ATO reliability

[SpyC]

Without bashing any manufacturers, I have gone through several ATO units/ brands and cant understand why many are short term reliable and then simply stop working. I have replaced or cleaned sensors and replaced small pumps to no avail. My current one when the sensor is in water and water as risen above sensor continues to ru, I have tried 5 different types and am now eyeing the Hydrofill by IM which utilizes conductivity sensors.

Which brands have others found reliable?
Has anyone had a unit they found reliable for lengthy time as in years?

I use a Neptune ATK and no issues after 16 months. I do have an extra senson that I use as a secondary trigger to shut the pump off in case it is stuck running for some reason. I like the mechanical safety the floar offers as well

 

[jda]

Tunze for me too. The pumps need replaced every 3-5 years, but they are cheap and I have spares on hand. I never clean the eyes or floats, but every once in a while I rinse them off with RO or tank water.

When you’re selling in volume, it’s gonna look like % of more fails.

Babe Ruth - held both records I believe for home runs and strike-outs? Please don’t come for me if I’m slightly off on this example - you get my point.

Connie Mack leads MLB in career losses... but also in career wins. That is what most people reference when dealing with just being in the game for the longest amount of time.

 

[Cthulukelele]

It's my most fail-prone item for sure. Have been through 3 or 4 in 7 years. Tunze osmolaters seem to be the most long-lived. Had mine 3-4 years before failure.

 

[Rich Klein]

Going on 9 years with my Osmolator. I ran my reservoir dry once and had to change the pump, but it still works fine.

 

[Pod_01]

Been using the gravity fed configuration that was included with the RedSea reefer for 6 years now. Low tech but works.

 

[zheka757]

Regular float valve, connected strait to my ro/di unit. 7 years didn't fail. Simple, no electronics. Just works

 

[drolmaeye]

I've been happy with my HYDROS ATO (only 10 months into it, though). It can be configured to use one or multiple sensors (optical, float, or pressure sensors). You can control maximum run time, get alerts if the ATO pump runs too often, hasn't run in a while, or runs too long. Setup can range from simple to more complicated depending on one's needs. Sensors are easily replaced if necessary. I like it a lot.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Without bashing any manufacturers, I have gone through several ATO units/ brands and cant understand why many are short term reliable and then simply stop working. I have replaced or cleaned sensors and replaced small pumps to no avail. My current one when the sensor is in water and water as risen above sensor continues to ru, I have tried 5 different types and am now eyeing the Hydrofill by IM which utilizes conductivity sensors.

Which brands have others found reliable?
Has anyone had a unit they found reliable for lengthy time as in years?

I just replace mine every 12 months - a runaway ATO is just not worth the risk.

 

[dsh92056]

I’ve been in the hobby for 9 years I’ve had many tanks and many ATO’s most of them Tunze but also had Neptune’s ATO. Never again on Neptune and I probably won’t go back to Tunze. I setup a 150 gallon lagoon in September 2023. And I went with Red Sea ATO+ and I have to say this has been my favorite one yet. Now it’s only been 7 months, but zero issues.

 

[marinesnow]

Tunze Osmolator has never let me down. Used it for over 10 years. I recently switched to the Neptune ATK, and to my surprise the optical sensor failed in 6 months. I since hacked the ATK by replacing the optical sensors with float switches and replacing the pump with a tunze. Works flawlessly now.

 

[DHill6]

Also running Hydros ATO, maximum time to run is set, I don’t need a flood.

 

[schooncw]

My Tunze operated flawlessly for 9 years and I had to replace the pump a few months ago. No complaints at all.

 

[GlassMunky]

Im still using the same 2 JBJ ATOs that i got almost 15 years ago....... still work like a charm, never had an issue


EDIT: Did they stop making these?! i dont seem to be able to find any new units for sale anywhere....

 

[mrjoe]

i've been using an icecap in my 25lagoon for 2 years now... Had lots of issues with it until someone on here told be to cover the back with some black foam sponge so the light doesn't drive it crazy... once I did that it's been working great...

 

[apb03]

So far I've only used the Tunze 3155 and the IM Hydrofill.

The Turbelle pump pretty much makes the Tunze a no brainer option, the new pump is dead silent and a huge upgrade over the crappy old pump. The added safety features are great but the lack of 3rd party controller integration is lacking. I'd love to see some more work done there, even if it's just statistics to examine my water usage as an added failsafe would be nice.

I do like the Hydrofill too though. The fact that I can use any 3rd party pump via an AC plug makes it quite versatile and affordable. I use it on my Frag tank paired with an old Sicce Silent 1.0 I had collecting dust.

 

[Snoopy 67]

How many years have I use my Litremeter for an ATO?????
The way book does not list it but MANY, MANY MOONS AGO.

 

[Scoundrelofsussex]

All Tunze has ever done for me is fail in under a year. Both the regular and nano units. I am using the Reef Breeders prism and it has been working for a yr plus unlike my expensive Tunze units…

 

[REEFRIED!]

I use a pressure switch style ATO. Back in the day I used a Tsunami brand. For my most recent build I am using one from Avast Marine. It is a simple concept, it is just a tube (about 1/2” x 5” plastic) connected to airline tubing leading to the pressure switch that controls outlet. There are no sensors to fail, either optical or float. Just pressure. When water level drops relay closes and allows power to pump. When water rises relay opens cuts off power to pump.

I use a sicce pump in my reservoir and like it. So far my current ATO has been running for 11 months.

 

[Dave101]

Without bashing any manufacturers, I have gone through several ATO units/ brands and cant understand why many are short term reliable and then simply stop working. I have replaced or cleaned sensors and replaced small pumps to no avail. My current one when the sensor is in water and water as risen above sensor continues to ru, I have tried 5 different types and am now eyeing the Hydrofill by IM which utilizes conductivity sensors.

Which brands have others found reliable?
Has anyone had a unit they found reliable for lengthy time as in years?

Tunze bc it has a flow switch.

 

[Uncle99]

Krammer with 2 separte redundancies.
Has not made an error in now 5+ years.
And all for $100 cdn.