JoshF7
Community Member
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2019
- Messages
- 92
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- Location
- Northern California
- What state or country do you live in
- California
This is my first thread here, as I'm just getting back in the hobby after being out for several years, and I'm still setting things up, but wanted to share what worked for me to upgrade the AutoAqua AWC/ATO pumps to get water moved farther than the standard ones it comes with. Jump to the end for the list of what I used.
The Backstory
I have my water storage below my tank (unfinished basement), and the pumps that come with the AutoAqua system just barely could not make it up consistently (about a foot short). As frustrating as that was to be so close and yet not quite there, I set out to DIY something to make it work. The obvious choice was to get a cheap submersible and then use the AutoAqua plug accessory. So, I tried that, but failed as my AWC and ATO water storage tanks have small openings that simply will not fit a large pump - which I found out the hard way trying to squeeze one in and realizing I measured the round opening without considering most pumps are rectangles... I didn't want to change my plumbing on my bulkheads on the tanks which would then also require two very large and expensive external pumps that would be massive overkill for ATO and AWC (not to mention the larger risk with pumping that fast - with ATO slow is better in my opinion).
I then tried a few different pumps from Amazon that were roughly the same size as the originals, but claimed higher max head pressure. They are lies. In my experience, none of them could reliably make the trip even if well within the stated specs. I think they all know this, but I figured for the cheap price it was worth a shot if somehow they did work.
I then decided it would be "fun" to try some cheap diaphragm pumps for the ATO side. After trying a few of those, the sound alone was so annoying that I just stopped trying and given that saltwater would cause problems for a diaphragm pump in the long run (and put who knows what into the tank), I decided I needed to go peristaltic. However, I didn't want to spend a huge amount for a fancy one because I don't exactly need high accuracy of any kind for this purpose. My initial instinct was to just build one as I have a 3D printer that could help save a few bucks, but instead I tried a cheap one from Amazon first.
The Solution
Today, I got something that works and does so quite easily. I purchased from Amazon the Gikfun 12V DC Dosing Pump (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IUVHB8E) and some airline tubing. On the water storage tank side, I used standard 1/4 RODI tubing so that it is rigid and can sit on the bottom of the tank without floating up and then connected from that to the airline tubing using this cheap check valve (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H82Q6PC) which basically worked as an adapter for me as well - allowing me to go from the 1/4 to airline 3/16. To connect the pump, I had these already purchased, but they are just standard barrel jack connectors: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C7VSRBG You simply connect the red and black to the back of the pump (I used clips because I have them) and away you go.
The Benefits
I battled through so much trial and error on this one, that I just had to write this up in hopes that this helps someone else in the future who finds themselves in the same position. The end result was very cost effective and has so many more benefits over the original that frankly AutoAqua should just use these instead. Yes, I could have purchased something like the Neptune DOS to do water changes, but I don't like how it works or how much it costs and I much prefer to have multiple points of control and no single point of failure. Finally, there are several peristaltic pumps that are inexpensive on Amazon. I chose the one I did because it has low power draw that you can connect directly up to the existing barrel plugs and it runs at 100 ml/min which is pretty decent (even the much more expensive ones often don't even do that much). That said, there are very similar ones out there that could possibly be a few dollars cheaper and/or pump a little faster. Once I found one that worked, I stopped trying anything further.
The Backstory
I have my water storage below my tank (unfinished basement), and the pumps that come with the AutoAqua system just barely could not make it up consistently (about a foot short). As frustrating as that was to be so close and yet not quite there, I set out to DIY something to make it work. The obvious choice was to get a cheap submersible and then use the AutoAqua plug accessory. So, I tried that, but failed as my AWC and ATO water storage tanks have small openings that simply will not fit a large pump - which I found out the hard way trying to squeeze one in and realizing I measured the round opening without considering most pumps are rectangles... I didn't want to change my plumbing on my bulkheads on the tanks which would then also require two very large and expensive external pumps that would be massive overkill for ATO and AWC (not to mention the larger risk with pumping that fast - with ATO slow is better in my opinion).
I then tried a few different pumps from Amazon that were roughly the same size as the originals, but claimed higher max head pressure. They are lies. In my experience, none of them could reliably make the trip even if well within the stated specs. I think they all know this, but I figured for the cheap price it was worth a shot if somehow they did work.
I then decided it would be "fun" to try some cheap diaphragm pumps for the ATO side. After trying a few of those, the sound alone was so annoying that I just stopped trying and given that saltwater would cause problems for a diaphragm pump in the long run (and put who knows what into the tank), I decided I needed to go peristaltic. However, I didn't want to spend a huge amount for a fancy one because I don't exactly need high accuracy of any kind for this purpose. My initial instinct was to just build one as I have a 3D printer that could help save a few bucks, but instead I tried a cheap one from Amazon first.
The Solution
Today, I got something that works and does so quite easily. I purchased from Amazon the Gikfun 12V DC Dosing Pump (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IUVHB8E) and some airline tubing. On the water storage tank side, I used standard 1/4 RODI tubing so that it is rigid and can sit on the bottom of the tank without floating up and then connected from that to the airline tubing using this cheap check valve (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H82Q6PC) which basically worked as an adapter for me as well - allowing me to go from the 1/4 to airline 3/16. To connect the pump, I had these already purchased, but they are just standard barrel jack connectors: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C7VSRBG You simply connect the red and black to the back of the pump (I used clips because I have them) and away you go.
The Benefits
- It works! I can move water from very far away and up quite a distance with no problems whatsoever
- Pretty much a direct swap out from the original
- Low cost and easy to purchase - I will probably purchase more as a backup that I can easily swap out. I could purchase several of these and still be money ahead for a while. The airline tubing is also inexpensive, so cheaper than trying to use a larger pump that would use a larger diameter tube
- Quieter than the original, as the original system used a siphon break on the line that was noisy, but now with this pump it didn't allow any siphon anyway (a benefit of many peristaltic pumps) and I have the check valve as well so that the siphon break is not needed
- Can run dry! Obvious if you know what a peristaltic pump is, but this is a huge bonus to not have to worry about it
- Can pull water from the storage tank down to a very low level in the tank which is something no other submersible pump I found could ever approach
I battled through so much trial and error on this one, that I just had to write this up in hopes that this helps someone else in the future who finds themselves in the same position. The end result was very cost effective and has so many more benefits over the original that frankly AutoAqua should just use these instead. Yes, I could have purchased something like the Neptune DOS to do water changes, but I don't like how it works or how much it costs and I much prefer to have multiple points of control and no single point of failure. Finally, there are several peristaltic pumps that are inexpensive on Amazon. I chose the one I did because it has low power draw that you can connect directly up to the existing barrel plugs and it runs at 100 ml/min which is pretty decent (even the much more expensive ones often don't even do that much). That said, there are very similar ones out there that could possibly be a few dollars cheaper and/or pump a little faster. Once I found one that worked, I stopped trying anything further.
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