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rfoote 
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Joined: February 24 2003
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 Topic: New Tank - Autotop Off ideas
Posted: March 13 2011 at 6:10pm |
I am in the process of upgrading to a new tank! My biggest obstacle right now is the autotop off. My current tank evaporate less than 5 gal a week. I just swap out a 5gal bucket every week for the current autotop off.
Issue is, my new tank is twice the size and I won't have room in the stand for RO water, nor do I really want to carry up water every couple of days.
I'd really like to automate the top-off as much as possible , right to the RO source if possible. The biggest problem is my RO is a floor down and unfortunatley not directly below the tank. In addition I don't have a horribly close water source to the tank.
Any thoughts or ideas how this can be done?
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: March 13 2011 at 6:15pm |
I'm just glad to see you are still around!
Adam
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Come to a meeting, they’re fun!
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rfoote
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Posted: March 13 2011 at 6:19pm |
Hey Adam, its good to still be around!
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bfessler
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Posted: March 13 2011 at 7:43pm |
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Well you either have to route water to the tank some way or store water near the tank if you want to do an ATO. Not knowing anything about the space it's going in or what's above or below it makes it hard to give suggestions about routing water to the tank, but I did have the same issue with lack of room for RO water storage in my stand. I purchased a small cabinet that looked good with my stand and kept my storage container and pump in the cabinet next to the tank and just ran a line from my aqualifter inside the cabinet to the tank. I used float switches to control power to the aqualifter. It worked well for me.
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Burt An equal opportunity reefer, I support all hobbyists and organizations involved in Marine Aquarium Keeping. [email protected]
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 14 2011 at 9:24am |
Ryan, What is the current 5 gal bucket swap auto-topoff? Here are my thoughts  1. Run a 1/4" pressurized water line to the RO unit inside the stand. Refridgerator ice makers use this principle. 2. Run the 1/4" RO line through the ceiling/floor to feed the sump through a float valve. 3. Use an electrical float valve in the sump to turn on a remote pump sitting in a storage tub next to the RO unit, with 1/4" line running through the ceiling/floor. One X10 home automation unit would signal the pump to turn on. 4. Relocate the tank to a location closer to the RO water source, so that lugging water is not such a chore. In any case, an automatic shut-off valve is a good idea at the RO unit to shut off the supply water when the RO water pressure rises. Hope this helps.
Edited by Mark Peterson - March 14 2011 at 9:26am
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Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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ReefAddict
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Posted: April 01 2011 at 8:04pm |
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I tapped the cold water under my kitchen sink and ran a line directly down into the basement. It runs horizontally for 25ft to my RO unit in the basement. The RO unit sits directly under my tank and I ran a line up the wall and out of a blank faceplate into the stand where I have an electronic switch on my auto top off. I also have the doohickey that stops the water from being wasted when the solenoid clicks off.
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Will work for frags.
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Computer Technician. MCSE. VMWare Hack, AD Overlord, Apex Neptune Master, Rapid LED Genius and overall Nerd.
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DanhNgo
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Posted: April 01 2011 at 9:20pm |
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if you're connecting directly to the RO for auto top off, my only recommendation is to be careful. I have seen too many tanks where their shut off failed and their SW tank became a FW tank. I like the idea of have some sort of limit in how much your tank will top off. I have a 200 gallon tank I have my top off water last about a week and that's about 10 gallon of water.
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200 Gal Reef
25 Gal Nano Reef
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badfinger
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Posted: April 01 2011 at 9:26pm |
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Wow danh I have a 60 cube and I go thru about 10 gallons every 5 days
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dc
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Posted: April 01 2011 at 10:32pm |
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it depends on your water pressure if its good put it in the basement and run a line up if not try to add a pump. as far as a float the best one is the really cheap one(cant remember the name,sorry) its just a small off white egg shaped float. the kent one is ok to.
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