Sun tea jar auto top off

I have a 54 gal bow front with a sump. With a closed top, I don't have that much evaporation. A few cups a day. I wanted a ato but did not to spend a lot of money... And my tank is built into a corner wall unit and my space underneath is very limited.

I found the instructions for an ato made fom a simple glass sun tea jar, silicone, a rubber stopper and tubing. The only modification I made was to use a rubber grommet in the top for the vacuum hose.

I must say I was skeptical but now I am well impressed. It is a simple process with a lot of physics. The key is that it has to be absolutely 100% airtight. While it only holds a gallon, it fits my space and meets my needs. I fill it up one a week. Worst case scenario is that if it fails I only get a gallon at most added to my tank. No flooded floors or detrimental parameter changes.

You can google sun tea jar auto top off for detailed instructions. While certainly not practical for a 500 gal tank, for me it serves the purpose. I have been using it for a month now. Wanted to make sure it worked good before posting.

Total cost... $4 for jar, $4 for silicone, $.79 for stopper, $0.79 for grommet, and about $1.00 for tubing.

 

let's see some pics

 

Pictures?

 

i just filled it today... i will take more when I have it out so that it can be seen better.

The larger hose (red line) is the vacuum tube. This is mounted (with the clip) at the proper water level. Once water drops below this tube, the vacuum is broke and water drips in from the smaller (blue line) tube. Blue tube can be anywhere... as long as it is not submerged in your sump. Needs to be above water level. Once it fills, a vacuum is once again created and the flow stops.

 

Here's some plans. DIY: Tea Jar Auto Top-off

 

exactly what I used to go by.