Auto top off safety

[CB06]

Hi guys I have purchased the auto aqua smart ato lite top off and was wondering what you guys do to stop any malfunctions. My main concern is flooding my tank. It’s is a 20 gallon Sumpless and I’m using a 10 gallon tank as a resivor. Can I trust this top off unit or is there something I need to do to make sure it won’t flood my tank.

 

[jhuntstl]

You could put the ATO on a timer or smart outlet. Only allow it to turn on for brief periods of the day. Ideally you would calculate it's ml/min and set your timers accordingly. Basically only give it enough time to top off slightly more than you would expect to evaporate in a day.

 

[CB06]

You could put the ATO on a timer or smart outlet. Only allow it to turn on for brief periods of the day. Ideally you would calculate it's ml/min and set your timers accordingly. Basically only give it enough time to top off slightly more than you would expect to evaporate in a day.

What timer should I use I csnt find one that is controllable to the second as the pump pumps 280 liters an hour so I’d need to be able to break it up until the a few seconds every few hours to make sure it won’t overflow

 

[jhuntstl]

What timer should I use I csnt find one that is controllable to the second as the pump pumps 280 liters an hour so I’d need to be able to break it up until the a few seconds every few hours to make sure it won’t overflow

Sorry, not sure about one that could control to the second. The pump may be 280l/hour, but there will be head loss since I assume you're pumping it up from inside or next to the stand. It would be best to get a gallon jug and see how long it takes to fill it up at the same level as the top of your aquarium.

Maybe you could use a ball valve to slow down the flow? This should allow you to set a timer to minutes and not seconds.

 

[Koh23]

Simply make sure that your rodi container have less water than tank can take....

Even if that mean that u have to fill rodi container every day.....

Everyting else is less secure.....

 

[anthonygf]

Get a water level sensor on your tank, when the water reaches that level it will turn the power to the pump off.

 

[OfficeReefer]

You can buy the mechanical float valve that would fit on the end of the hose or tubing. I believe you only have a single sensor correct?

Usually this works fine, however some of the more expensive options have two sensors; an upper and lower along with a mechanical float valve. Neptune Systems Apex Fusion has this with their ATK module.

 

[Glammers]

I have used the method of hooking the ATO to a smart outlet and only allowing it to come on for short periods of time. Found this has given me some piece of mind and allows me to quickly turn the pump off if needed.

 

[Koh23]

All serious ato, even those home built must have two sensors or switch.

Primary, and backup, placed slightly above, so if first fail for any reason, there is second to shut down pump.

These fancy "100$ atos" are simply sh..... Home diy ato for 10$ is way safer and better.

 

[jhuntstl]

All serious ato, even those home built must have two sensors or switch.

Primary, and backup, placed slightly above, so if first fail for any reason, there is second to shut down pump.

These fancy "100$ atos" are simply sh..... Home diy ato for 10$ is way safer and better.

Limiting the power is, in my opinion, the most effective way to greatly reduce the possibility of a major overfill. You provide just enough time/power to avoid total disaster. If your power control fails in the on position, you then rely on all other redundancies such as sensors, float valves, switches, etc. If it fails off, well hopefully you aren't out of town for very long. But at least your floors will be dry.

 

[EricR]

Which exact unit do you have?
The couple "AutoAQUA Smart Lite" ones I see on Amazon seem like they both have (at quick glance):
- dual sensors in one housing; one for normal water level and higher one for emergency (high level) shut off
- extra siphon-based (I think, maybe not) switch for secondary emergency high-level shut off

More redundancy with separate units is always safer but, just have to decide how much you trust the built-in redundancies.

 

[Dburr1014]

Hi guys I have purchased the auto aqua smart ato lite top off and was wondering what you guys do to stop any malfunctions. My main concern is flooding my tank. It’s is a 20 gallon Sumpless and I’m using a 10 gallon tank as a resivor. Can I trust this top off unit or is there something I need to do to make sure it won’t flood my tank.

If using a pump, make sure the hose end stays higher than the top off water level. No back syphone!

 

[Koh23]

If you need to relly on timer or similar "power on-off", then you dont have ato....

Its just like sitting with glass of water and pour some now and then....

 

[EricR]

If you need to relly on timer or similar "power on-off", then you dont have ato....

Its just like sitting with glass of water and pour some now and then....

I kind of agree that you're basically just fighting your ATO and not trusting it.

...but I could see something like this, if you actually went to this trouble (((just making up random numbers)):
If you know your ATO normally runs for 30 seconds every hour to maintain water level,
Set it on a smart timer to have power for 1 minute every hour so you'd have a reasonable chance of noticing high water level before complete catastrophe (in the event of ATO constant ON failure).
*feels not ideal to me but whatever

Not sure if that was the idea with the timer suggestions so just guessing.

 

[jhuntstl]

If you need to relly on timer or similar "power on-off", then you dont have ato....

Its just like sitting with glass of water and pour some now and then....

You could set it to turn on once a day, each hour, three times an hour. It's still an ATO with all the sensors and such. It's just greatly limiting it's potential to get stuck on and flood your floors.

 

[Koh23]

I agree, all i'm saying is, if you need to worry and thinking of alternative "fail safe swithc", then you probably shouldnt use that ato.

Timers and stuff can also get broken, mailfunction, etc....

So, i think that ensuring one device fail safe with another device who can also fail is not a best possible way to go.

We became too dependent on "technology", but, if one makes step back and rely on simpliest law of physic, then he can make bullet proof system.

And only law that counta here - dont have volume of water in A that B cannot handle without spilling over.

I buildt my ato probably 10 years ago. Simple 2 float valve, relay, some wires and socket. Yes, there is option that both switch fail, even in same moment. Even if you have 10 fail safe switches, they can fail in same exact moment.

But, if your ato container have less water in it that sump or tank can take.... Then there is no way for system to fail, it is impossible to flood.

Ato container in my case is 25l (which is good for 3-5 days, depends on evaporation. My sump have "room" for app 100-120l of water.

In case everything goes south, and tank drains to sump, and ato dont turn of pump..... I still have available space for all of that water to be safely contained in sump.

Only thing that, in this or similar case i cannot prevent is probability of pump overheating and fail when left to run dry.

And that is only real and safe case when dealing with water - make sure that A can hold much more water that is in B.

 

[EricR]

...
And only law that counta here - dont have volume of water in A that B cannot handle without spilling over.
...

I agree with everything you said.
...but having ATO container that can hold 1-2 weeks of water is sure convenient when it comes to vacation time.

Sorry to the OP for the tangent

 

[jhuntstl]

I agree, all i'm saying is, if you need to worry and thinking of alternative "fail safe swithc", then you probably shouldnt use that ato.

Timers and stuff can also get broken, mailfunction, etc....

So, i think that ensuring one device fail safe with another device who can also fail is not a best possible way to go.

We became too dependent on "technology", but, if one makes step back and rely on simpliest law of physic, then he can make bullet proof system.

And only law that counta here - dont have volume of water in A that B cannot handle without spilling over.

I buildt my ato probably 10 years ago. Simple 2 float valve, relay, some wires and socket. Yes, there is option that both switch fail, even in same moment. Even if you have 10 fail safe switches, they can fail in same exact moment.

But, if your ato container have less water in it that sump or tank can take.... Then there is no way for system to fail, it is impossible to flood.

Ato container in my case is 25l (which is good for 3-5 days, depends on evaporation. My sump have "room" for app 100-120l of water.

In case everything goes south, and tank drains to sump, and ato dont turn of pump..... I still have available space for all of that water to be safely contained in sump.

Only thing that, in this or similar case i cannot prevent is probability of pump overheating and fail when left to run dry.

And that is only real and safe case when dealing with water - make sure that A can hold much more water that is in B.

I agree, a small volume reservoir is the #1 best way to prevent a failure. It's just unfortunately not very convenient or practical if you're away for extended periods of time.

Anyways. Best of luck to OP. Hopefully you come to a conclusion that works for your setup.

 

[Koh23]

No need to container to be small, all it takes it that it have less water that can fit in sump/tank.

Is it tank/sump to small, that is totally another question

 

[CB06]

thanks for all the suggestions I think the best option for me is going to be using a timer with a ball valve as my tank can only hold another 2 liters or so before it would overflow.