$30 Gravity fed auto topoff system

[FugeTown]

here's an auto topoff system I'm currently building. I fastened a shelf to the wall with a couple of brackets I had in the garage and I installed the bulkhead fitting in the cheap DIY 2gal Walmart resevoir. The silicone needs 48 hours curing time before I can fill up the reservoir so stay tuned for the complete setup.
Parts -
float style auto topoff $18
5 pack 1/4" quick connect bulkhead fittings $7
Walmart container $5
I had the silicone,brackets, plywood and airline tube available which is really cheap stuff if you had to buy it.

 

[Diesel]

Great project.
Many were before you.
With the use of a free 5 gallon salt bucket and a $8 adjustable float valve for sump you'll have money left for a coral or two.

Just make sure you clean that float valve every week from debris and what not more can come between the seal that could make RODI water keep flowing into your system.

It's a cheap but fun project but to many fail saves.

 

[FugeTown]

Ive had the electric diy version which the float switch sat in the salt water and every month or two if you don't clean the float switch the pump would get stuck on pumping gallons of water in your tank, a royal pain in the butt(not to mention my sketchy electrical skills could be a fire waiting to happen). This system is going to be way more effective, my buddy has one and the float has been working flawlessly for 6 months now so I'm sold. See the float ATO is more less a drip type auto top off system which keeps your salinity constantly stable ( I know someone is gonna chime in on that comment lol) which is what corals thrive on , stability. I know I'm not the first person to use this system but it's my design that I came up with using the gravity method and I'm sure you'll appreciate how the finished product looks which I'll post it probably on Monday. Thanks for the tip though I'll make sure to clean the hinge out every once and a while so no dust or debris causes the float to stick open.

 

[Diesel]

Hey, if it works for you why not.
I had this system in the 80's and it worked to certain level.
Have tried many ATO's after that till Tunze came out with the existing one about 5 years ago.
That thing is just amazing.
But I'm looking forward to your DIY ATO and many other hobbyist as well as I promote the DIY part.
Great job, awesome thread.

 

[FugeTown]

I know this is off topic of the post but reefing in the 80's had to be difficult compared to today with all the new fancy equipment and information on the internet.

 

[George Lopez]

I love my diy siphon set up... it was cheap and it works great. Never had to clean the float though not in a year at least.

 

[FugeTown]

I love my diy siphon set up... it was cheap and it works great. Never had to clean the float though not in a year at least.

Heck yea low maintenance low cost

 

[George Lopez]

The only thing that i did different because ts a siphon style is added an air hose y right by the float with a house and air valve to create the siphon if it runs dry

 

[mcarroll]

I know this is off topic of the post but reefing in the 80's had to be difficult compared to today with all the new fancy equipment and information on the internet.

Aquarium History is an interesting thing. The first thing that hit me when I was researching that article was that all of our technology is a useless distraction.

 

[cracker]

wrong thread

 

[FugeTown]

The only thing that i did different because ts a siphon style is added an air hose y right by the float with a house and air valve to create the siphon if it runs dry

Mine won't need a siphon the reservoir outlet is higher than the float switch so the top off water should naturally be fed to the float switch.

 

[FugeTown]

I know it's not the most happening project on reef2reef but here are the pictures of my finished Diy auto top off system. I'm really happy how it came out and it's working real good so far plus the new canopy I built hides all of it real nice.

 

[FugeTown]

Just a little update, the auto topoff system is working perfect and I couldn't be more happy with it now that I don't have to pour water in every morning and night to keep the tank water level up. It drips really slow& steady and the reservoir holds enough water for up to 4 days which is nice. I took a pic of the reservoir too cause it looks really cool glowing from he T5's.

 

[zachxlutz]

Looks nice. I wonder if you'd need to limit light exposure to your top off water to prevent algae/mold/undesirables growth. I haven't had to consider as my ATO water is kept in a sealed 5 gallon bucket in a cabinet with no light.

 

[FugeTown]

Looks nice. I wonder if you'd need to limit light exposure to your top off water to prevent algae/mold/undesirables growth. I haven't had to consider as my ATO water is kept in a sealed 5 gallon bucket in a cabinet with no light.

Nah there's no nutrients in the topoff water for algae to grow.

 

[FugeTown]

Looks nice. I wonder if you'd need to limit light exposure to your top off water to prevent algae/mold/undesirables growth. I haven't had to consider as my ATO water is kept in a sealed 5 gallon bucket in a cabinet with no light.

If it does occur which I'm sure it won't I'll just spray paint it black but I'm sure algae won't grow if your theory was true all the water in the supermarket wouldn't be in clear containers.

 

[Greybeard]

Back in the day, I had one just like it. As others have mentioned, keep an eye on the float valve. They can (do) get stuck. Looks as if your reservoir is small enough that it wouldn't really hurt anything if you dumped the entire volume into the tank, which is the easy way to eliminate the issue.

Nothing wrong with simple!

 

[FugeTown]

Back in the day, I had one just like it. As others have mentioned, keep an eye on the float valve. They can (do) get stuck. Looks as if your reservoir is small enough that it wouldn't really hurt anything if you dumped the entire volume into the tank, which is the easy way to eliminate the issue.

Nothing wrong with simple!

I'll make it a maintenance routine to clean the float, hose and reservoir once a month to keep that from happening. I love how simple it is and plus it save me an extra outlet for my future chaeto reactor project ;Bookworm