Budget Friendly ATO suggestions for Large tanks

[Rijodan]

Hello all, I'm looking for replacements for the ATOs of my 110g and 180g, they end up going through 20-30g of water a week between the two of them via evap and I have gone through my stash of SmartAqua Micro Atos keeping them going. Just burnt up the pumps after a year or so of use on each. Either way asked locally and i was suggested the Tunze ato but at 300 a tank lil steep for me as I've gone back to school. Any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[Troylee]

My Aqua auto has ran flawless for me for over a year now with a kalk top off and 20 gallons a week… I do have a brand new tunzee as a back up but haven’t had to put it in action yet.. they have great results but are pricey as you mentioned.

 

[TehBrainz]

I use the Hydor Smart Level Control. Currently listed as $85 on Amazon, but requires a pump to kick on and off from the controller.

I've had it in place for 6 years and only gone through 2 different pumps. It's OK. Temperature based controller that are fixed spacings, so the amount of water changed is dependent on your chamber size. I use this on my 200g.

Hydor Smart Level Control

 

[Snoopy 67]

You can't beat a Litremeter for top off. With an added separate pump you can do the 2 tanks.
Try the used sections as they can be repaired if needed.

 

[rtparty]

Tunze is $229 not 300 and is the best on the market. The 3155 was on clearance for the last little bit. BRS looks to be out but they had them for like $180 plus 20% off. Might find another site that still has some in stock? I think the 3155 is discontinued for the new Osmolator 3

 

[mfinn]

I have been using a JBJ ATO on my 240 for 10+ years.
I do like it because it has a timed run time and a audible alarm when it's running, which can be turned off.
It does require a separate pump which I use a maxi-jet 1200

 

[RedoubtReef]

I used a Kamoer F1 and a 14 gallon pet food storage container. You could easily use as large a container as you like. You can see the setup in my My Tank Thread link.

 

[fishyjoes]

If you can keep your top off container higher than your sump you can use a simple float valve. Cheap and no pump to burn out.
You could consider adding lids to limit evaporation as well

 

[Troylee]

I have been using a JBJ ATO on my 240 for 10+ years.
I do like it because it has a timed run time and a audible alarm when it's running, which can be turned off.
It does require a separate pump which I use a maxi-jet 1200

Love them old jbj! I used to use them with aqualifter pump… I looked for one and they discontinued them or something and used they wanted $200

 

[mfinn]

Love them old jbj! I used to use them with aqualifter pump… I looked for one and they discontinued them or something and used they wanted $200

I did not know they were discontinued. I have a used one for sale. I think I will take the ad down and hang on to it.
Aqualifters also got hard to find.
So I grabbed a couple extras when I came across them.

 

[AUSXMD]

Hello all, I'm looking for replacements for the ATOs of my 110g and 180g, they end up going through 20-30g of water a week between the two of them via evap and I have gone through my stash of SmartAqua Micro Atos keeping them going. Just burnt up the pumps after a year or so of use on each. Either way asked locally and i was suggested the Tunze ato but at 300 a tank lil steep for me as I've gone back to school. Any suggestions would be appreciated

I'm just finishing setting up a Waterbox 230. I got the Duetto2 Duel Sensor Complete ATO from BRS. IDK how good it is, but it was recommended and cost 140 bucks.

 

[Rijodan]

If you can keep your top off container higher than your sump you can use a simple float valve. Cheap and no pump to burn out.
You could consider adding lids to limit evaporation as well

glass sumps so dont want to deal with drilling, otherwise id have down this cheapo already lol. Lids cause heat, par drop, and lower oxygenation that I'd like to avoid. I keep my surface well-churned and the evap is just an accepted byproduct of that

 

[fishyjoes]

glass sumps so dont want to deal with drilling, otherwise id have down this cheapo already lol. Lids cause heat, par drop, and lower oxygenation that I'd like to avoid. I keep my surface well-churned and the evap is just an accepted byproduct of that

You don't have to drill - there are clamp on or magnetic brackets

 

[Reeferbadness]

I just upgraded to the Red Sea ATO on both tanks ( 180 g and 200 g) from Tunz. Love being able to see levels and flow with an app - especially when traveling. Tunz was on but has some issues - occasionally didn’t detect low water and I had to manually spot the issue and clean the sensor. That’s a no go when traveling ( which I do a lot )

 

[McPuff]

I would suggest the Tunze in a heartbeat. My first one was used when I bought it and I still got 12 years out of it (I still have it as a backup). I actually even have an older version that a neighbor gave me. Still need to test it to see if it works but I'm guessing it does. Two extra pumps as well. Hit me up if you might be interested. Cheap.

 

[JayM]

I'm using a cheap $50 ATO from Amazon. It's only been about 5 or 6 months, but it's been 100% trouble free with topping off 5-7 gallons a week.

 

[nereefpat]

I'm sure that others will disagree with this one, but an ATO doesn't have to be exactly perfectly accurate.

A light timer and a pump works okay.

 

[blazn]

I've used a Tunze 3155 on my DT for at least 6-7 years now and it's been rock solid. Yes, they are expensive but they are well worth it in my opinion!

 

[Rijodan]

I'm sure that others will disagree with this one, but an ATO doesn't have to be exactly perfectly accurate.

A light timer and a pump works okay.

did have one of the oldheads that had his on a doser cause his 600g system-collective ate up so much, forgot about that i do have 2 heads on my doser free.

 

[nereefpat]

did have one of the oldheads that had his on a doser cause his 600g system-collective ate up so much, forgot about that i do have 2 heads on my doser free.

As long as the doser is big enough, that might be okay. Most dosers only do so many mL/minute and most aren't designed for continuous use. 2 separate heads that could each do a few hundred mLs per day might work okay for a medium sized system.

I was referring to more of a powerhead type pump. The Aqualifters were actually awesome for this, but they aren't made anymore as far as I know.