ATO trustworthy?

[rsantangelo3@co]

So can we put are faith in these auto top off units. Just bought one and am going to set up the min/max water levels. Just makes me nervous that electornics are in control. Your thought and experiences?

[Nereaga]

I have been running the autotopoff.com double float switch with a relay for over 3 years without one hiccup... I wouldn't run a tank without one.... too much work and remembering! :)

Brad

[rsantangelo3@co]

thanks brad- You use both in your sump as min and max or one with your pump?

[unbreakable]

setup two float switches: one to turn a pump on for top-off, and one to shut the pump off if the sump fills up too much

otherwise just clean the float switch every 2-3 weeks and make sure theres no way a snail can mess with it

some people setup a giant reservoir and some setup a smaller one just in case it pumps all the water in the aquarium it wont affect the tank

[rsantangelo3@co]

if it pumps it all into the aquarium then obviously it will affect the tank?.?

[andrewkw]

I trust my ATO a lot more then me. Especially when I'm not home :)

[Freed]

I trust the switch I have my ATO plugged into more so than any other ATO I've read about failing on numerous threads here on RC ;)

[aquaman67]

I trust my ATO.

I use autotopoff.com double switch model in the tank.

I also use a small (two gallon) reservior just in case.

I can't believe how sensitive the switches are. I was adding a gallon at a time. The ATO adds about 16 ounces (or less) at a time. I'm sure my tank is doing much better becasue of it.

[rsantangelo3@co]

what do you mean also use a 2 gallon reservoir? Are they kooked up to you sump or tank? And dont you need to use a reservoir for the water to be added?

[cody6766]

I have been running the autotopoff.com double float switch with a relay for over 3 years without one hiccup... I wouldn't run a tank without one.... too much work and remembering!
me too, but only for about a year. The only time it ****es me off is when I forget to unplug it before digging in the fuge. The sloshing trips the switch and adds water when it doesn't need it. That's my problem, not the ATO though.

I can't believe how sensitive the switches are. I was adding a gallon at a time. The ATO adds about 16 ounces (or less) at a time. I'm sure my tank is doing much better becasue of it.
same here. I have a small return section from my sump and this thing adds a few oz. each time where i was doing a quarter to half a gallon at a time.

[unbreakable]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15538090#post15538090 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rsantangelo3@co
if it pumps it all into the aquarium then obviously it will affect the tank?.?

some people have reservoirs that have more volume of water than their tanks, some have small reservoirs just in case the float fails that it will change the salinity slightly, but not enough to cause a lot of damage.. in my case id be screwed..

[noahm]

+1 on the autotopoff.com double. Just FYI it consists 2 switches that are normally closed (power on) and they open (power off) when the water fills up to that point. They are stacked one above the other so that if the lower one fails to open (cut power), the upper one will open when the water go just a bit higher. It is a pretty failsafe method. Plus its pretty inexpensive.

[iamwrasseman]

i have never heard of someone physically overflowing their system with a five gallon bucket at hand . but i must admitt that i have heard many tank failures "overflows" when you use an ATO and put your trust and faith in a device such as the one you just bought . i have heard the many success stories but the get drowned out with just one failure type horror story .when i fail my salinity goes up by a couple of percent not down 100 percent in a day .
i am close to 50 yrs old and its not the most fun running up and down stairs every day but it may be keeping me in shape too .if you decide to do it use a resivour as stated above so you dont come home to a completely flooded home someday .also you could use a small ro/di unit so it cant get to crazy to fast but do be careful ,you can loose all your livestock in a day .
i have to admitt that the units that have redundent checks and balances do make sense and they are the ones that should be used like the one that noahm has explained and as he said inexpensive and its really not rocket science .
i'm probably gonna get some flack from my statements but i do have your best interests in my mind ,im not trying to fight the machine !
good luck as always~

[Freed]

Or plug your ATO into a switched outlet, flip the switch when you need to top off and then flip the switch back off while you are standing right there. NEVER fails ;)

[iamwrasseman]

Freed i do like that idea !

[Freed]

Yes, even though my float is usually stuck in the "On" position, I will never have the problem of overflowing my sump or tank or flooding the living room or basement for that matter ;)

[iamwrasseman]

kool

[catfisher]

My ATO was one of the best purchases I ever made. My coral seem so much more happy with the steady salinity.

[lougotzz]

http://www.marinedepot.com/JBJ_Automatic_Top_Off_(A.T.O.)_System_Water_Level_Controller_Electric_Powered_Dosing_Pumps_Top_Off_P lug_In_Units-JBJ_Lighting-JB5111-FIDPETPU-vi.html

I have that item listed above for abut 2 months now and I have nemver had a problem. Just make sure you put your floats where you want then and youll be fine.

[aquaman67]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15538188#post15538188 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rsantangelo3@co
what do you mean also use a 2 gallon reservoir? Are they kooked up to you sump or tank? And dont you need to use a reservoir for the water to be added?

The float switch kicks on a pump when the water is low. The pump pumps water out of a two gallon bucket. I have to fill the two gallon bucket once a week.

The most water that could be put into my tank is two gallons and that's if my ATO fails on the day I fill the bucket. Everyday that the amount of water gets less and less.

Don't hook a RO/DI to your tank or sump. You should hook it to a reservior of some type. That way if the valve fails the water won't end up in your tank.

[Snakebyt]

i never had ATO on my old tanks, but i am defenatly going to be using one on the tank i am setting up now, planning on a 3 gallon reservoir

[catfisher]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15539064#post15539064 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Snakebyt
i never had ATO on my old tanks, but i am defenatly going to be using one on the tank i am setting up now, planning on a 3 gallon reservoir

I just used a 5.5 gallon aquarium as my reservoir. Works great for me.

[Mike31154]

Trustworthy? Hmm, if it has any moving parts & electrical parts, not totally, no matter how many backups. Murphy will find a way. Could work for years, could screw up tomorrow.

My current ATO is a 7 gal glass car boy (wine making container) pressurized by a small air pump on a timer. I don't have a sump so this is an unsightly thing next to my display. Could always hide it in a wicker basket or something, but I'm lazy and anticipating my next build with basement sump.

Anyhow, the air pump runs for about a minute 3 or 4 times a day and the air pressure pushes water from the carboy into the display. Before this I was doing a gallon manually every couple of days. So far my pressurized ATO has been without fault, but the possibility is there so I wouldn't say it's completely trustworthy either. The evaporation rate varies somewhat depending on room temperature & time of year etc, but the schedule I'm using has worked well so far. The container lasts close to 7 days. If I'm away for more than a couple of days, I make sure someone checks on things.

The advantage over the manual filling is that it's more gradual and I can easily dose calcium or magnesium by mixing some in with the top off water. The disadvantage is it still needs electrical power and I would not consider it completely trustworthy. On several occasions I've turned the timer on manually to raise the level in the display a little and actually forgot to turn it off. There's probably about a 3 gallon buffer in my 75 so it wasn't a complete disaster even after a couple of hours. The tank had just started overflowing when I realized my boo boo. I think that since the feed line got partially submerged once the tank began to overfill, it created additional back pressure slowing down the flow and giving me more time before things got critical.

When I set up the new tank with basement sump, I will go for a simple mechanical float, the ones commonly used on furnace humidifiers. Seems to me if they can run for years filling a small tray in the humidifier while hooked into the home's cold water line without leaking or failing, they should be a safe bet. Only difference will be that instead of a pressurized source, I will simply have the ATO reservoir above the sump and let gravity do the work, no electrics, pumps, etc. Only one moving part, the float itself. I know of at least one fellow hobbyist who has used this set up for more than 3 years without failure. Still, there is that one moving part, the float, and of course the tubing & seals. Fewest points of failure of any ATO system I've seen so far though.

[iamwrasseman]

points well taken , just hate the thought of losing any of my prized possesions so i will always be leary . you have a non complicated method that contains a small amount of water so its all good im just very scared of the ones that are hooked directly to ro units . omg what a days failure could cause ,hey Evil Kneivel took some chances and kinda made it through so why not try .