is pumped into my tank via clear plastic tubing. If you look at the RC site you'll see a DIY section just check out Snailman's DIY for all the info on building one.
Good luck,
Jeff
If you are worried about a switch failing wire them in a series. That way they both have to activate.
As for the RO top off: Its been done before. You need a solenoid valve hooked up to your RO/DI unit. When the float swith kicks on the valve opens, filling up your tank.
As for the RO top off: Its been done before. You need a solenoid valve hooked up to your RO/DI unit. When the float swith kicks on the valve opens, filling up your tank.
RC is www.reefcentral.com, which happens to be my favorite site due to the imense amount of information and the many forums.
That is copied from the Spectrapure site. Does that mean in refills one inch of water, then waits and refills 1" again? If so, I don' think that the stable salinity is acheived.
I would prefer float switches wire in series as well. I would suggest cleaning the float switches once or twice a year. You'd be pretty bullet proof that way.
Louey
Louey":2nqxrman said:
I thnk that is right - RO unit only kicks on when the water level drops an inch. But I have heard the reasoning behind this before (from the guys at Aquatic Reef Systems). Supposedly, everytime the RO starts up, a small amount of impure water is allowed to pass through the membrane. I have seen this when I test my RO output when it first kicks in - very high TDS readings. These readings drop off dramatically once a certain amount (I don't know how much) of water passes through the membrane. This will happen each time your float valve or other water level monitoring mechanism signals your RO unit to start up and process water. Thus, you want to have the RO unit kick in and replace evaporated water as seldom as possible - balancing this with the desirability to maintain constant salinity (as you point out). In other words, you don't want your auto top-off to be set so that water is processed and added to your sump a cup at a time, but rather a gallon at a time - to the extent pratical. This will purportedly have a big impact on the quality of water be produced by your RO unit.
FWIW, I have been guilty of doing the same thing. My system evaporates 3-4 gallons, minimum, per day. I usually only hook my RO system up to my sump at night. This is fine since I replace the evaporated water in a hour or so. However, because I leave the RO unit connected to my sump (via a float valve) at night, the top-off water continues to trickle into my sump throughout the night as more water evaporates. I should get in the habit of disconnecting my RO unit from my sump as soon as it tops it off.
Yes, Spectrapure makes an auto top off system for the RO/DI. Their Liquid Level Control (LLC) uses a barometric tube plumbed into the sump along with a back-up float switch that will click on when the watel level reaches a set point. It's nice to have both in place to make sure you don't over flow your tank.
Here's a diagram of it
http://www.spectrapure.com/huds/LLC.pdf
Here's a diagram of it
http://www.spectrapure.com/huds/LLC.pdf
You always have the slight chance that the solenoid will stick in open as well. In that case it doesn't matter how many float switches are in conjunction. You're just full throttle until you find it.
Like I said this is a slight chance, but one to think about.
Like I said this is a slight chance, but one to think about.
Then go one step further and put your RO line through two seperate solenoids, both controlled by the two float switches that are wired in series.
That is the way NASA would do it. Nothing is truly bullet proof, but you might as well go ahead and try to make it to where the failure of any one single device does not result in dasaster!
Louey
That is the way NASA would do it. Nothing is truly bullet proof, but you might as well go ahead and try to make it to where the failure of any one single device does not result in dasaster!
Louey
I know why the RO waits for it to drop an inch, but why not use a sump tank to hold the water? You would need 2 top off switches, one for the tank, one for the RO. When the tank gets low it drains the sump, when the sump gets 1" low the RO kicks on and fills. Big enough sump and you could cut down on TDS by allowing the RO to kick on later and run longer to refill the sump.
Hello all,
I am very new here and gust getting started in setting up a 55 gallon reef tank. I am thinking of also building something of an auto top off system. At this point my idea that I am considering is to place a small container next to my sump with a float in it. Then use a siphon tube with a check valve to siphon water over to the sump when needed. The check valve would be to keep the salt water from ending up in the container should the sump level rise when the pump is off. As a safety I would add an overflow drain in the container just above the float shutoff level. This way if the float would stick the water would run out the overflow and the water level in the sump would not raise much.
I am very new here and gust getting started in setting up a 55 gallon reef tank. I am thinking of also building something of an auto top off system. At this point my idea that I am considering is to place a small container next to my sump with a float in it. Then use a siphon tube with a check valve to siphon water over to the sump when needed. The check valve would be to keep the salt water from ending up in the container should the sump level rise when the pump is off. As a safety I would add an overflow drain in the container just above the float shutoff level. This way if the float would stick the water would run out the overflow and the water level in the sump would not raise much.
The system I designed uses a container of whatever size fits in your stand (5 gallon plastic gas can, unused of course). The container must be airtight. You then drill two small holes at the highest point in the container(drilled the size of rigid airline tubing). Next you cut a piece of rigid airline tubing about 2" and place within one of the holes you drilled. A second length of rigid tubing is cut so that when placed in the second drilled hole it comes to within about 1/2" of bottom of container. Then you attach a high pressure air pump, like you would use for a deep tank, to the short rigid tubing on the container. Another piece of tubing is conected to the longer rigid tubing in the container. You can have this on a timer which is the cheapest but least effective manner. I have connected my airpump to a Tsunami float switch. Any float switch will do. For further safety the float switch is conected to my Neptune controllers pH module. As the float switch triggers the airpump, air pressurizes the container forcing water into either the sump or the tank ( note that the tubing must run to a location that is higher than the container or else a siphon will be created that will drain the entire container). Since I use kalkwasser as my top off the airpump shuts off either when the desired amount of water has been added or when the pH reaches a predefined set-point. I have used this method for years and it works great. If I plan to go away for a week or more then I use a powerhead in a trash can hooked to the Tsunami due to the need for large reservoir. One other thing, don't have the tubing break the water surface of the tank or sump as this will also create a siphon that will create a huge mess.
The reason I prefer this method as appossed to a "drip system" is that it is much less likely to get clogged by the kalkwasser and it has an advantage over powerhead driven systems in that it adds water at a slower pace so as to create less potential for shocking the tank inhabitants. Good luck!
A simple system used in many commercial applications:
Take the same set-up cediss has (usually a large plastic bottle or tank) with the 2 hard line tubes glued in the top. Turn it upside down and place it so the ends of both tubes are just below the desired water level.
As the water evaporates the end of the tube opens to air. This allows air to flow in the long tube and water to flow out the short tube. This flow stops once the water covers the end of both tubes again and sufficient vaccum is created in the bottle/tank. You'll need to experiment with the hieght of the long tube in the sump or tank. It's also recommended to make the tube that's Short in the Bottle, longer on the outside so it extends deeper into the sump or tank than the tube that's Longer inside the bottle. That way air always flows in the Long tube and water runs out the Short tube.
Hope that makes sense. It's a simple and reliable way to top off tanks. The catch is getting the hieght adjusted the first time around. After that it's basically maintenance free.
Take the same set-up cediss has (usually a large plastic bottle or tank) with the 2 hard line tubes glued in the top. Turn it upside down and place it so the ends of both tubes are just below the desired water level.
As the water evaporates the end of the tube opens to air. This allows air to flow in the long tube and water to flow out the short tube. This flow stops once the water covers the end of both tubes again and sufficient vaccum is created in the bottle/tank. You'll need to experiment with the hieght of the long tube in the sump or tank. It's also recommended to make the tube that's Short in the Bottle, longer on the outside so it extends deeper into the sump or tank than the tube that's Longer inside the bottle. That way air always flows in the Long tube and water runs out the Short tube.
Hope that makes sense. It's a simple and reliable way to top off tanks. The catch is getting the hieght adjusted the first time around. After that it's basically maintenance free.
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