AUTO AQUA SMART ATO MICRO ALMOST KILLED MY NANO

[roberthu526]

I have used one on my frag tank for eight months now and it always shuts off and beeps after longer than normal top off time and it usually happens after a water change or I forget to fill the ATO container. It’s kind annoying but also helpful.
Also I believe the package comes with a check valve to prevent siphon but I have my tube above water in the sump so I have never had to use it.

 

[ReefNerd]

I have used one on my frag tank for eight months now and it always shuts off and beeps after longer than normal top off time and it usually happens after a water change or I forget to fill the ATO container. It’s kind annoying but also helpful.
Also I believe the package comes with a check valve to prevent siphon but I have my tube above water in the sump so I have never had to use it.

Its not to prevent siphon from your sump into your ATO.... but the other way round, preventing siphon from your ATO into your sump, which can cause your entire ATO to be dumped into your tank even if the pump is switched off... I strongly suggest installing the siphon break at the top edge, just inside the ATO reservoir. Look at the diagrams in the manual/box or on their website if you no longer have those

 

[intricate_reefer]

I have two of them and have had no issues. Always shuts off and beeps if I forget to turn it off during water change and it fills. Now my older one didn’t come with a siphon break. My ato reservoirs are below in my stand pumping up to my AIO tank. Am I good with this set up without using the siphon break? Definitely don’t wanna be at risk and am considering buying a Neptune ATK V2.

 

[ReefNerd]

I have two of them and have had no issues. Always shuts off and beeps if I forget to turn it off during water change and it fills. Now my older one didn’t come with a siphon break. My ato reservoirs are below in my stand pumping up to my AIO tank. Am I good with this set up without using the siphon break? Definitely don’t wanna be at risk and am considering buying a Neptune ATK V2.

Perfectly safe as long as the tube at the top in your tank is not below the water line. No siphon could possibly occur from the display -> ATO res in stand. However if the tube were to drop below the waterline in your display, a back siphon is certainly possible into your ATO res, so make sure that tube is secure.

Given your ATO is well below your tank, no siphon could occur in the other direction either from your ATO -> Display.

Its where people have ATO reservoirs next to their sumps where the water levels are similar or can fluctuate between being higher on one side or the other that siphons in either direction are common and siphon breaks are necessary

 

[intricate_reefer]

Perfectly safe as long as the tube at the top in your tank is not below the water line. No siphon could possibly occur from the display -> ATO res in stand. However if the tube were to drop below the waterline in your display, a back siphon is certainly possible into your ATO res, so make sure that tube is secure.

Given your ATO is well below your tank, no siphon could occur in the other direction either from your ATO -> Display.

Its where people have ATO reservoirs next to their sumps where the water levels are similar or can fluctuate between being higher on one side or the other that siphons in either direction are common and siphon breaks are necessary

Awesome, thanks so much for clarifying for me!

 

[Starganderfish]

Water change? I'm not sure I follow. This shouldn't be used for water changes. It's an ATO (atuomatic top off) used for fresh water top off. When first installed , the water level should be at the sensor. Then when it goes to make its first autofill of fresh water it records the time and then will only fill up to 3x that. For my 80 gallon frag tank this 3x fill is only about 15 seconds.

Sorry, my bad. Thought this was talking about the Smart AWC Touch, which is both ATO and AWC in one. Has the same "QST security" setup, uses the same sensors etc, just incorporates extra pumps and some additional programming to do AWC as well as ATO.
Either way, it sounds like siphon breaks and either a "Smart Level Security" device or a float valve would help a lot of the potential failure modes, with both devices.

 

[ryboy707]

I’m glad this product works well for many people. I wish I had the same experience. I kind of like having it on my apex on a timed schedule tho. This way I don have to worry about the fluctuations in the chambers if the filter floss gets clogged triggering the ato unnecessarily. On a five gal tank it’s real easy to throw salinity off with just a little too much fresh water. I was having a problem with that actually, and if the ATO wouldn’t have acted up and forced me to put it on a timer I never would’ve thought to do try this

 

[hart24601]

Man sorry to hear the issues. I have been using the same one on my 3g pico, then went to 33g and now my Waterbox 100.3 although I use an Avast pump. It's performed very well for me.

 

[reefsaver]

My Auto Aqua lasted me exactly 1 year. I woke up this morning and noticed a flipped Trochus and figured the ATO had finally given up. I've been having problems with it for months too, overfilling, sometimes it flashes the red empty alarm when it's not empty, and it had a single stress mark that turned into a crack all the way through eventually. I just rewired the AutoAqua pump to another power supply so I could just flick on a switch to top off evaporation for the time being.
I think next I'm going all out with a Tunze Ozmolator. The Autoaqua is good if you have $100 a year to set fire to IMO.

 

[hart24601]

Oh wow that sucks. Sorry to hear it. Fwiw mine still going strong from above 2019 post but I don’t use the stock pump.

 

[131696]

5 gallon put a lid on it, no auto nothing do it yourself once a week if that .let small protein skimmer bring oxygen to tank or leave a small gap in back to let a drop evaporate a day. No lid ok make a routine maintenance do it yourself everyday or 2 days easy ,you control your tank only you not a machine that can mess it up.keep it simple is best way to go.

 

[hart24601]

,you control your tank only you not a machine that can mess it up.keep it simple is best way to go.

Wow you’re a better person than me. Pretty much every single machine I have over the years has been more reliable than I I did it all. Good for you mate.

 

[131696]

Wow you’re a better person than me. Pretty much every single machine I have over the years has been more reliable than I I did it all. Good for you mate.

Love reefing ,love this hobby ,love Aquariums and the animals that are in it ,there my kids..lol

 

[Harold999]

5 gallon put a lid on it, no auto nothing do it yourself once a week if that .let small protein skimmer bring oxygen to tank or leave a small gap in back to let a drop evaporate a day. No lid ok make a routine maintenance do it yourself everyday or 2 days easy ,you control your tank only you not a machine that can mess it up.keep it simple is best way to go.

I use a dosing pump for topping off a nano tank, can't think of anything more stable (it doses every hour) and safe. Only need to make some small adjustments couple of times a year when seasons (evaporation) change.

The regular ATO's are just not suited for a nano tank imo. When your filtersock/fleece clogs up those things start filling unjustly because the level in the return chamber drops.

 

[reefsaver]

This whole thread just makes me want to drill out my tank and add a sump.
It'll literally solve everything.
I'll double my water volume and it'll be twice as stable, I can hide all my equipment in a sump, it just makes sense.
Next payday, I'm going to buy some glass drill bits on eBay, and do a bit more research on plumbing and silencing sumps bc my tank is at my bedside.