auto fill or water changer system

[happygirl65]

Greetings!

We have plumbing to the area and my dh wants to have the tank autofill to accomodate evaporation etc.

We have been trouble finding a float small enough to work in the aquarium. Does anyone know of a good place to find these?

Also are there any links about automatic water changer systems?

 

[roka64]

Are you talking for your main or in a sump/refuge? I saw an article, maybe two weeks ago about this. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[roka64]

Are you talking about something like This http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=89574? Also, check with your LFS and see what they have set up.....

 

[ferretttt]

I was able to find a float that attached to the side of my sump from Tractor Supply Co, wheich was designed to be used for cattle water troughs. It cost about 9 bucks and works great!!

 

[SparKy697]

Kind of late but this one looks quite small

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

 

[theotheragentm]

How do automatic fillers work with dechlorinated water?

 

[dscount]

Some people like to prepare water in advance that the auto fillers pull water from. Others prefer to have RO/DI water drop straight into the tank.

Myself, I'm more of the "I'll mix is myself" and then put it in once a week. I've a sump just for that reason to keep the main tank at MAX water level. I can go at least a week maybe even pushing two before I need to add 6-12 gallons to the sump. (All pumps are at the bottom of the tank.)

 

[happygirl65]

Thanks so much guys! I posted and then lost this thread The small one from drfostersmith I think is perfect! We have well water so we dont need to dechlor. that is why the auto fill would be perfect.

 

[leoslizards]

You can get some of the smaller floats on ebay starting at $5 plus shipping. I made a DIY Auto Top-Off System tut a few weeks ago as well.

 

[Ziggy953]

I was going to say ebay but it seems that someone beat me to it.

dscount....How do you manage to keep your SG stable if you allow your sump to drop 6-12gallons over a week to two weeks? You do realize that causes your SG to go up as water evaporates right? I auto-top-off from 32g of RO/DI water as the tank needs it via a float switch on my sump. This keeps my SG at 1.024-1.025.

 

[dscount]

Ziggy - You are correct... It does change my SG if I'm not watching my levels.

Usually I check it before I add the water with my Refractometer. Then based on that I adjust what I'm putting into the sump. IE: 5 Gal mix being added would most likely only have half the salt needed. Like 2-3 gal (In my case 2 1/2 scoops).

Plus. I'm lucky enough to have a small "leak" in the sump area around the hose coming off my skimmer. I just pull that salt off and toss into the next batch bucket.

Works out for me almost perfectly. I've nailed my SG almost each week this way.