AUTO TOP OFF
- Thread starter omega1213
- Start date
TimSchmidt
New Member
I have an aquahub.com setup. I am currently transfering things from my 90 gallon to my 28 gallon so I don't have it hooked up yet. But when I have mine back in the tank I can snap a photo for you.
How about a mental picture for now :thinkerg
I have a 28g open top Eco mini this should give you an idea of what things look like.
http://ecominiaquarium.com/
As you can imagine with the open top and a fan blowing across the water evaporation is a major issue and manual top off was just getting to hard of a chore to do. Sometimes to little RO sometimes a bit much and SG swings were not to my liking especially in summer.
After quite a bit or research and serious consideration about a "do it yourself" top off system, (there are lots of DIY threads out there), I decided to drop the $ and get a Tunze 3155. Next to my powerhead it is the best money I have spent on the tank to date.
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~ ... tab~1.html
My other consideration was the JBJ topoff.
The things that I like about the Tunze are 2 different types of sensors. The sensor to start the topoff is an infrared sensor and the back up safety sensor is a float. There is an additional feature that if the pump runs for 10 min it automatically shuts off. So in a way you have 2 overflow backups. After reading a lot about float sensors getting stuck I find this comforting. Im paranoid about flooding :roll:
The system itself is a downright nightmare to set up. At least I found it to be so. The instructions are virtually useless. Maybe Im a little slow but I spent an entire day on setting it up and fine tuning it. However once set up and fine tuned its a dream come true. My water level never really fluctuates as it gets topped off in small increments all day long. The sensor is very sensitive so there are no big topoffs.
Some notes on the set up. The tank I have has 5 chambers in the all in one. The skimmer sits in chamber 2. I initially set up the Tunze sensor in chamber 3. Turned out to be a mistake as the bubbles from a skimmer can sometimes stick to the sensor and trigger it to start filling. After moving the sensor to chamber 5 where the return pump is I have never had any sensor issue. So a good idea is not to place it near a skimmer.
Second note is the water return line I had going to chamber 1 to better mix the water and acclimate the temp better as well as airate it before letting it in the tank, at least that was my thinking. That was also a mistake on my part. Place the return line back into the chamber where you have the sensor. Reason being it takes a while for the water level to equalize and sometimes you can pump a little extra RO if the return line is far away. I find it to be much more precise having the return water flow right by the sensor.
Thirdly I have the float back up sensor in chamber 5 as well as the main sensor and water return. Upon testing I found that should something get stuck the back up sensor will trigger much sooner then if it was in a different part of the tank.
Though Tunze makes a water basin I found it cheaper to just go to the store and buy a plastic dog/cat food holder with a rubber seal lid. I cut a hole the diameter of the pump so I can lift the pump in and out of the basin as needed without having to disassemble the tubing. Trust me it saves a lot of grief later on :tong:
A note on the basin. You are much better off to get a tall thin basin rather then a short wide basin. My topoff basin holds 3g of RO but I only fill it with 2g. Assuming something goes horribly wrong my tank can hold the additional 2g without flooding though the critters may not be to thrilled with the SG swing. I need to refill my basin once every 1 to 2 weeks depending on the time of year.
Its a good idea to clean the sensor periodically. I clean my sensor with every water change but its very simple. Just run your finger over the sensor and you are done. I also trigger the back up sensor manually to make sure its working with every water change as well. Sometimes the sensor out of the box has a thin slick film on it from manufacturing which might cause the sensor not to read properly right out of the box. Simply use a little warm water and dish soap clean the sensor and it works fine. This is only on the initial set up right out of the box.
One final note. If the pump has to pump a long way. In my case 4 feet. You may need to prime the pump initially. Either suck on the tube to get the flow going and air out of the line or sometimes placing your finger over the intake of the pump does the trick.
So far this unit has given me a great piece of mind, its very precise and works like a dream.
:award:
I have a 28g open top Eco mini this should give you an idea of what things look like.
http://ecominiaquarium.com/
As you can imagine with the open top and a fan blowing across the water evaporation is a major issue and manual top off was just getting to hard of a chore to do. Sometimes to little RO sometimes a bit much and SG swings were not to my liking especially in summer.
After quite a bit or research and serious consideration about a "do it yourself" top off system, (there are lots of DIY threads out there), I decided to drop the $ and get a Tunze 3155. Next to my powerhead it is the best money I have spent on the tank to date.
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~ ... tab~1.html
My other consideration was the JBJ topoff.
The things that I like about the Tunze are 2 different types of sensors. The sensor to start the topoff is an infrared sensor and the back up safety sensor is a float. There is an additional feature that if the pump runs for 10 min it automatically shuts off. So in a way you have 2 overflow backups. After reading a lot about float sensors getting stuck I find this comforting. Im paranoid about flooding :roll:
The system itself is a downright nightmare to set up. At least I found it to be so. The instructions are virtually useless. Maybe Im a little slow but I spent an entire day on setting it up and fine tuning it. However once set up and fine tuned its a dream come true. My water level never really fluctuates as it gets topped off in small increments all day long. The sensor is very sensitive so there are no big topoffs.
Some notes on the set up. The tank I have has 5 chambers in the all in one. The skimmer sits in chamber 2. I initially set up the Tunze sensor in chamber 3. Turned out to be a mistake as the bubbles from a skimmer can sometimes stick to the sensor and trigger it to start filling. After moving the sensor to chamber 5 where the return pump is I have never had any sensor issue. So a good idea is not to place it near a skimmer.
Second note is the water return line I had going to chamber 1 to better mix the water and acclimate the temp better as well as airate it before letting it in the tank, at least that was my thinking. That was also a mistake on my part. Place the return line back into the chamber where you have the sensor. Reason being it takes a while for the water level to equalize and sometimes you can pump a little extra RO if the return line is far away. I find it to be much more precise having the return water flow right by the sensor.
Thirdly I have the float back up sensor in chamber 5 as well as the main sensor and water return. Upon testing I found that should something get stuck the back up sensor will trigger much sooner then if it was in a different part of the tank.
Though Tunze makes a water basin I found it cheaper to just go to the store and buy a plastic dog/cat food holder with a rubber seal lid. I cut a hole the diameter of the pump so I can lift the pump in and out of the basin as needed without having to disassemble the tubing. Trust me it saves a lot of grief later on :tong:
A note on the basin. You are much better off to get a tall thin basin rather then a short wide basin. My topoff basin holds 3g of RO but I only fill it with 2g. Assuming something goes horribly wrong my tank can hold the additional 2g without flooding though the critters may not be to thrilled with the SG swing. I need to refill my basin once every 1 to 2 weeks depending on the time of year.
Its a good idea to clean the sensor periodically. I clean my sensor with every water change but its very simple. Just run your finger over the sensor and you are done. I also trigger the back up sensor manually to make sure its working with every water change as well. Sometimes the sensor out of the box has a thin slick film on it from manufacturing which might cause the sensor not to read properly right out of the box. Simply use a little warm water and dish soap clean the sensor and it works fine. This is only on the initial set up right out of the box.
One final note. If the pump has to pump a long way. In my case 4 feet. You may need to prime the pump initially. Either suck on the tube to get the flow going and air out of the line or sometimes placing your finger over the intake of the pump does the trick.
So far this unit has given me a great piece of mind, its very precise and works like a dream.
:award:
TimSchmidt
New Member
Very nice write up!
kv2wr1
New Member
I don't have pics but I bought mine here: http://autotopoff.com/?gclid=CK-X-ML015oCFRLoxgodjFNoGQ
I don't have my tank up and running yet but basically I'm going to have a 5 gallon bucket of ro/di with a pump in it. Then connected to the pump will be 8 feet of clear tubing. The tubing will be fastened with zipties and panduits until it gets to the tank. Then it will go into one of the chambers of my aquapod 24.
I've tested the auto top off out and it works really slick.
I don't have my tank up and running yet but basically I'm going to have a 5 gallon bucket of ro/di with a pump in it. Then connected to the pump will be 8 feet of clear tubing. The tubing will be fastened with zipties and panduits until it gets to the tank. Then it will go into one of the chambers of my aquapod 24.
I've tested the auto top off out and it works really slick.