mutley29 January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 What do you guy's use as your auto top off devices, auto top-off devices float valves timers or ? I've used 2 types so far, The Ultralife float switch and the Reef Fanatic level controller, both of which have caused major headaches with my tank, the ultra life went belly up at xmas 04 due to caretaker fiddling and dumped 50+ gals of RO/DI into my tank and the Reef Fanatic went the way of the dodo today, 1 year after purchasing it. or should i just get a new one of the above and do away with my 135 gal RO/DI holding tank for something safer and smaller. Thoughts welcome Anton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emissary January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 I Teed the line from the RO system to a 40G freshwater resevoir on one end and my sump on the other. That way I maintained level. It did blow up once -- I had left a very fine filter in my sump that I was using to get rid of some particulate matter I didn't want floating around... and forgot the filter was there for a few days. oops. Backed up one side of the sump and the water started getting added to the other. Ran for a couple years without any other problems. Lost 1 fish after dropping SG to 1.013 and raising it back up to 1.025... slowly. No other losses, but I am/was doing LPS/softies. I plan to do basically the same thing with my 180G setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 From what I understand the Tunze top off (ozmolator (sp?)) is the best top off unit out there. For myself I use dosing pumps which are great... set and forget Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rioreef January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 I just use the double float switch from www.autotopoff.com Bottom float to control the level and the second is a backup. Both are connect to a solenoid. This is plugged into a timer to only run early in the morning so I don't here the solenoid switching on/off during the day. No problems since Apr 05. Many options available from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmeyer January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 I have a small (15 gallon?) reservoir filled from my RO with level controlled by a float valve. I then gravity feed the reservoir to my sump controlled by a second float valve. I've had it set up that way for about 7 years and have never had a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeltwayBandit January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 I use the Tsunami AT-1 top off. I would not recomend it for a large sump because it has about a 1 inch "throw" for lack of a better term. In my system that is not significant, but in a larger sump that could cause salinity swings. Decent top off, can run up to a 4 amp pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 Anton, Talk to John at BRK, he setup an auto-topoff with his RO/DI and is tickled pink about it. Swing by and you can see what he did. I have 2 float switches from an ebay dealer, one in the sump and one in a bucket with the topoff water to shutoff the pump when the water was too low. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutley29 January 10, 2006 Author Share January 10, 2006 Will do Bob, Thanks It's finding something reliable thats the problem for me it would appear, i bought the reef fanatic as it had 2 switchs, one would switch the top off pump on/off and the other was a safety in case it got stuck on, but 1 year after i bought it the bottom float stuck on went over the safety and kept going. Sod's law i suppose, things with my tank are getting me down at the moment, think i need to step back, think carefully, sleep on it and think carefully again. Thanks all i'll probably swing by BRK on saturday Anton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikS January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 Hmmmmmmmm....so far....... UltraLife - 5+ years & still works, currently in use as a backup (will change soon) AAOTC - from reeftek, a true piece of junk. It has never worked properly AutoTopoff - 12v latched system. Latched = lower float turns on the unit & upper float turns unit off. This prevents short cycling of the RO unit. Lasted about 9 months before the relay or float failed (hard to diagnose). JBJ Dual Float - can be used a latched or with upper as a safety (flip a switch). It's currently in latched mode w/ the UltraLife as backup. Yep - runs directly from the RO/DI unit, two backups & I've still had a failure due to???? Next plan is a small tank (like 3 gallons) that gets filled from the RO by a timer & then use the UltraLife as the safety. JBJ will be the in sump & revert back to non-latched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craby January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 I find the Tunze Ozmolator is my favorite. It has safety features & design that make it real user friendly & fool proof. - It shuts off after running for 10 minutes & sounds alarm. - It uses optical sensor (more accurate than float switch) as the main switch w/ float switch as back up. W/ the optical sensor there is also no issue w/ calcium build up as w/ float switch. - Roger at Tunze advised that "It has a 2 year warranty against defects, getting the osmolator wet or covered in salt creep is not covered. In general the optic sensor should be cleaned annually. I would place the failure rate over 2 years at about 1 in a 100." All in all I'd say the ozmolator is very reliable. They run around $100, but most of the cost is in the controller & optical sensor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ne0eN January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 I also use Tsumani AT-1. Like BeltwayBandid mentioned - it does have a large 'throw'. I use it on a timer so it only kicks in between 4-5am. This drives a pump in a RO/DI bucket that manually has to be topped off. The pump feeds KalkReactor that has a mixing pump that is also on a timer to mix the Kalk around 2am for 10-15 min. This set up has been running for errrr... 12 hours. :P Will give some more feedback in couple of weeks. -Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folta January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 Ok, I have a question about the float switches.. when they turn on, do they stay on for a period of time? Otherwise you will have it constantly turning on-off-on-off-on-off ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeltwayBandit January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 I also use Tsumani AT-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ne0eN January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 IOh and my RO reservoir is a large rubbermaid barrel that can last about 1-2 weeks between fillings. I still fill that manually, I don't trust to automation a potentially unlimited supply of water. 49709[/snapback] What kind of pump are you running in your RO reservoir? My MaxiJet 900 is too strong it seems. -Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeltwayBandit January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 I run a Quiet One 1200 that has to push water throgh my Kalk reactor and 40 or so feet of 1/4" tubing plus about 3-5' of vertical lift (depending on the level in my reservoir). It is rated for 6' maximum head and I figure I am very close, when the water dumps into my overflow it is a very slow trickle. Works great for slowing down the addition of the kalk and getting good mixing since I add close to a gallon or more per top off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikS January 10, 2006 Share January 10, 2006 Ok, I have a question about the float switches.. when they turn on, do they stay on for a period of time? Otherwise you will have it constantly turning on-off-on-off-on-off ? They can, depends on the "throw" (how far the level drops before it switches) and how much you evap (how fast the level goes down). Also, waves can make it trigger if it doesn't have a "guard". Does it matter? Noise (click..click) - remote sump then who cares you won't hear it Pump - generally cheap, again who cares, toss it in a few months Switch - constant use can wear can shorten the life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tygger January 11, 2006 Share January 11, 2006 I find the Tunze Ozmolator is my favorite. It has safety features & design that make it real user friendly & fool proof.- It shuts off after running for 10 minutes & sounds alarm. - It uses optical sensor (more accurate than float switch) as the main switch w/ float switch as back up. W/ the optical sensor there is also no issue w/ calcium build up as w/ float switch. - Roger at Tunze advised that "It has a 2 year warranty against defects, getting the osmolator wet or covered in salt creep is not covered. In general the optic sensor should be cleaned annually. I would place the failure rate over 2 years at about 1 in a 100." All in all I'd say the ozmolator is very reliable. They run around $100, but most of the cost is in the controller & optical sensor. 49698[/snapback] Where do they sell them for around $100? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutley29 January 11, 2006 Author Share January 11, 2006 Thats what i was going to ask. Cheapest i've found so far is $168 Where do they sell them for around $100? 49824[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folta January 11, 2006 Share January 11, 2006 Have you had any problems with this switch sticking? I think I'm going to order one from this site as well, as it sounds like its all set and ready to just plug a pump into. I defintely like your idea of restricting the top off to a timer for the reason you stated plus you can regulate the amount it can pump (if it gets stuck on). I just use the double float switch from www.autotopoff.com Bottom float to control the level and the second is a backup. Both are connect to a solenoid. This is plugged into a timer to only run early in the morning so I don't here the solenoid switching on/off during the day. No problems since Apr 05. Many options available from them. 49667[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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