top off question

[cross]

so my question is, i need to leave for about 3 days and i don't have an auto top off. i also don't have anyone i can trust to take care of it when i'm gone. does anyone have any sugestions? thanks for the help.

 

[poakley723]

What kind of set up do you have?

I just use a simple flot valve attached to my Ro/DI.

 

[returnofsid]

Depending on how much you evaporate, and how large your tank is, you can use tubing, tied in a knot, attached to rigid airline tubing, which is inside a milk jug, with a couple holes in the lid. You adjust flow by how tight the knot is tied. This same system would work with a larger container as well. The holes in the lid are to keep the container from collapsing from a vacuum.

 

[cross]

my tank is a 55g w/ 10g sump. my ro is in the laundry room at the other end of the house. i lose about a gallon a day. would a 5g bucket work for that. i should only be gone 3 or 4 days max?

 

[returnofsid]

yep, will work just fine. I would use it a night or two, while still home, to adjust it if needed.

 

[cross]

cool, thanks. i will probly have to play with it for a few days to get it right. how would i go about attaching the tubing to the air riged air line?

 

[sandswhitson]

The airline tubing just slips over the rigid tubing. make sure that you clip both the airline into your sump and also the end going into the bucket so they don't slip out. Also you will need the bucket to be up on a stand that is higher than your sump so it will siphon all the water out of the bucket.

 

[cross]

whats the riged tubing for? can't i just run the air line tubing in to the bucket and clip it on both the bucket and the sump?

 

[sandswhitson]

The flexible tubing will not stay straight in the bucket it will curl up and wont siphon.

 

[cross]

gotcha, thanks for the help

 

[sandswhitson]

No problem. Glad we could help.

 

[cross]

thanks for the drip top off idea, it works great. set it up this morning and it works great, just need to fine tune it. Q. what would i do with out reef frontiers? A. i'd be lost.

 

[roscoe]

Instead of tying a knot in the tubing you can use a a plastic air line valve. Much easier to fine tune the drip rate. That is what I use to control the drip rate for the kalkwasser top off for my 40b

 

[burning2nd]

www.autotopoff.com

 

[cross]

does anyone know where i can get the air line control valve? like the one on dr. foster & smith website for acclimation. i need it soon and cant wate for shipping. thanks

 

[roscoe]

I'm sure if you go to your LFS they will have it there. Petco and petsmart should have them also.

 

[cross]

thanks for the help.

 

[TWallace]

Your LFS most likely carries some airline valves. Even PetCo and Petsmart should have them.

 

[Bored4ever86]

Your LFS most likely carries some airline valves. Even PetCo and Petsmart should have them.

heck if not you can get a iv drip line from a pharmacy

 

[cross]

heck if not you can get a iv drip line from a pharmacy

do all pharmacy's have them or do i need to go to a special store?