GRRRR ATO Rant >:I

[Shep]

Well after spending the last 2 hours trying to get my new ATO to work, I have come to accept that there is no way that the ATO I have will work on a non sumped rimmed tank. Its so very very irritating that ~95% of ATOs are designed to work only on a sump and are next to impossible to get them to work on tanks with out them. I have the Puratek ATO and it is such a nice ATO unit but because of the rim (which I cut a chunk out of before realizing that there is no way to get it to work) I'm just annoyed/bummed because now I tank with part of the rim missing and it was for nothing. I just wish more ATO units worked for non sump tanks (I know float sensors work but I do not trust them) GRRRRRRR /end rant


Also this is in no way a slam of Puratek, their ATO unit looks awesome and has great features. If I could get it to work on my tank I would use it in a heartbeat.

 

[hybridazn]

That stinks man. The ato I just got from sexy corals says it would work with your situation. I just installed in on my frag system and its super quiet. Its the water refill genie. The sensor that goes in the sump can be turned sideways up to 90 degrees and still work. Which would be perfect for a rimmed tank I believe.

 

[kschweer]

What seems to be the issue causing it not to work? If you can't get it working avast marine makes a nice ato that should work without a sump.

 

[steve&mari]

That stinks I've read a lot of good about their products. Hopefully you find something to work for your needs. I used a rkl to run a aqua lifter pump for a Ato before worked great that would work without sump. Just need to do math to figure out how long to set timer for and number of times a day you want it to run. Then all you'd have is a airline tubing running into tank.

 

[Shep]

What seems to be the issue causing it not to work? If you can't get it working avast marine makes a nice ato that should work without a sump.

The way to calibrate it make, I'm going to contact them. I'll look into avast and the other two that were suggested. The thing I'm most annoyed about is that I cut the rim and now I'm worried about its structural integrity

 

[kschweer]

The way to calibrate it make, I'm going to contact them. I'll look into avast and the other two that were suggested. The thing I'm most annoyed about is that I cut the rim and now I'm worried about its structural integrity

Best of luck man! If you just cut a small section or notch out leaving the rest intact I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[steve&mari]

I've notched many rims on tanks before with no bad experiences. I doubt you'll have any issues from it.

 

[Shep]

Here is a pic,

 

[Shep]

I'm going to get some kind of brace I think to reinforce that side

 

[hybridazn]

I wouldn't worry too much about that its still structurally sound.

 

[kschweer]

I wouldn't worry too much about that its still structurally sound.

Agreed.

 

[Shep]

That takes a load off! Thanks everyone. Now time to find a new ATO

 

[steve&mari]

I also agree I wouldn't worry about it at all

 

[AdamNC]

Check Tunze, I have one on my 29 gallon rimmed tank and it just takes the water down about 1/2" without the rim being cut. So with the rim cut it should be up higher for you.

 

[Shep]

I'll take a look!

 

[afamousjohnson]

What if you calibrate it on something else just to set the sensor sensitivity than put it on standby mode and attached to your display tank than?

 

[mainn]

I have the smart ATO, it is a little pricy but "should" work good depending on how close your water line is to the rim. Its just 2 magnets and you can move it around to your waterline and such. Another bonus is it uses an optical sensor instead of a float switch so no mechanical failure there!

 

[MrDJeep123]

As said, I wouldn't worry about the integrity of the brace. Maybe I don't know enough of the puratek ato, but why did you have to notch the brace?

 

[Shep]

What if you calibrate it on something else just to set the sensor sensitivity than put it on standby mode and attached to your display tank than?

Good idea, I'll give that a try

As said, I wouldn't worry about the integrity of the brace. Maybe I don't know enough of the puratek ato, but why did you have to notch the brace?

The sensor can read through balck plastic but due to the air gap between the rim and the tank, it would not calibrate correctly.

 

[MrDJeep123]

:O Fancy! But that would be annoying. Very.