merlberg
Valuable Member
Hey guys im setting up a tank and trying to get everything in order. I for sure want an auto top off system so I'm just coming here to ask what is the most affordable/easiest one you might have please?
auto top off systems?
- Thread starter merlberg
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TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
I wouldn't cheap out on the ATO. Something that can crash your tank or flood your house is worth putting a few more dollars into IMO. I use the Avast ATO coupled to my controller. You can buy one that has a switched outlet instead. You'll need to buy a pump too. I use the Aqualifter pump. It runs slowly enough that I don't have to worry about floods.
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merlberg
Valuable Member
Hmm you make a good point when u state flood my house -_-. What size is your tank? If i look into that brand would it be ok with a 120 gal tank and 55 gal sump? Or does the size not matter?
TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
Yep, that's the ATO that I use. Mine has a digital output rather than being attached to an outlet like that one. Same price though. The nice thing about the Avast ATO is that it won't foul from algae or detritus, snails can't clog it (in theory), and the sensor doesn't actually come into contact with salt water. It runs using air pressure. Size of the tank doesn't matter for the ATO sensor, but it might change your pump size. That will depend on how much water you evaporate each day. I have a topless 50g and I lose about 1g per day during the winter and about half that in the summer.
When choosing the pump for your ATO you need to think about how much water will be added each time the ATO senses the level is low. The Avast turns on at +/- 1/4" change. Let's just call that 1/2". If your return pump chamber is 16" x 5" and you are refilling 1/2" of water, that equates to about 0.17 gallons of water. The pump I use is rated to 3.5 gallons per hour. That would mean it would run for just shy of 3 minutes to refill the tank. To me, that's great. It fills slowly so there aren't any spikes and I can set a timer to turn the pump off if it runs for too long using my controller. Even a really long timeout of say 20 minutes would only mean about a gallon of water went into the tank.
That said, if you are losing say 5 gallons a day to evaporation, this pump would be running quite a lot and you'd want something bigger.
I use a Reef Angel controller. At that time it was the only option available that let you program every facet of the controller. Many others have this now too.
When choosing the pump for your ATO you need to think about how much water will be added each time the ATO senses the level is low. The Avast turns on at +/- 1/4" change. Let's just call that 1/2". If your return pump chamber is 16" x 5" and you are refilling 1/2" of water, that equates to about 0.17 gallons of water. The pump I use is rated to 3.5 gallons per hour. That would mean it would run for just shy of 3 minutes to refill the tank. To me, that's great. It fills slowly so there aren't any spikes and I can set a timer to turn the pump off if it runs for too long using my controller. Even a really long timeout of say 20 minutes would only mean about a gallon of water went into the tank.
That said, if you are losing say 5 gallons a day to evaporation, this pump would be running quite a lot and you'd want something bigger.
I use a Reef Angel controller. At that time it was the only option available that let you program every facet of the controller. Many others have this now too.
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merlberg
Valuable Member
Thank you so much for the info. So before i order the pump should i wait to see how much water needs to b topped off every day or can i just wing it n maybe go according to you since ur 50 gal? Assuming tht is your sump, what size is your dt? Thnks again for the info as i will be looking more into everything.
