ATO direct to RODI system?

[Ray Floyd]

I am thinking about hooking my ATO directly to my RODI systems. Pros and cons?

 

[Potatohead]

If it sticks on you kill your tank and flood the house. Many people have done it, learn from their mistakes... lol.

 

[TLeTourneau]

I've done it. I am using a Neptune ATK along with a Neptune leak detector. In addition I have installed additional redundancies including an independent float switch and a mechanical moisture sensing shutoff.

https://www.amazon.com/Express-Wate...rd_wg=YmnI5&psc=1&refRID=4Y72M8JJAS70YZQMVHQD

 

[MaddyP]

I am thinking about hooking my ATO directly to my RODI systems. Pros and cons?

It can be done safely with enough redundancies, however, the majority of hobbyists will tell you this is a bad idea for a few different reasons: flood, TDS creep, quicker exhaustion of filters...

 

[Reefin Dude]

been doing it for years. i mean probably on and off for close to 10 years. on the new build i will probably go with the Neptune ATK. on the current system i just have some ebay solenoids, float switches, and timer/switches. i have both my ATO and the water change make up tank directly off of the RO/DI.

to be safe i also have float valves at the highest point i want the water to get to if something goes wrong.

G~

 

[MaddyP]

I am thinking about hooking my ATO directly to my RODI systems. Pros and cons?

Can you clarify? Are you hooking your RODI up to an ATO reservoir, or directly to your tank?

 

[FrankAbagnale]

It’s not great for your filters. I have mine running directly to my ATO reservoir but I use the Avast Barrel Tender. I love this setup and would never go without.

 

[Greybeard]

Turning your RO/DI system on, and then back off, after a very short period of time, such as a good ATO would do, can result in what people call 'TDS Creep'. It burns up DI resin faster, and makes much less efficient use of your system.

So, I always use a reservoir. But... that doesn't mean you need to lug buckets around. My system has evolved over the years. Started with a float valve in the ATO reservoir, and a manual valve outside of that. When the reservoir ran low, I'd open the valve for a while, letting the float valve stop it, and then shut it off. Not very safe... if the float valve fails, you flood the floor, but you're not going to take out a tank full of corals, anyway.

Today... well, it's a bit complicated. Apex connected low water level sensor starts a refill cycle and opens the solenoid. High level sensor stops it. Water flows into the reservoir through a float valve, so if the high level sensor doesn't stop it, the float valve will. Refill cycle is also on a timer, so if it takes too long to reach high level, or the sensor fails, the solenoid shuts off, and it sends me an alert. Because it was already there, there is an additional NC float switch in the very top of the ATO reservoir, wired directly into the leads that operate the NC solenoid, so if both the high level sensor, and the float valve fail, the solenoid would be closed by that overflow protection switch. As yet another layer of protection, I have cheap battery powered water alarms in the floor next to the reservoir.

Sounds more complicated than it really is... Works great, reservoir is refilled automatically every few days, as needed, I never have to touch it, and I sleep pretty well at night

Avast sells a 'barrel tender' device that does much the same thing, albeit with perhaps a few less points of redundancy than my DIY solution.

I use a standard Tunze ATO system to maintain tank level from the reservoir, and that flow runs through a Kalkwasser reactor... which is one of the reasons I'm quite as paranoid as I am... 5 gallons of RO/DI water, not a big deal in my system. 5 gallons of Kalkwasser? Dead tank.

There is a high level sensor in the sump that would trip if something really weird happened... but it's mostly there to turn off my skimmer if the sump level rises, like if the return pump fails, or whatever. That too sends out an alarm.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

As mentioned, TDS creep from many small batch runs will chew through your DI resin faster than if you made large batches in a reservoir and dosed from there.

 

[TLeTourneau]

I should have been clear about my setup. We use our system for our drinking water, ice, and freshwater aquarium (re-mineralized RO, not RODI) and RODI for our marine application (ATO and 40 gallon storage). The whole house use mitigates the potential impact of TDS creep in my application.

 

[Greybeard]

I should have been clear about my setup. We use our system for our drinking water, ice, and freshwater aquarium (re-mineralized RO, not RODI) and RODI for our marine application (ATO and 40 gallon storage). The whole house use mitigates the potential impact of TDS creep in my application.

True, somewhat... I've got a similar system, with the RO system feeding a 5g pressure tank, that is used for icemaker, fridge door water, and a drinking water faucet at the kitchen sink. That system is behind an anti-back flow valve, so that I don't empty the pressure tank into my DI cartridges every time I run tank water.

I still prefer to use a small reservoir. I can see, and trend, intervals between reservoir refill cycles, and see how long it's taking to refill. It also gives me some time... if I have to take down the RO system for a day or so, like I did recently while expanding my DI system, the tank isn't impacted.

 

[TLeTourneau]

True, somewhat... I've got a similar system, with the RO system feeding a 5g pressure tank, that is used for icemaker, fridge door water, and a drinking water faucet at the kitchen sink. That system is behind an anti-back flow valve, so that I don't empty the pressure tank into my DI cartridges every time I run tank water.

I still prefer to use a small reservoir. I can see, and trend, intervals between reservoir refill cycles, and see how long it's taking to refill. It also gives me some time... if I have to take down the RO system for a day or so, like I did recently while expanding my DI system, the tank isn't impacted.

Sorry for hijacking the thread a bit! [emoji3]

I allow my pressurized storage to feed the DI side also, I have 32 gallons of pressurized RO storage but we use it for water changes on our 150 gallon freshwater aquarium as well so it's handy to have available. I'm also running a 400 gpd membrane and the BRS triple DI system.

Anyway, back to the original question, it can be done relatively safely as long as it's well designed and you are aware of potential water quality issues that may increase the rate of use for your filter medias.

 

[ShadowR55]

I’m using the Neptune ATK with their Solenoid instead of the PMUP connected to it. It comes with two sensors for redundancy and a mechanical float switch as a backup, great design. I also have two leak sensors connected. I don’t believe this whole TDS creep that everyone just seems to repeat because everyone else is saying it. I’ve had my tank connected this way since November and the TDS coming out of my RO membrane is still 4-6 l, the same as it was in November. Also, I have a dual canister DI resin(with triple TDS meters) and I only changed one resin cartridge since November, the first original canister is putting out 1 TDS and 0 TDS coming out of the second canister.

 

[FLSharkvictim]

I am thinking about hooking my ATO directly to my RODI systems. Pros and cons?

@Ray Floyd - CHECK IT OUT, Got in some more goodies for the new build last night For my new Display. I wanted to go with a different ATO system, something that will plug right into my controller. After doing a ton of research, i have decided to go with an #AvastMarine ATO system including there #Diaphragm pump which will run in conjunction with my Avast Marine #kalk #stirrer.. I could not find a bad review about the product on any of the forums. I am currently am running the Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO system and it works awesome. I never had one issue in the 3 yrs that I owned it but I wanted something so I could just plug it into my P4 controller which is (Priceless). This little diaphragm pump is an excellent choice for automatic top-off duty. Unlike other diaphragm pumps available, this little powerhouse can push water to 60psi (~130ft high). It can also safely run dry, unlike conventional power-heads. It is quiet and runs on 12v DC power. Flow rate is approximately 400mL/min, but note that it is not rated for continuous duty nor salt water applications. It;s best used in conjunction with the kalk stirrer, but only to push fresh RODI water from my mixing station through the Kalk stirrer.

Avast MARINE Diaphragm pump

Avast ATO system

Avast Marine ATO Magnet

MIXING STATION Incl. Booster pump and 2nd membrane upgrade.

Back of my P4