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Top off idea?

639 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Regalblue41
Has anyone just used a five gallon bucket with a aqualifter or some kind of pump to refill evap an float switch? I have a 40B reef with a glass lid with 4- 39w T5 bulbs. But still get evap plus when skimmer pulls stuff out.
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I use a 5 gallon water jug with a JBJ Auto Top Off unit on my 60G Frag Tank. Works like a charm with an AquaLifter. AquaLifter is a slow pump....but it works. My 300 Gallon has a 60 gallon barrel for RO water....and a MJ1200 pump with Tsunami Auto Top Off float.
same here...my pump is a hydor pico tho.
Has anyone just used a five gallon bucket with a aqualifter or some kind of pump to refill evap an float switch? I have a 40B reef with a glass lid with 4- 39w T5 bulbs. But still get evap plus when skimmer pulls stuff out.
yep. also have used a 20 gallon tote w/ lid containing saturated kalkwasser RO water on my 120.

When the switch goes bad...........well, lets just say I've gone back to a 6 gallon carboy for my top off reservoir.
Sounds good thanks for the help guys.
Forgot to mention I don't run a sump so would that be a issue with float switch?
You dont need a sump to run a float switch Ive seen a few hangers that could be used to hang on your tank. Although I dont know if the surface agitation in your tank is alot it may cause the float to activate more. Just a thought.
I wouldn't think the display tank surface would be moving more than the sump? I mean my sump is ripping and the float switch works well.......until it fails.
About 12 years ago ,I made a few auto toppers based on an ac float switch,for a few of my tanks and a few of my friends tanks,out of all the ones that I made only one failed,because the man I made it for plugged in a power head that required 25 watts of power,and I told him to use a maxi-jet 400,but he knew everything and did not listen...The one I made costs around 20.00 You plug your pump in it,it has a light [red] that tells you that there is power on the unit,also a friendly reminder to turn it off when working on the tank,It has a push button to cut the power to the unit,It has a [green] light to let you know when the switch has been activated,What messes them up is the load on it ,If you use a 5 watt or under pump on one it will last for years and years with no problem,The size of the switch that is inside the float valve is so small that it can not fail in the closed position,The reason why i know this I have purposely plugged the valves into straight 120v with no resistance,just to bust them to see if I could get one to fail and still conduct electricity and I have never had one fail in the closed position a lot of people have bad mouthed the hvac float switches online,I,Found that out just recently because i started doing a little research on a few things, I am learning how to use the computer [what can I say,I finally decided to buy a computer,and actually use it..If I could figure out how to send a picture,that was transferd from a camera by my nephew to this area,I could show you how to make one,and also how it looks.......I will have to get my nephew to show me how.....
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