water evaporation question

Dennis1438 · 05/25/2006, 07:22 AM

My water evaporation has been steady each day. I will be on vacation for a few day next month, Does anyone know a way to build something that will feed water into the sump when it gets low. I really don't want to trust a neighbor with the responsability of trying to add water. Any suggestions will greatly be appreciated.

Shooter7 · 05/25/2006, 07:25 AM

There are many auto topoff systems you can buy...or you can visit the do it yourself forum for alot of good ideas. I believe one site is autotopoff.com. I think one of the more popular, yet expensive, setups is the tunze osmolator.

nm354 · 05/25/2006, 07:53 AM

I use a 6 gallon bucket with a dripline. not the most reliable thing but works fine in a pinch. you could also just hook up an RO unit with a float valve, or same idea with a 6 gallon bucket but i don't know if you want to drill a hole in your sump for a float valve.

Fizz71 · 05/25/2006, 08:21 AM

A good auto-top off is your best choice, but if you're really desparate for quick fix and don't want to go the auto-top-off route and you have an RO you can buy a timer like this guy:

..it's normally used to turn sprinklers on and off, hooks straight onto a faucet and is battery operated. I ran one for a few years to top-off RO directly to my tank and I wouldn't reccommend it for long term use..I had too much flooding from manually having to adjust every few weeks and forgetting I left it on!!! ..and one battery failure!

But in a pinch you can set it up to run a few minutes a day..figuring out how long to run it is key...all the floods I had from my setup were my fault, not the timer's, so it should be a good fix for you..just make sure the unit you buy can be set to the minute (or to the gallon) so it can be fine tuned enough.

BTW...I now use a DIY top-off system on electronic float switches and an additional float to top-off my top-off supply from an RO.

Good luck.

--Fizz

05/25/2006, 07:22 AM	#1
Dennis1438 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Palm City, Florida Posts: 63	water evaporation question My water evaporation has been steady each day. I will be on vacation for a few day next month, Does anyone know a way to build something that will feed water into the sump when it gets low. I really don't want to trust a neighbor with the responsability of trying to add water. Any suggestions will greatly be appreciated.

05/25/2006, 07:25 AM	#2
Shooter7 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Tolono, IL Posts: 6,754	There are many auto topoff systems you can buy...or you can visit the do it yourself forum for alot of good ideas. I believe one site is autotopoff.com. I think one of the more popular, yet expensive, setups is the tunze osmolator. __________________ Dave Current Tank Info: 10 years salty - standard 29g reef - moved from 120 gal reef, 2x250w Reeflux 10k's on ARO electronics and VHO super actinics on Icecap ballast, 2xTunze 6060, MSX 200 skimmer, GEO 612 Ca reactor, mag 12 return

05/25/2006, 07:53 AM	#3
nm354 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 344	I use a 6 gallon bucket with a dripline. not the most reliable thing but works fine in a pinch. you could also just hook up an RO unit with a float valve, or same idea with a 6 gallon bucket but i don't know if you want to drill a hole in your sump for a float valve. __________________ "We should make every customer take and aptitude test before they can walk in here."

05/25/2006, 08:21 AM	#4
Fizz71 FragSwapper Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: West Lawn, PA Posts: 5,800	A good auto-top off is your best choice, but if you're really desparate for quick fix and don't want to go the auto-top-off route and you have an RO you can buy a timer like this guy: ..it's normally used to turn sprinklers on and off, hooks straight onto a faucet and is battery operated. I ran one for a few years to top-off RO directly to my tank and I wouldn't reccommend it for long term use..I had too much flooding from manually having to adjust every few weeks and forgetting I left it on!!! ..and one battery failure! But in a pinch you can set it up to run a few minutes a day..figuring out how long to run it is key...all the floods I had from my setup were my fault, not the timer's, so it should be a good fix for you..just make sure the unit you buy can be set to the minute (or to the gallon) so it can be fine tuned enough. BTW...I now use a DIY top-off system on electronic float switches and an additional float to top-off my top-off supply from an RO. Good luck. --Fizz __________________ --Fizz Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).