Wine bottle as ATO?

[Azedenkae]

Hey guys. I have a Nuvo20 and will be away for 7.5 days. My main concern is that water levels may drop in the back chamber and damage the heater and return pump.

I tested filling it to the brim and found that it was able to make the 7.5 days, barely. But like it is really, really, really close. Unfortunately I can't get a proper ATO unit right now (and test it and all that) before I fly out. I have a 1.5 litre wine bottle (shhhhhh lol) that I was thinking of just filling with water and inverting it into the back chamber. The idea is, once water level drops low enough, that will expose the bottle to air and water will drain out while air drains in. I tried this with a plastic bottle before, but it seemed like my water flow or something is so strong that it actually just straight up sucked water out of the bottle even without exposure to air, and the bottle collapsed upon itself. :O

The glass bottle should be rigid enough to prevent this, and would only dispense water when water levels are low enough. My worry is how to actually get the bottle to sit in the chamber without falling over (especially when water is released from the bottle, which I imagine would cause some degree of shaking).

Any recommendations?

 

[Uroplatus]

Hey guys. I have a Nuvo20 and will be away for 7.5 days. My main concern is that water levels may drop in the back chamber and damage the heater and return pump.

I tested filling it to the brim and found that it was able to make the 7.5 days, barely. But like it is really, really, really close. Unfortunately I can't get a proper ATO unit right now (and test it and all that) before I fly out. I have a 1.5 litre wine bottle (shhhhhh lol) that I was thinking of just filling with water and inverting it into the back chamber. The idea is, once water level drops low enough, that will expose the bottle to air and water will drain out while air drains in. I tried this with a plastic bottle before, but it seemed like my water flow or something is so strong that it actually just straight up sucked water out of the bottle even without exposure to air, and the bottle collapsed upon itself. :O

The glass bottle should be rigid enough to prevent this, and would only dispense water when water levels are low enough. My worry is how to actually get the bottle to sit in the chamber without falling over (especially when water is released from the bottle, which I imagine would cause some degree of shaking).

Any recommendations?

What about this?

 

[Azedenkae]

What about this?

I have seen this before, but would it have the same issue as when I just straight up placed an inverted plastic bottle in the back chamber? Or would the tubing prevent this? I am not even sure how my problem arose in the first place (physics is not my forte lol), but given that the product suggests an evian bottle can work, it should be fine right? XD

Have you or someone you know used this with success?

 

[Uroplatus]

I have seen this before, but would it have the same issue as when I just straight up placed an inverted plastic bottle in the back chamber? Or would the tubing prevent this? I am not even sure how my problem arose in the first place (physics is not my forte lol), but given that the product suggests an evian bottle can work, it should be fine right? XD

Have you or someone you know used this with success?

No I have not but it has a bunch of good reviews

 

[Azedenkae]

No I have not but it has a bunch of good reviews

Fair enough. Gonna measure the glass thickness and if it works out, order it. It will arrive Tuesday so yay. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Uroplatus]

Fair enough. Gonna measure the glass thickness and if it works out, order it. It will arrive Tuesday so yay. Thanks a bunch!

It comes with different fittings for different thickness of glass

 

[Azedenkae]

It comes with different fittings for different thickness of glass

Yeah I just wanted to make sure it was not >10mm, which seemed unlikely but wanted to be sure. Anyways it is 6mm, so all good.

 

[ReefBeta]

It's the same idea as that item on amazon. Just to note that you will need to secure the wine bottle very well. Because you're having the whole bottle opening without any constraint, when water level drops enough, it will allow a good chunk of water going out. That amount I think will be enough to create enough momentum to project the bottle out like a rocket. That's where the two air line in the product comes in. It limit the flow, thus the reaction force.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

No changes before leaving town! That's asking for trouble. How about putting a piclece of glass or something over the tank? That will significantly slow evap

 

[Azedenkae]

It's the same idea as that item on amazon. Just to note that you will need to secure the wine bottle very well. Because you're having the whole bottle opening without any constraint, when water level drops enough, it will allow a good chunk of water going out. That amount I think will be enough to create enough momentum to project the bottle out like a rocket. That's where the two air line in the product comes in. It limit the flow, thus the reaction force.

Yeah, my original plan was to tape chopsticks on the bottle horizontally in multiple directions, just to have there be more stability, but was still worried. So I ended up ordering the Amazon product, just to be sure I don't come home to glass all over the floor or worse, water levels got too low and damaged things.

 

[Azedenkae]

No changes before leaving town! That's asking for trouble. How about putting a piclece of glass or something over the tank? That will significantly slow evap

Totally agreed re: no changes before leaving town. That was why I was testing things out last week lol, but omg still panicking ahahaha. Fortunately I am leaving on Saturday, so do have a few days to try things out. I was thinking of placing a piece of glass on but don't have access to any atm, and clingwrap is probably a bad idea.

I could also just cover the back chamber and at least the edges with just something I suppose, just to make sure light still reach the corals when I am away, even if it won't be pretty. That is kind of my last resort, though I would also want to test it early just to make sure the water is still properly oxygenated. I am probably worrying for naught because I glass lids that meant very little openings before, compared to a mesh cover now, which should mean this should be fine.

The 'perks' of owning a nano aquarium. >_>