# Auto top off



## schaumie2222 (Oct 28, 2004)

If I added a float switch and plumbed it to my water lines, will adding 1-2 gallons every 2-3 days create a toxic buildup of chlorine and will the temperature (cold water) be a problem. I am ocnsidering the kent float switch directly on the side of my sump so that it will come on whenever and not have a reservoir.

thanks in


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## Britnick (Apr 18, 2008)

Chlorine isn't a problem at the level of water you are talking about. Chlorine in tape water usually dissipates with 24 hours and the temperature shouldnâ€™t be a problem either â€" but I am saying this without knowing how big your tank or sump areâ€¦


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Adding the water in a fine jet will disipate the chlorine and take a bit longer to refill the sump.

You can also add a carbon whole house filter to your water line after the meter and before it splits off in different directions. The carbon refill costs about $30 but it lasts 3 months with 6 people and a dozen large aquariums. It removes chlorine and metals from the water.

You can set up a timer to dump water from the tank and then you will have automatic water changes.


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## Egon (Dec 13, 2008)

I just plumbed my tank about 6 months ago and I love it. I haven't had any issues with Chlorine or temps.

This is so simple I whish I did it years ago. Basically I set up an over flow in my sump that drains right to my wife's rose bushes in the back yard. Then I ran a cold water line to the top of the fish tank with a gate valve to control flow. I set the flow to trickle water into the tank at about half a gallon an hour so about 12 gallons a day give or take.

The clean water goes into the tank. (Note: My tank over flow has the capacity for this extra water or the tank would just over flow.) The tank over flow takes it to the extra water to the sump and that over flow goes to the back yard.

No mechanical issues with float valves getting stuck, timers failing. Bonus is if I lose power I still have a little flow through the tank, it might give the fish a little more time.

FYI the tank is a 360 and I have a 55 sump so the percentage of new water is very low


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## cholile (Oct 28, 2007)

Egon said:


> I just plumbed my tank about 6 months ago and I love it. I haven't had any issues with Chlorine or temps.
> 
> This is so simple I whish I did it years ago. Basically I set up an over flow in my sump that drains right to my wife's rose bushes in the back yard. Then I ran a cold water line to the top of the fish tank with a gate valve to control flow. I set the flow to trickle water into the tank at about half a gallon an hour so about 12 gallons a day give or take.
> 
> ...


I have thought of various different ways to do automatic water changes and they each involved different aspects of this. I have no idea why I didn't put two and two together. This really does seem like the simplest approach.

A few questions:

1. At the rate new water is introduced into the tank I assume the fact that the water is cold and has chlorine does not matter?
2. What if the water has chloramines?
3. What I wanted to do was just have a hole drilled in the upper portion of my sump and have a pipe connected to the hole that leads to a drain. If the water level rises to that height (as it would when new water was added to the tank) then water would just flow/trickle from the sump through the hole to the drain. Does that make sense?
4. Does this method lead to a significant increase in your water bill?


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

It was a good question to ask about chloramines. More and more municipalities are using chloramine. The reason is good for you and bad for fish. It is more effective than chlorine because it stays in the water longer, and will not outgas like chlorine.

I don't know if it would be a problem, but it could be.


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## Egon (Dec 13, 2008)

I have thought of various different ways to do automatic water changes and they each involved different aspects of this. I have no idea why I didn't put two and two together. This really does seem like the simplest approach.

A few questions:

1. At the rate new water is introduced into the tank I assume the fact that the water is cold and has chlorine does not matter?
2. What if the water has chloramines?
3. What I wanted to do was just have a hole drilled in the upper portion of my sump and have a pipe connected to the hole that leads to a drain. If the water level rises to that height (as it would when new water was added to the tank) then water would just flow/trickle from the sump through the hole to the drain. Does that make sense?
4. Does this method lead to a significant increase in your water bill?[/quote]

1) The cold water is not an issue. I'm maintaining 80 easily with two 300 watt heaters in the sump.
2) I don't know? I just figured cold water holds more dissolved gasses and less dissolved minerals. By warming the cold water when it's mixed with the tank water this would expel the dissolved gasses faster? Anyway my Angles are breeding like rabbits so that's a strong indicator of the water quality.
3) That's exactly what I did. Just make sure your tank overflow has the capacity to drain the additional water to the sump and try to add the new/clean water away from that drain. You don't want all the clean water to just drain out of the tank. The cold water sinks plus your poring it into the tank so it should go right to the bottom, just keep it away from your sump intake.
4) Okay, so check this out. My wife was going to water the roses anyway. So the water is essentially free. AND ( I told my wife this) the fish water is way better for the plants (wink).


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## schaumie2222 (Oct 28, 2004)

ok to answer an earlier question, the tank is 180 w/ 55g sump

How did you plumb a drain to the outside through the wall, did you go through the bricks or tie into another pipe or what? I have a glass sump as well so I dont think I could use your overflow idea, unless I drilled, which i dont like the idea of really.

I think I am just going to go with a float valve and ice maker line to tie into the copper. Eventually I might get an additional pump for water changes to the nearest sink.


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## zugbug (Dec 12, 2005)

schaumie2222 said:


> If I added a float switch and plumbed it to my water lines, will adding 1-2 gallons every 2-3 days create a toxic buildup of chlorine and will the temperature (cold water) be a problem. I am ocnsidering the kent float switch directly on the side of my sump so that it will come on whenever and not have a reservo
> 
> I used a float switch and tied it into a small powerhead that sits in a 20 gallon rubbermaid tub this is more than enough for week to week and you can add what ever you want into the rubbermaid. The float switch was only $7 pump $19.00. Here's a link on how to do itgood luck.
> [/url]http://www.melevsreef.com/plumbing/auto_topoff.html


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## Egon (Dec 13, 2008)

Originally I built a 1.5 inch drain line through the wall of the house when I installed the tank/plumbing. I would use that to do my 10 or 20% water changes. Draining the tank was easy, I loved it! Then I would drag out the python and fill the tank. 10 to 20% of a 360 gallon tank takes for ever to fill, well it takes longer than my attention span. So more than once (yeah I'm smart) I over filled. Beer + Tank maintenance = wet living room. So I plumbed a drain from my sump to my 1.5 inch drain. No more flooding (believe me I tested this more than once). Then I thought I should just run a cold water line to the tank and trickle water into the tank, no more python = very happy fish keeper.


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## schaumie2222 (Oct 28, 2004)

Ok I see now. I dont think I will be putting a drain in but I would love to have one.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 5607&rel=1

^With that float switch, 1/4" tubing connects to the back of that and when the float is on water will squirt out into where the float is located correct? Or is this something that connects to wires?


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## cevvin (May 2, 2008)

schaumie2222 said:


> Ok I see now. I dont think I will be putting a drain in but I would love to have one.
> 
> http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 5607&rel=1
> 
> ^With that float switch, 1/4" tubing connects to the back of that and when the float is on water will squirt out into where the float is located correct? Or is this something that connects to wires?


look at this link, you see it better.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7481&rel=1


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## schaumie2222 (Oct 28, 2004)

ok thanks exactly what I thought


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## Fishbulb2 (Sep 23, 2008)

Chloramines are typically added to water municipalities at about 3ppm. Using a standard carbon filter block like you might see in a reverse osmosis system will break the chloramine down into chlorine and ammonia. The chlorine will get further absorbed by the carbon block and the ammonia is what will pass through to your tank. It's hard to know what the effect of trickling 3 ppm ammonia will do to your fish. If the water changes are small enough and the tank is understocked/over filtered, maybe the system will handle it fine. Regardless you could go forward with it in two ways:

1. proceed as normal and simply test for ammonia, and possibly nitrate. Start slow of course but this will tell you how well your tank is handling the additional ammonia dump. Remember, you have to use a carbon block though on your feed line or you'll dump in chloramine and not just the ammonia byproduct.

2. go all out reverse osmosis on the feed line. This will cost a lot and waste a lot more water. Seems hardly worth it compared to doing standard water changes with a chloramine nuetralizer.

3. you could just have the tank get filled with the chloramine tap water and set up an Eheim liquidoser to slowly add Prime when you are doing your automatic water change. I could imagin using a solenoid to control the flow times of the water input.

Hope some of that helped,
FB


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## schaumie2222 (Oct 28, 2004)

im going to test the water but will chloramines show up with a test kit?


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## Fishbulb2 (Sep 23, 2008)

yup, it should.


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## schaumie2222 (Oct 28, 2004)

Nitrate- 5ppm 
Nitrite- 0ppm 
Ammonia- 0ppm

Those are the readings from my tap


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## Fishbulb2 (Sep 23, 2008)

Hmm, but you don't have a chlorine test kit? I would just call your local municipality that provides your tap water and ask them. They usually make annual reports available online that would contain that kind of information. But over all, seems pretty good.


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