LETS see these DIY Auto Top Off containers

[Raege]

Dollar general trash bin. 6 bucks and a couple minutes with a dremel and good to go.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

 

[RtomKinMad]

We have three water lines directly attached to RO and then go to float valves in all three of our sumps. Float valves are in the sumps. No ATO. The left over RO water goes to 55gal barrel. So far very simple and very easy.

 

[starypotter]

Just got my ATO today, mine's just going to be an 11 gallon trash can I picked up at Target for about $10. It'll fit in my stand when I'm finished building it, I'll just drill a little hole in the lid for a tube to run through so the lid could stay closed.

 

[Crimsonphoenix]

I use a 5 gallon alcohol jug with a peace of stiff tubing inside and an inline shut off valve to gravity feed ro to my sump with an eshopp float. It works great on my 36 bow with 15 sump.

 

[mknightryder]

Been using a 13g trashcan for a cpl years now. I drilled it out and added a lock line fitting for the rodi tubing to attach to. The 13g feeds my AM Kalk stirrer and the smaller 5g jug catches ato. Fill the 13g every three weeks and the 5g once a week... I need to add another loc line bulkhead and drop the tunze pump into the trashcan so I don't have to fill two jugs... Been procrastinating on that though... I figure if I give myself extra space under the stand I'll end up with a remote refugium, frag tank, or a cryptic zone in the added space...;Woot lol

 

[OMGitsManBearPig]

My solution in only a hybrid DIY because I found and am using the Hydor Smart Level Controller on Amazon for about $45.

So, I dropped some tubing weighed down by a couple of airstones zip-tied to the end as ballast to the bottom of the jug.

I found a small pump from amazon for under $8 that takes DC 12v.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0744FWNFR/
I zip-tied this with the pump over and pointing toward the sump in case it explodes, leaks, loses a fitting, and/or otherwise fails.

I scavenged a 12v DC transformer and plugged t into the Hydor.

I zip-tied the outlet tubing to my emergency drain and cinched the crap out of it to restrict the flow slightly ... because it was just barely overrunning the very slow sensors the Hydor controller monitors. I'm sure I could use variable pot on the DC supply... but this solution was field expedient and effective. Pump is dead quiet. Water is audible on purpose. I like knowing its working. Hydor has been 100% reliable so far.

Every 3.5-4 days I do a bottle swap. Easy as it gets for $65.

PICS

 

[mta_morrow]

A little fancy, but it was still a DIY project!

And I am assuming your DIY mesh tank cover is made from NASA grade carbon fiber and is fully retractable and hides behind the tank and is operated via an app that you designed yourself?

Seriously, that’s a nice DIY ATO for sure!

Mike

 

[JBKReef]

23G Slim brute can (right side of pic)
As it’s name says it’s slim and fit perfectly in my limited space and holds a lot of RODI water for my 180G+30G frag evaporation! Just drilled a float valve into the side to connect to my RODI system in the next room over when I’m low. I have a optical sensor in the bottom hooked to my Neptune Ststems ATK to set an alarm off when it’s low. So I never have to move the brute can to fill it! Then built a shelf over the top to conceal it!

Ever consider adding a door panel over hte front of it to keep the sleek look across the whole span?

 

[TessGlo]

This tank was$30 when it went on sale and it fit perfectly into the space I had. It came with a lid I was able to add a gasket to in order to prevent evaporation.

 

[lapin]

After many hours of labor ( 10 min rinse job ) and spending the bank on this (free) here is mine. 15 gallon chemical drum.

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

I made an acrylic 10 gallon top off reservoir that sits inside the web of my aluminum stand. I started with a cardboard mock up to make sure it would fit.

With the reservoir elevated above the sump, I just use a float valve and gravity. There is also a needle valve to regulate the water flow a slow drip in case the float valve sticks.

It also feeds fresh water to my quarantine tank that sits in the stand next to my sump.

 

[George Lopez]

I made an acrylic 10 gallon top off reservoir that sits inside the web of my aluminum stand. I started with a cardboard mock up to make sure it would fit.

With the reservoir elevated above the sump, I just use a float valve and gravity. There is also a needle valve to regulate the water flow a slow drip in case the float valve sticks.

It also feeds fresh water to my quarantine tank that sits in the stand next to my sump.

Sweet set up

 

[Retro Reefer]

My high tech ATO container

 

[ReefWithCare]

Sweet set up

10G Brute can with Tunze pump inside. No drilling was needed. The tubing fits right in and the lid still closes and operates just fine. I love it [emoji16].

 

[Doug B]

5 Gallon paint bucket plumbed directly into my RODI unit using a tunze water controller and a float switch, with the tunze ato. Installed once, never messed with again.

 

[Katrina71]

@cromag27 ever do one? Something slim with a small footprint? 2 gallons? Hint hint

 

[Stpeteshawn]

My ATO began it's life as a Soda Ash bucket from my pool, and a water jug. I could not fit my reservoir under the tank, so this ugly setup sat next to the stand.

This setup gave me about ten gallons of water, and a siphon point that was at the level of the water in the bucket. This siphon point was important, because if it was above the level of my sump, the water would have siphoned.

I eventually painted the bucket black, and the water jug on the top made water additions easy....just like an old fashion water cooler. What eventually happened is that the lid of the bucket ripped.

This was fixed by cutting a 1/2 plexiglass piece to fit the lid.

Next came a cabinet that was on four small caster wheels and could easily be pulled out to change the water jug.

However, what this did was now hide the water jug and I wouldn't know when it needed to be replaced. So a horizontal float switch was installed in the side of the bucket.

This went through a relay to an LED that was installed in the face of my equipment cabinet...that green LED between the controllers.

When the water level drops below the float switch, the LED comes on telling me it's time to add a new jug of water.

Do you have more info on the float switch LED setup? Parts used maybe. I really like that idea.

 

[User]

I made an acrylic 10 gallon top off reservoir that sits inside the web of my aluminum stand. I started with a cardboard mock up to make sure it would fit.

With the reservoir elevated above the sump, I just use a float valve and gravity. There is also a needle valve to regulate the water flow a slow drip in case the float valve sticks.

It also feeds fresh water to my quarantine tank that sits in the stand next to my sump.

Any problems with the float valve?

Have any systems in place to detect if it gets stuck open?

 

[redfishbluefish]

Do you have more info on the float switch LED setup? Parts used maybe. I really like that idea.

I believe all you'll need starts HERE, from post 78 - 80


Now I kept on blowing LED's (too much voltage), so I added a resistor HERE. If I was doing this all over again, I'd simply use a lower voltage wall wart....1.5 to 2 volts.

Let me know if you need any more info.