ATO sensor seems...off

[SallyWho]

I have a Tunze Osmolator ATO, and it's been running for a couple of months without issues. But the other day, I noticed that it topped off a bit more than usual. In fact, it was the adjacent float switch that turned the pump off. I pulled off the optical sensor and cleaned it with RODI and kimwipes. The product insert says the sensor trigger should be about halfway up the cone on the bottom of the optical sensor, but it's still filling high. And of course I'm leaving town tomorrow for 4 days. How big of a problem is this? The tank evaporates enough that 4 days with topping off will have the return pump making vortices and sucking air, none of my friends are tank savvy, and the LFS charges an arm and a leg for tank sitting services. Should I just leave less water in the reservoir, so that even if it overfills, I won't have a flood? All I've got in the tank right now is one fish and a couple of hermits, so a little salinity swing shouldn't be catastrophic.

 

[Reeferdood]

Try rebooting the unit and look at the status lights. If the bottom light is red the the optical sensor has likely failed...

 

[Reeferdood]

https://www.tunze.com/fileadmin/gebrauchsanleitungen/x3155.8888.pdf

 

[SallyWho]

Try rebooting the unit and look at the status lights. If the bottom light is red the the optical sensor has likely failed...

The lights indicate that everything seems to be working fine. Although, according to the troubleshooting in the manual, the unit isn't supposed to alarm with all the lights on when I plug the power cord back into the controller. I have to unplug it during feed mode or it shrieks incessantly. When I plug it back it, it alarms for 2-3 seconds with everything lit up, senses that the level is low even if it's not, and kicks the pump on. It's almost like this is where the overfilling problem starts. Once it's overfilled to the top of the optical sensor, it keeps it there. I did notice there appears to be a possible bubble or something inside the optical sensor. That doesn't seem good. Also, I have the optical sensor positioned as high as possible on the holder. Should I move it to a lower position, so that it theoretically should trigger and turn the pump off earlier? But then it would take a heck of a lot more water before the float switch turns it off...

 

[Reeferdood]

It is designed to run the pump for a set time after the unit is powered back on. It is not designed to be unplugged an excessive amount though. I used to do that and it eventually took it's toll on the optical sensor...
@rvitko might be of some help if he is lurking about...

 

[SallyWho]

It is designed to run the pump for a set time after the unit is powered back on. It is not designed to be unplugged an excessive amount though. I used to do that and it eventually took it's toll on the optical sensor...
@rvitko might be of some help if he is lurking about...

I wonder if there's a way to connect the ATO to my Apex, so I can have the alarms turned off during feed mode. The only way I could find to shut the thing up was to unplug it until the return pump kicks back on after 10 minutes.

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

might also want to look at other factors. after the water level hits the sensor, does the pump shut off?

 

[SallyWho]

might also want to look at other factors. after the water level hits the sensor, does the pump shut off?

It does....but not until the water level is above the optical sensor's trigger area. The pump shuts off once the water reaches the uppermost part of the sensor housing. It used to shut off when the water reached about halfway up the cone at the bottom.

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

sounds like a senor or controller issue. i used to have one a long time ago and junked it because the pumps suck. i bought a spectrapure and have had zero issues with anything. but to resolve your problem i would say you have the following options- leave it as is and rely on the backup switch, lower the amount of ato water available or don’t go on your trip.

 

[Reeferdood]

I wonder if there's a way to connect the ATO to my Apex, so I can have the alarms turned off during feed mode. The only way I could find to shut the thing up was to unplug it until the return pump kicks back on after 10 minutes.

What I did was raise the float switch to just slightly above the high water line during feed mode.... Works like a champ

 

[Elmo134]

I had a similar situation, mine too was overfilling until it alarms out. It turns out the problem was microbubbles created by my Skimmer. After making some adjustments in the sump, problem solved .

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

I had a similar situation, mine too was overfilling until it alarms out. It turns out the problem was microbubbles created by my Skimmer. After making some adjustments in the sump, problem solved .

just curious.... so if the bubbles come back, there could be another issue with the sensor right?

 

[SallyWho]

What I did was raise the float switch to just slightly above the high water line during feed mode.... Works like a champ

But that would still leave the optical sensor deep underwater during feed mode, and the alarm would scream for a solid 10 minutes until the return pump starts again, right?

 

[SallyWho]

I had a similar situation, mine too was overfilling until it alarms out. It turns out the problem was microbubbles created by my Skimmer. After making some adjustments in the sump, problem solved .

Since I only have one fish and a few hermits in a 120g, I was just going to turn my skimmer off while I'm gone. I'm still trying to break it in, anyway- it's either overflowing and burping everywhere, or the suds aren't even reaching the collection cup. I wonder if the sensor will behave better with the skimmer off. I'll turn it off now and see how the sensor behaves!

 

[Reeferdood]

But that would still leave the optical sensor deep underwater during feed mode, and the alarm would scream for a solid 10 minutes until the return pump starts again, right?

No, only the float switch trips the alarm..

 

[Water Dog]

A few things...

When the 3155 ATO powers off and gets turned back on, you’ll hear an audible alarm and the unit will auto fill, regardless of the position of the optical eye or float switch, for 15 seconds. A way to limit how much it fills is to open up the controller box. On the inside you’ll see a red potentiometer knob. Turn it all the way counterclockwise to “nano”. This will serve to slow the pump down, thus limiting how much water gets dumped in during the 15 second auto fill after a power cycle.

If using an Apex, you can plug the ATO brain into an Apex outlet and have it turn off during feed mode. I usually delay the reactivation of the ATO for 30 seconds after power is restored o the return pump so it doesn’t alarm incessantly thinking that there s flood. After 30 seconds, the sump water levels should normalize, then power to the ATO gets restored.

 

[SallyWho]

If using an Apex, you can plug the ATO brain into an Apex outlet and have it turn off during feed mode. I usually delay the reactivation of the ATO for 30 seconds after power is restored o the return pump so it doesn’t alarm incessantly thinking that there s flood. After 30 seconds, the sump water levels should normalize, then power to the ATO gets restored.

I'm looking forward to eventually having more of my stuff hooked into Apex. Right now, my Jebao DCT8000 return pump and Gyre are both running independently- I know I can get a module to hook the Gyre into Apex, but I don't know if there's one for the Jebao. :/ Makes feeding a bit of a pain, having to manually start feed modes on both pumps and unplugging the ATO each time. I thought about doing what was suggested above, raising the float switch so the alarm isn't triggered by the feed mode surge in the sump, but what worries me about that is the potential for failure. If the ATO pump goes bananas and tries to dump my entire reservoir into the sump, I won't know about it until Apex tells me my salinity is dropping, or I happen to look in there and see the water level about 4" higher than it should be.

Oh, and I turned off the skimmer before leaving town. It must have been the microbubbles causing my trouble! Good call! The water level stayed steady right where it was supposed to be on the optical sensor- about midway up the cone on the bottom. Now I've just got to figure out how to tune in the skimmer so I get fewer microbubbles. I bought it used, so I thought there wouldn't be much breaking in to do. I was wrong there! The foam either never reaches the top of the neck, or I have a sloppy volcano. Sometimes both within a few hours of each other without having touched it at all!