My first DIY failure

[skeety]

Okay...so here was the plan:

I wanted to make my own Kalkwasser dripper. So, I got an empty water coole jug. Drilled a hole a little above the base. Put in a 1/4" hose connector. Silliconed the crap out of it. Waited 24 hours, then filled it, waited about 2 hours, no leaks. SO make my Kalkwasser solution...(waited about 2 hours), added it to the bottle, ran the hose to my sump. I used a ball valve to control the drip, VIOLA! Worked like a charm!

for about 3 days.

Then...this morning, I wake up to find the last two gallons of my solution all over the floor.

The bottle cracked...right above the connector.

Anyone tell me why? Did the silicone expand more after it dried? Is the kalkwasser solution something that would make the plastic brittle? Or is my design flawed from the get go? Meaning, is the 5 gallon jug not strucurally sound enough to handle the hole I drilled at the bottom?

Please take a look at these pics for reference. ANy help would be appreciated.

Is this salvagable? Can I just silicone the crack? or will the crack just continue up the bottle?

[Loverotties]

Maybe your bit is dull,or drill to fast or you tighten the fitting to much hard to say.

[skeety]

Originally Posted by Loverotties

Maybe your bit is dull,or drill to fast or you tighten the fitting to much hard to say.

That's what thought at first. But the fact that it took 3 days to split...leads me away from that theory. If it was a bad bit, or too tight..wouldn't it have split sooner?

The delay makes me think it was either the Kalkwasser drying out the plastic....or, the pressure from 5 gallons of water pushing down on it.

I'm about to go on vacation next weekend, and need to get this drip working by then. If I seal the crack and wait...it'll be 4 days before I know if it's working better (1 to dry...3 to see if it cracks again). By then, I'll be one day away from leaving.

Anyone else have a DIY drip? (no pump, no float-valve). If so...how'd YOU do it?

[washowi]

I am leaning towards the pressure of the water on this one. If the hole was just slightly cracked to begin with, time and water pressure forced the failure. It is only speculation on my part however.

Try it again, the you will know.

Todd

[tims]

skeety those jugs are usally polystyrene, not the greatest in strength once you start to play with them. that crack will slowly keep expanding. looks to be a great idea just wrong plastic.

[VWD]

I thik Todd and Tim it it right on the nose , Pressure on a small crack that was there from drilling.

[skeety]

Originally Posted by tims

skeety those jugs are usally polystyrene, not the greatest in strength once you start to play with them. that crack will slowly keep expanding. looks to be a great idea just wrong plastic.

ANy other suggestions on what to use then? I guess just a bucket?

As unsightly as this already is sitting next to my tank...a big old garbage can will look even worse!

[tims]

yeah that might look a bit ugly. look at some of the rubbermaid container. if you want to order someting , i thikn it is usplastics.com ( not positve of the site name) that we use at work that has pretty good prices on plastic jugs and such.and they do carry things ( BIG) that you might have trouble finding out at the wal mart adn such

[Clownfishman]

Use a bucket

[kwjones]

You could try something like this.

[skeety]

Originally Posted by kwjones

You could try something like this.

I really appreciate the article. However, my problem isn't "how to get it working". My problem is...what container to use. As I have an 80 gallon tank, and a water bottle just isn't big enough.

I thought of using a bucket...but I'd really like to be able to see how much is in the container, so I knwo when to fill it. ANd I know what you're thinking...well..just lift the lid.

But ah...you don't know me that well. I'm really THAT lazy! hahah

actually...I figure if I have to lift the lid a couple times a day, I mine as well just be topping off the water by hand. The goal here is self-maintenance.

anyways...after trying EVERY hardware store in my county...I ended up getting THIS (from Petsmart...sigh):

any thoughts?

[the_colonel]

Why not get a cheap 10 gallon aquarium? That is what I use, just put it on a shelf above the tank, and cut a piece of acrylic for the top. No need to drill it either, just run the tubing over the top of the top-off aquarium and get a siphon started. Should be able to get a 10 gal at Wall-Mart for about $12.

[Twitterbait]

as far as a good plastic container i would use a pop bottle. I have seen 3 litre bottles if your looking for volume. The reason i reccomend them is because soda pop is very caustic so the plastic the bottles are made of is built for the same stuff as the kalkwasser. plus the lid is a soft plastic which would make it good for drilling and avoiding leaks. plus the bottles are small enough you could set it up under your tank. hope that helps.