Choosing a replacement ATO

[Levinson]

I had Auto Aqua Smart ATO Lite running for about 1 year and it stopped working. I found 2 cracks on the plastic housing of the sensor unit and drops of water have made their way into the sensor unit. At one point, I almost managed to fix it but it's too far gone now I need a new ATO. Apparently, this cracking issue has happened with this product to some other people in the past as well.

Living in Korea, I don't have many options, and most of them are from Aliexpress.
These are what I found so far.

1. Brand: ? , Name: 'Aquamedia style ATO(?)' , They say it's the same as the Aquamedic ATO.
2. Brand: Jebao, Name: Jebato 150 ATO, Seems quite new hence couldn't find any reviews.
3. Brand: Kamoer, Name: ATO(?), There seem to be some negative reviews on Amazon.
4. Brand: AutoAqua, Name: Smart ATO lite, One that broke. Not sure if I wanna risk it again. Good unit if it hadn't been for the crack issue. Shame.

Does anyone have any experience with or hear about any of the ATOs above? What do you reckon?
I'm also willing to look at other more costly options (from other countries) if I feel the product is worth it so any other recommendations are also welcome.
Cheers.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I personally like the auto aqua. Junk seems to be the other favorite

 

[Levinson]

I personally like the auto aqua. Junk seems to be the other favorite

Thanks for the input, just worried the auto aqua one will crack again.
Can I ask what you mean by 'Junk'? Doesn't sound like a name of a brand, though it would've been funny if it was.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for the input, just worried the auto aqua one will crack again.
Can I ask what you mean by 'Junk'? Doesn't sound like a name of a brand, though it would've been funny if it was.

Gosh I hate spell correct
Meant JBJ, not the word junk

 

[Levinson]

One more added to the list.
5. Brand: Magtool, Name: Smart ATO

I wonder if I can get the Auto aqua again and coat the sensor with something (like silicone) to prevent it from cracking?

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

I have the innovative marine one and it works fabulously.

 

[jgirardnrg]

I have 2 of the Kamoer units on tanks here and they work fine.

 

[minus9]

Are you able to set up an old school gravity fed ATO? What tank do you have?

 

[Levinson]

Are you able to set up an old school gravity fed ATO? What tank do you have?

It's an AIO 30 gal tank but things may change in the near future. If you are referring to the top off reservoir sitting above the tank, I don't really have a room for it plus I prefer ATO.

 

[minus9]

It's an AIO 30 gal tank but things may change in the near future. If you are referring to the top off reservoir sitting above the tank, I don't really have a room for it plus I prefer ATO.

I'm still using my Tunze 3155 that I purchased for my AIO 22g 7 years ago. Have you looked on eBay?

 

[Levinson]

I'm still using my Tunze 3155 that I purchased for my AIO 22g 7 years ago. Have you looked on eBay?

7 years! Sounds dang reliable. I will look into it Thx.

 

[minus9]

7 years! Sounds dang reliable. I will look into it Thx.

That's thing about Tunze, everything they make is made to last.

 

[reefz]

Don’t get another Auto Aqua. My experience is I had to replace it 3 times, after each one breaking after 6 months. It seems that a lot of people have this happen too. I just went with a different brand and it works great.

 

[Levinson]

Don’t get another Auto Aqua. My experience is I had to replace it 3 times, after each one breaking after 6 months. It seems that a lot of people have this happen too. I just went with a different brand and it works great.

May I ask which brand you have switched to?

 

[reefz]

May I ask which brand you have switched to?

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/exo-ato-reefbreeders.html I got this one. I definitely recommend as the senser works out of water so it can’t break from water damage.

 

[jda]

Tunze Osmolator is best of breed, IMO. Just get one and be happy for a long time.

I have one on each tank - I did have a pump quit, but it was like $20, so I got a few more.

 

[oranngetang]

May I ask which brand you have switched to?

What did you end up going with and how has it been performing?

I was on my 3rd Auto Aqua Smart ATO, initially in a small BioCube and then as the main for my RedSea 525XL. I liked that it would alarm and shut down if it wasn't filling or was over-filling and seemed to have a timed maximum pumping time as it was designed for a smaller tank, but worked perfectly for the large one with a good fail safe.

My unit is wired into a base board with a barrel plug I fixed into it. The power lead for the pump runs about 20 feet behind baseboards to a bathroom closet where there is a 40 gallon ATO supply that tops up every morning at 8am.

Since the reservoir is deeper than the sump is tall, I have it setup so the ATO pump pumps through RO line and fittings behind the same baseboard, pops out next to stand and runs up into the display tank.

Other than going through a couple of pumps this unit has been perfect for my needs for 7 years - until today. for whatever reason it began continuously pumping from the 40 gallon reservoir without stopping. No alarm, no failsafe, just a constant 12V sent to the pump. The sensor was flashing as if it was dry and attempting to fill - but the programming must have failed in the unit along with the sensor...

So I've got a lot of drywall repair to do in the basement now - wondering what works well. I've considered fixing the ATO pump higher in the reservoir so it can't pump the entire volume out, just the top few gallons, but this creates and issue with the hydrostatic head being too high for the little pump to move it this distance.

Also looking at the Jebao, IceCap, Exo Auto Top and similar looking setups to that Auto Aqua unit, mainly in hopes I can use the existing wiring through wall to power a 12V pump from a barrel plug at the tank... For now, I have a spare Auto Aqua that is working fine again.

-Cause- The sensor failed. There is water ingress inside the sensor body and corrosion on the board visible through the optical lens.

-Tunze- While these are generally well regarded, I did have one "stick" a float back when my ATO was Kalwasser fed. It failed to fill until the reservoir was run dry and then dumped in a couple of gallons of Kalwasser at once which wiped out the entire tank. They all have their risks if you don't have 1000% failsafe accounted for unfortunately.

 

[oranngetang]

The failed optical sensor, which subsequently disabled the overflow protection.

 

[Levinson]

What did you end up going with and how has it been performing?

I got a Kamoer one. It's been working well so far.

 

[WvAquatics]

Im on the fence with
Autotopoff.com. cheapest
Avast marine parrot most exspensive but looks full of fail safes
And kameor one2 middle price basic ato operation.
I used the reefbreeders exo. But idk if i can find all the parts from my tear down 2 years ago. Took a break from full on reefing and just have 2 clowns in a bowfront nothong special about the curent tank.