AWC Auto Water Changer (Plus ATO) - AutoAqua

WLachnit · 12/15/2017, 12:22 PM

Looks interesting and less expensive than other solutions. Anyone with experience?

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/auto-...-autoaqua.html

yankeeboy73 · 12/16/2017, 06:43 AM

I was looking at this yesterday too...was thinking about a simple ATO solution, wondering if this might be the way to go. I wonder what reservoir would be good to use, like a dosing tank?

benjammin03 · 01/19/2018, 10:58 AM

I wanted to revive this and see if anyone had any experience with this water changer. I was looking into getting an ATO but if this can take of that and water changes then it seems like a good deal. Would this work on larger systems? I have a 210 gallon tank with a 100 gallon sump. I saw that the pumps were rates at 74 gph but I wasn't sure if that would be sufficient.

RCS82 · 01/19/2018, 05:20 PM

Wow that unit looks pretty slick, and ATO as well.
Hoping to hear some feedback as well.

yankeeboy73 · 01/19/2018, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benjammin03

I wanted to revive this and see if anyone had any experience with this water changer. I was looking into getting an ATO but if this can take of that and water changes then it seems like a good deal. Would this work on larger systems? I have a 210 gallon tank with a 100 gallon sump. I saw that the pumps were rates at 74 gph but I wasn't sure if that would be sufficient.

I bought it, and started to set it up on a Biocube 32- and then found out I’m moving for work. I ordered a 60g that arrived today and am planning to set it up in the new home next week. I’ll surely give you feedback as soon as I’ve had a chance to see it in action. Very slick unit, and nicely packed.

WLachnit · 01/23/2018, 05:39 PM

Yes, Keep us posted

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

McCune · 01/25/2018, 05:04 PM

I got one for Xmas and am planning to set it up on my Cadlights 50 long

benjammin03 · 03/07/2018, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yankeeboy73

I bought it, and started to set it up on a Biocube 32- and then found out I’m moving for work. I ordered a 60g that arrived today and am planning to set it up in the new home next week. I’ll surely give you feedback as soon as I’ve had a chance to see it in action. Very slick unit, and nicely packed.

Any updates?

sethd12 · 03/13/2018, 08:43 AM

I have seen this item for several weeks and have removed it from my cart several times, but I may just give it a try.

Knuckledragger · 03/15/2018, 09:00 PM

Very interesting. Will be checking into this more in-depth.

reeferdon · 03/15/2018, 09:31 PM

Yeah, It works my buddy has one on his 150g and he likes it. you must read the manual.

reeferdon · 03/15/2018, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reeferdon

Yeah, It works my buddy has one on his 150g and he likes it. you must read the manual.

Mine will be here this weekend

R1ant04 · 04/05/2018, 08:45 AM

Bump... info/comments from users?

BrettDS · 04/05/2018, 05:57 PM

I’m so glad I saw this thread. I literally just ordered the AutoAqua micro ATO for my 8G invert QT 30 minutes ago, then I saw this thread, so I canceled that order and bought one of these instead. For only a little more I get ATO plus AWC for my nano tank. I imagine it will be here early next week and I’ll post my impressions as soon as I get it

Now I have a few days to decide if I want to try to run lines to my big NSW and RODI reservoirs in the garage or just use small reservoirs near the tank that I’ll need to manually fill periodically.

BrettDS · 04/11/2018, 04:15 PM

My unit just arrived today and I just got it set up. So far I’m quite happy with it. The pumps are tiny and very quiet. I had no problem fitting the OSW drain pump and water level sensors into the tiny “sump” area of my 8 gallon AIO tank. The tube it comes with is 3/8 inch, which is probably overkill for my tiny tank, but it would definitely be good for larger tanks. I may get some reducers and switch to 1/4 inch tube which will be a little easier to run to the reservoirs and be less obvious where the tubes enter the tank.

Right now I just have the drain run across the counter to my sink and 5 gallon buckets on the floor next to the tank for my ATO and NSW reservoirs, but I’ll need to come up with a more permanent and less visible solution.

It’s fairly flexible and you can use only the ATO or only the AWC function if you want. You can also initiate a manual water change at any time whether the AWC function is enabled or not. This device isn’t significantly more expensive than a stand alone ATO device and even if you don’t use the AWC function it would be a great ATO and give you the option to configure AWC in the future, or you could just set it up for ATO and use it to make manual water changes as easy as dropping the pump in the bucket and pushing a button.

One note is that because of the way it works you probably wouldn’t want to use it for auto or manual water changes without using its ATO function. While you can configure it this way doing so might lead to salinity level creep over time. The issue is that for a water change you need to make sure that you remove and replace the exact same amount of water or it will affect the salinity level in your tank.

This device uses two water sensors to determine how much water to remove and add. One high level sensor and one low level sensor. When it initiates a water change (either manually or automatically) it pumps water out of the tank until the water gets down to the low level sensor. Then it pumps new water in until the water level reaches the high level sensor.

As long as the water is exactly at the high level sensor when the water change starts then this will ensure that an equal amount of water is removed and re-added. Since this device’s ATO system uses the same high level sensor to maintain the water level of the tank then you know that it will always be removing and re-adding the same amount of water. But if you are using a different ATO then it’s possible that the high level sensor might be slightly higher or lower than the normal water level in the tank and that would cause it to remove slightly more or slightly less water than it re-adds, which will slowly change your salinity level over time.

Again, this isn’t a problem if you use the built in ATO function of this unit... it would only be an issue if you are trying to use a different ATO.

As far as the AWC goes you can easily configure exactly how much water to remove and how frequently to run the water changes. As I said above, when the water change runs it simply pumps out water until the water level gets down to the low level water sensor. So by raising the sensor it will take out less water and by lowering it more water will be changed. You can set it up to take out exactly as much as you want.

The auto water change works on a timer, rather than a schedule. You can configure it in 1 hour increments for any interval between 1 hour and 99 days. So you can adjust the water level sensor to only remove a small amount of water and do a water change every hour or you could move the sensor down and do a large water change every week or two. Or anything in between.

Like I said above, I’m very happy with this device and it really does everything I had hoped it would. It makes maintaining my little 8 gallon nano quarantine tank so much easier.

Phixman · 04/25/2018, 08:03 PM

bump

mndfreeze · 04/26/2018, 06:22 AM

I've always wondered why these weren't a thing 10 years ago when I got into this hobby and saw how popular auto top offs were. Seemed like common sense to use a single unit to do both.

One more toy to add to the list of things I don't need and cant afford!

12/15/2017, 12:22 PM	#1
WLachnit Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 1,722	AWC Auto Water Changer (Plus ATO) - AutoAqua Looks interesting and less expensive than other solutions. Anyone with experience? https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/auto-...-autoaqua.html __________________ (1) 300g mixed reef (Starfire DT) + 100g Sump (2) 100g Softie tank (Starfire DT) My Build Thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263472

01/19/2018, 05:20 PM	#4
RCS82 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Sherwood Park, AB, Canada Posts: 273	Wow that unit looks pretty slick, and ATO as well. Hoping to hear some feedback as well. __________________ After about a 16 year break from fish keeping, Wow, how things have changed. Current Tank Info: 90g, mixed reef, I hope haha

01/23/2018, 05:39 PM	#6
WLachnit Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 1,722	Yes, Keep us posted Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ (1) 300g mixed reef (Starfire DT) + 100g Sump (2) 100g Softie tank (Starfire DT) My Build Thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263472

03/13/2018, 08:43 AM	#9
sethd12 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 941	I have seen this item for several weeks and have removed it from my cart several times, but I may just give it a try. __________________ -500 gallon mixed reef

12/16/2017, 06:43 AM	#2
yankeeboy73 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 5	I was looking at this yesterday too...was thinking about a simple ATO solution, wondering if this might be the way to go. I wonder what reservoir would be good to use, like a dosing tank?

01/19/2018, 10:58 AM	#3
benjammin03 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: St. Louis Posts: 88	I wanted to revive this and see if anyone had any experience with this water changer. I was looking into getting an ATO but if this can take of that and water changes then it seems like a good deal. Would this work on larger systems? I have a 210 gallon tank with a 100 gallon sump. I saw that the pumps were rates at 74 gph but I wasn't sure if that would be sufficient.

01/25/2018, 05:04 PM	#7
McCune Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Mansfield, MA Posts: 110	I got one for Xmas and am planning to set it up on my Cadlights 50 long

03/15/2018, 09:00 PM	#10
Knuckledragger Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Battle Ground, WA Posts: 14	Very interesting. Will be checking into this more in-depth.

03/15/2018, 09:31 PM	#11
reeferdon Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Lancaster Ca Posts: 48	Yeah, It works my buddy has one on his 150g and he likes it. you must read the manual.

04/05/2018, 08:45 AM	#13
R1ant04 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 232	Bump... info/comments from users?

04/05/2018, 05:57 PM	#14
BrettDS Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Orlando Posts: 1,109	I’m so glad I saw this thread. I literally just ordered the AutoAqua micro ATO for my 8G invert QT 30 minutes ago, then I saw this thread, so I canceled that order and bought one of these instead. For only a little more I get ATO plus AWC for my nano tank. I imagine it will be here early next week and I’ll post my impressions as soon as I get it Now I have a few days to decide if I want to try to run lines to my big NSW and RODI reservoirs in the garage or just use small reservoirs near the tank that I’ll need to manually fill periodically.

04/11/2018, 04:15 PM	#15
BrettDS Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Orlando Posts: 1,109	My unit just arrived today and I just got it set up. So far I’m quite happy with it. The pumps are tiny and very quiet. I had no problem fitting the OSW drain pump and water level sensors into the tiny “sump” area of my 8 gallon AIO tank. The tube it comes with is 3/8 inch, which is probably overkill for my tiny tank, but it would definitely be good for larger tanks. I may get some reducers and switch to 1/4 inch tube which will be a little easier to run to the reservoirs and be less obvious where the tubes enter the tank. Right now I just have the drain run across the counter to my sink and 5 gallon buckets on the floor next to the tank for my ATO and NSW reservoirs, but I’ll need to come up with a more permanent and less visible solution. It’s fairly flexible and you can use only the ATO or only the AWC function if you want. You can also initiate a manual water change at any time whether the AWC function is enabled or not. This device isn’t significantly more expensive than a stand alone ATO device and even if you don’t use the AWC function it would be a great ATO and give you the option to configure AWC in the future, or you could just set it up for ATO and use it to make manual water changes as easy as dropping the pump in the bucket and pushing a button. One note is that because of the way it works you probably wouldn’t want to use it for auto or manual water changes without using its ATO function. While you can configure it this way doing so might lead to salinity level creep over time. The issue is that for a water change you need to make sure that you remove and replace the exact same amount of water or it will affect the salinity level in your tank. This device uses two water sensors to determine how much water to remove and add. One high level sensor and one low level sensor. When it initiates a water change (either manually or automatically) it pumps water out of the tank until the water gets down to the low level sensor. Then it pumps new water in until the water level reaches the high level sensor. As long as the water is exactly at the high level sensor when the water change starts then this will ensure that an equal amount of water is removed and re-added. Since this device’s ATO system uses the same high level sensor to maintain the water level of the tank then you know that it will always be removing and re-adding the same amount of water. But if you are using a different ATO then it’s possible that the high level sensor might be slightly higher or lower than the normal water level in the tank and that would cause it to remove slightly more or slightly less water than it re-adds, which will slowly change your salinity level over time. Again, this isn’t a problem if you use the built in ATO function of this unit... it would only be an issue if you are trying to use a different ATO. As far as the AWC goes you can easily configure exactly how much water to remove and how frequently to run the water changes. As I said above, when the water change runs it simply pumps out water until the water level gets down to the low level water sensor. So by raising the sensor it will take out less water and by lowering it more water will be changed. You can set it up to take out exactly as much as you want. The auto water change works on a timer, rather than a schedule. You can configure it in 1 hour increments for any interval between 1 hour and 99 days. So you can adjust the water level sensor to only remove a small amount of water and do a water change every hour or you could move the sensor down and do a large water change every week or two. Or anything in between. Like I said above, I’m very happy with this device and it really does everything I had hoped it would. It makes maintaining my little 8 gallon nano quarantine tank so much easier.

04/25/2018, 08:03 PM	#16
Phixman Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Lynnwood, WA Posts: 176	bump

04/26/2018, 06:22 AM	#17
mndfreeze Invert Sexy Time! Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Tempe, AZ Posts: 2,255	I've always wondered why these weren't a thing 10 years ago when I got into this hobby and saw how popular auto top offs were. Seemed like common sense to use a single unit to do both. One more toy to add to the list of things I don't need and cant afford!