Auto Top off Container???

Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
hey guys, well i installed my auto top off last night, wow these are really needed on a bigger tank huh!!!!

anyway, all i need is to slide in a container and pour in some RO water, my question is regaurding safety. I know you guys have mentioned certain containers to stay away from. Is rubbermade ok, or is there something in specific i should look for or stay away from???

i was thinking any of these...
18 Gallon Tote Blue Streak

14 Gallon Roughneck Tote

these kind of things ok?
 
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
not sure if i have space for those however, what if i used a trash bin, new of course, so i can utilize the height of the stand?
 
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
ok, just making sure, i know there can be things to look for when storing salt water or mixing salt water, so i just wanted to make sure nothing would harm my toip off water.
thanks :)
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Food grade plastic is always best. You may get po4 leaching from the smaller trash cans. Keep an eye on any new algae issues....
 
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
is there food grade plastic that is big enough for auto top off, i'd love if it could hold a couple of gallons at least. i have an area in the stand that is about 15x10 and as high as the stand, tanks

what about something like a cooler, or large tupperware?
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
I've used all sorts of plastic containers for ATO with no issues. But I've not used ro/di water; I've mixed kalk water in them. The calcium in the kalk will bind with po4 and settle out of precipitation. Thus, I have never had any algae issues. Pure ro/Di water can absorb nasties pretty quickly. Just like soaking new carbon in ro/di; the ro/di will remove a lot of the po4 from it....
 
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
iif i mix in my calcium and alk in the conatiner, is that better, less chance of any absorbtion?
 
Phyxius

Phyxius

Member
I used 5 gallon buckets for my Tunze ATO systems with no problems. I then made a side cabinet to house a bunch of equipment and needed a custom size like you mentioned. I had this made to fit in the spot I needed and it holds 11 gals of RO/DI water and is 8 1/2" x 17" x 18"H. Made with acrylic so no worries about anything leaching into the tank. Granted it costs more but will last awhile
Look for anything food grade and you should be fine and something durable. Nothing worse than a container of RO/DI water splitting/cracking and dumping all out. I know some things made by sterilte are really brittle and crack prone.

Picture_116_Small_.jpg
 
Phyxius

Phyxius

Member
FFrankie,
Thanks. I sent the measurements and idea of what I needed off to a guy in Ohio that someone suggested and was a little aprehensive when he told me the cost (really cheap) but gave the go ahead. I was more than impressed when I got it a few weeks later and the hinged lid was a plus plus the holes for ATO lines I mentioned to him. It was made to fit in my cabinet here:

Picture_09211_Small_.jpg


Snelly40,
Sorry to side track your post some.......
 
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
WOW!, thats nice...
no u didnt sidetrack at all, right in line with what i need.
for the mean time i am using a water jug from my lfs that holds 5 gallons, i used to use it to trasnport RO/DI from the LFS, so i just cut part of the top off it so i could add the pump .

could i ask how much that box cost you? and where u got it?
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
I'm with Snelly on this one! If you don't want to post out in the "open" maybe you could PM us that guys information! Would be a GREAT resource to have for future projects.

Allen :)
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Hey Snelly.. I have a question for you and anyone else who is using ATO.... is the amount of H2O added each day a small enough amount to where there isn't a temperature difference when it's added to the tank? Or is the ATO also heated to tank temp 24/7? The reason I ask is that I top off with pre-bottled RO water and it's at room temp. So I sit it on top of my lid until it's very near room temp and slowly add it each day into either my HOB Fuge (10g at home) or the back chambers of my 12g cube. Just wondering how the slight temp difference is accounted for with the Big Hitters in the reef world.

Allen
 
bluespotjawfish

bluespotjawfish

Well-Known Member
You might also check out pet stores. There are several shapes and sizes of containers that hold food/water for dogs, cats, etc. I found Petsmart to have the best variety.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Thanks for the information Phyxius. Wonder if I should contact them and ask them to sponsor RS as well! Looks to me like it would be an "investment". What ARE the guidelines for requesting this? Maybe THAT belongs in another thread!!

Allen
 
Dentoid

Dentoid

Smile Maker
PREMIUM
BigAl07 said:
Hey Snelly.. I have a question for you and anyone else who is using ATO.... is the amount of H2O added each day a small enough amount to where there isn't a temperature difference when it's added to the tank? Or is the ATO also heated to tank temp 24/7? The reason I ask is that I top off with pre-bottled RO water and it's at room temp. So I sit it on top of my lid until it's very near room temp and slowly add it each day into either my HOB Fuge (10g at home) or the back chambers of my 12g cube. Just wondering how the slight temp difference is accounted for with the Big Hitters in the reef world.

Allen
Click to expand...

Allen there are a couple of factors that come into mind that may help answer this question. First, how big is the volumn of water that the top off is being added to. In my 90 gallon w/ a 15 gallon fuge I don't worry about a big, if any, fluctuation in temperature, so I don't heat my top off. By the time my water level in my fuge drops below the sensor and with the surface area of my sump it might amount to less than 1/2 gallon. These small additions of top off water are not enough to change the temperature of the overall water volumn. One must take into consideration the volumn and surface area of the sump and the total volumn of water in the system. The smaller the system the more apt the temperature is going to fluctuate.

The time of year and ambient temperature of the room should also be considered. My top off tank sits on a cold slate floor and in the winter the water can be much cooler than the tank water. In summer there may not be such a difference in the tank and top off water temperatures.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top