Top Off Water ??????

tdog7879

Member
I am thinking of getting a 5 or 10 gallon tank and set up some kinda of drip system to my sump. So my question is... in the top off tank can i add my calcium buffer and my PH buffer in this tank? can i add them them together or do it at different times???
 
K

krichardson

Guest
i always add the two buffers at seperate times.. but you can add them simultaneously if you want to..
 

t316

Active Member
First off, do you test for these things, and know that you are deficient in both of them? Never add anything that you don't test for on a regular basis. Second, I'm not a big fan of the "drip" method. Why not just have a topoff tank with a float valve that will auto fill it, but only when it's low?
 

tdog7879

Member
Originally Posted by T316
http:///forum/post/2821386
First off, do you test for these things, and know that you are deficient in both of them? Never add anything that you don't test for on a regular basis. Second, I'm not a big fan of the "drip" method. Why not just have a topoff tank with a float valve that will auto fill it, but only when it's low?
I do test for everything atleast 2 times a week. I use instant ocean water from the LFS witch is low in calcium and ph is around 8.1-8.2 so i have to add both of theses once a week(sometimes) mostly the PH buffer. So whats so bad with a drip system?
 

t316

Active Member
Originally Posted by tdog7879
http:///forum/post/2821427
I do test for everything atleast 2 times a week. I use instant ocean water from the LFS witch is low in calcium and ph is around 8.1-8.2 so i have to add both of theses once a week(sometimes) mostly the PH buffer. So whats so bad with a drip system?
Not saying drip system is bad, but auto top off has less chances of a flood. With auto top off, the pump only kicks in and fills up when the level in the sump goes to low, and if the swith did malfunction, it can only dump in whatever is in the topoff tank. With drip, if you leave for an extended amount of time, and say...evaporation amounts decrease, you still have this same amount of water going in. Or if drip rate malfunctions, whats to stop it until you get home and see it?
Personally, I have never used the drip method, so I can say with expertise here. I'm just giving you scenarios.
 

tdog7879

Member
Originally Posted by T316
http:///forum/post/2821441
Not saying drip system is bad, but auto top off has less chances of a flood. With auto top off, the pump only kicks in and fills up when the level in the sump goes to low, and if the swith did malfunction, it can only dump in whatever is in the topoff tank. With drip, if you leave for an extended amount of time, and say...evaporation amounts decrease, you still have this same amount of water going in. Or if drip rate malfunctions, whats to stop it until you get home and see it?
Personally, I have never used the drip method, so I can say with expertise here. I'm just giving you scenarios.
Thanks for your advise but iam going to give it a shot . Iam sure i will run some test and see how much water iam going to go though so i don't have any flood issues. I will also have it on a real slow drip because i only go though about a gallon a day of topoff.
 
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