Kessil

Recommendation for Top Off Systems

i got a jbj dual float on sale for like $65 a few years back. comes with a good indicator light and not as cumbersome as the budget floats.

still works as new. i think nanotuners.com has then for $70 right now
 
Tunze has worked flawless for me but it is very expensive compared to others. I tried a JBJ prior to that one and went through 2 of them before giving up and paying the extra cash for a Tunze.
 
Ditto on the tunze, I too bought 2 JBJ's for my 155 that went bad before buying the tunze now I have no worries what so ever.................................it's on my 29 gal nano now :)
 
My friend has a JBJ and it went nut when he traveled couple times. Funny thing is he is still using it...
Tunze cost a lot and I heard that you have to keep the sensor very clean otherwise it doesn't work too well. Not sure if that is true though.
Autotopoff is more affordable and pretty reliable.
 
You could always use a controller as a pass through, and simply have the channel the pump is hooked up to on for a minimum amount of time needed to fill the chamber from dry (+ a few minutes). That's to say if it takes 10 minutes to pump, have the channel open for 15 minutes once a day and that'll be your "fill up" time, now you have a double throw switch of sorts when it gets high enough it'll turn off, but if for whatever reason that fails your controller can turn off the channel before you completely pooch your water.
 
Yeah, I needed to edit what I said once because it made it sound like I was using some timing formula to top off, which as most of us know doesn't work as evaporation is not a constant.
 
I have a Tunze and am very happy with it.
Actually, I feel like it has been on of my best reef tank investments.
On second thought, I really like my skimmer. Oh yeah, My lighting is nice too.
Come to think of it, My tank is on the top of the list....
 
Thank you for the recommendations.
One thing that seems to be a constant is it is better to wait and buy the best equipment possible as pays in the long run.

Mike
 
JAR said:
I have a Tunze and am very happy with it.
Actually, I feel like it has been on of my best reef tank investments.
On second thought, I really like my skimmer. Oh yeah, My lighting is nice too.
Come to think of it, My tank is on the top of the list....
Click to expand...
:bigsmile: :D
 
sfsuphysics said:
evaporation is not a constant.
Click to expand...

True, evaporation is not constant (and definitely not a constant ;) ). However, I have found that the day to day/week to week variation in my tank's evaporation is very small.

As a result, I have been using a controller/timer without a sensor for a long time now without a problem. I have a marking on my sump that allows for quick visual review of how close to ideal my SG is and the top off pump runs twice a day to minimize the daily range. Mine requires minor additional manual topoff only twice a month (or less) and keeps SG to less than a .001 variation. This setup also has the added benefit of being very simple thereby leaving less opportunity for human error or the other catastrophic issues that ATOs sometimes present. Its also very easy to diagnose over the phone when a novice tank sitter thinks something might be wrong.

I fully agree that Mike's solution should alleviate any of the problems ATOs often create and is a best practice. But for a cheaper solution, or even a temporary solution, a decent and reliable appliance timer can be very effective.
 
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