Help me create a cheap easy drip line

lil.guppy

Active Member
Ok I was thinking of putting a gallon jug higher then my tank on a shelf. If I take a hose and start a siphon then will the water from the jug come out slowly while water evaps from the tank?
 

salt life

Active Member
Originally Posted by lil.guppy
http:///forum/post/2951836
Ok I was thinking of putting a gallon jug higher then my tank on a shelf. If I take a hose and start a siphon then will the water from the jug come out slowly while water evaps from the tank?
what is the point of doing that? ( just so I can understand better to maybe help out), like for a cheap ATO?
 

lil.guppy

Active Member
I meant to say top off idea. I am leaving for 5 days and want something to keep my water level up. I only need about 1 gallon so I wanted to use a gallon jug somehow
 

salt life

Active Member
Originally Posted by lil.guppy
http:///forum/post/2951854
I meant to say top off idea. I am leaving for 5 days and want something to keep my water level up. I only need about 1 gallon so I wanted to use a gallon jug somehow
hmm, you know those dog bowls that you fill then flip over?and when it gets low it fills back up then stops? maybe if you put the jug higher then the tank, connect tubing, put it a couple inches in the water, start a siphon, when the water goes below the tubing water will empty until it reaches above the tube. idk if that would work but it did in my head.
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Materials: airline tubing, 1g distilled water jug, water in jug.
Set the jug above the tank or above the sump. Put one end of airline tubing in the jug, all the way to the bottom. Then, tie a slight knot in the airline tubing. suck on the dry end to start the siphon. If you tighten the knot, the drip will be slower, if you loosen the knot, the drip will be faster.
If you don't want to tie a knot, you can get a gang valve and adjust the dripping with the valve.
Have fun!
 

lil.guppy

Active Member
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
http:///forum/post/2951875
Materials: airline tubing, 1g distilled water jug, water in jug.
Set the jug above the tank or above the sump. Put one end of airline tubing in the jug, all the way to the bottom. Then, tie a slight knot in the airline tubing. suck on the dry end to start the siphon. If you tighten the knot, the drip will be slower, if you loosen the knot, the drip will be faster.
If you don't want to tie a knot, you can get a gang valve and adjust the dripping with the valve.
Have fun!
Well wont the water stay in the jug until the level in the aquarium drops and then it will slowly come out to the amount it needs?
 

posiden

Active Member
SnakeBlitz33 is refering to your OP of doing a drip line.
Yes the other methiod you posted a pic of will only let out what it needs.
What kind of tank is this? What kind of room do you have?
 

lil.guppy

Active Member
Ok i just tried it. I put a shelf higher then the tank next to the tank. I had a large tubaware container full of water. I tried the siphone method but the siphon kept going and did not stop.
I must be doing something wrong
 

posiden

Active Member
Which method are you going for?
Drip
or
ATO
If you tried to do the ATO like the one you posted, the container MUST be air tight. No questions about it. It works like the dog or cat water dispensers.
 

posiden

Active Member
Have I lost you.
A good test for you to see how the gravity ATO works......take a water bottle and fill it up. Then fill a bowl half way up. Take the water bottle and turn it upside down putting the opening under water. You can then lift the bottle just out of the water and when it starts to empty stop moving the bottle. The water level in the bowl will come up to the bottle opening and then stop releasing water.
 

lil.guppy

Active Member
I understand about the whole sealed container idea kinda like the picture I posted on here. I like the dog water because I have one that is not being used. My question is when I attach a hose to the outlet in the dog water how far down does that hose go into my aquarium. Does it go just right near the surface or a couple inches into the water?
 

spanko

Active Member
Originally Posted by lil.guppy
http:///forum/post/2951947
Ok i just tried it. I put a shelf higher then the tank next to the tank. I had a large tubaware container full of water. I tried the siphone method but the siphon kept going and did not stop.
I must be doing something wrong

What you are doing wrong is not using a totally sealed container. No air can be allowed to go into the container except when the airline or hose that is in the tank comes out of the water due to evaporation. When it does the air enters the container and water comes out until the end of the hose is effectively sealed off again with the water level.
 

spanko

Active Member
"Construction
First of all, you need a food safe container with a "snap-on" lid.
I then drilled a hole on one side to take a 90 degree tank connector. This was siliconed in place to ensure a water tight seal (VERY important!).
I then measured the distance from the connector to the surface of the water in the sump and cut a piece of plastic pipe. This pipe is inserted into the tank connector. The pipe is sufficiently tight fit to be waterproof, so is not glued into place. This means that the pipe can be removed and shortened if needed.
Before you use it, you need to make sure that air cannot enter the container by any route other than the end of the pipe. Otherwise the water will just leak into the tank.

How to use
The container is then filled with RO water. By placing my finger on the end of the pipe and carefully lowering it into the sump I can ensure that the pipe is below the surface of the water before removing my finger. The container rests on the edge of the sump. When the water level drops, air enters the container and water fills the sump!

Parts list
Parts required:
* Container
* Tank connector
* 22mm pipe
* Silicone sealant
Improvements
A valve on the pipe would mean that I wouldn't need to place my finger on the end of the pipe. A valve would also mean that I wouldn't have to wait until the container is empty before I refilled it!
You could also connect multiple containers together by using tank connectors between them. This would increase the water holding capacity.
 

lil.guppy

Active Member
Thank you for that post. I lost it and could not find it for the main directions.
I am going to try the dog watering thing and see how that does and if it does not work I am going to make this.
Thanks ya'll
 

posiden

Active Member
I was thinking about this at work today. We are only talking about a gallon of water for the entire time you are gone right?
If so, right when you are leaving... pour in a gallon of fresh water into the tank ,and when you return everything will be fine. The salinity decrease will not be that much. Everone will have a week to get used to it slowly comming back to normal.
 

quads4_lif

Member
What I did was take an old 5gal salt bucket and hooked up with a nurse to get some IV tubeing drilled a small hole at the bottom of the 5gal bucket shoved the IV bag spike for the tubeing the the bucket higher then my sump set the adjustment on the IV line and filled the bucket with RO water and left my tank for about a week and a half. I came back home and tank was fine. If you have an water leaking just silicone around the hole and should solve your problem, but I dont have any silicone on mine and it never leaks around the hole.
Also these make great drip lines for acclimating fish
 
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