Hydros ATO issue

[MugiwaraGrape]

Having an issue with the ATO kicking on multiple times an hour for 1-2-3 seconds and it tends to be filling quite a bit above the sensor. The hose is several inches above the water line so I don't think it is a siphon issue like I have been reading. The sensor is probably two weeks old so I don't think it would be dirty enough to be causing an issue. It is ran through a Hydros x2. If pictures of the set up would help I can take some once I get home. Be in mind it isn't filling to a point of spilling out of the return chamber or anything but still almost 2 inches above the sensor at times.

 

[Joe31415]

I had that problem too. Never did figure it out. I eventually went back to my Tunze ATO.

 

[surlytx]

Open a ticket with Hydros support. They are very responsive and will help you get it sorted.

 

[MugiwaraGrape]

Open a ticket with Hydros support. They are very responsive and will help you get it sorted.

It's always the simplest answer I never think to do. Haha My mind is always "to r2r!". Haha Thanks a bunch!

 

[MugiwaraGrape]

I had that problem too. Never did figure it out. I eventually went back to my Tunze ATO.

I hope I can get it resolved. I really love the Coralvue hydros stuff. It isn't detrimental just more so wondering if it was something I could resolve or had done wrong.

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

We have a Hydros ATO on one of the Office Tanks. It could be some sensor problem but I think it is more likely an issue with your minimum and maximum On Times. I would suggest lowering the minimum on time and maximum on time. You might also want to increase the minimum off time. 2 things could be happening.

1. If your Minimum On time is too long then it may just be that each time the pump turns on it has to pump for the minimum on time which overfills the chamber. This is common with nanos.

2. If you lower the Maximum On time and increase your Minimum Off time this may also help. In my 200-gallon system at home, I add ATO water to the display to avoid siphon issues, but when the water is added to the display it can about a full minute for it to fully equalize to where the water level in the sump is going to finally rest. Because it takes a while, the water level in the sump always goes beyond the sensor of my Osmolator. This got really annoying because it would trip the emergency alarm on my osmolator and send ringing through the house. The way to fix this with Hydros would be to lower the maximum on time so that only the needed amount of water is added and then increase the minimum off time so that the unit will have to wait until everything is equalized before turning the pump on again.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Having an issue with the ATO kicking on multiple times an hour for 1-2-3 seconds and it tends to be filling quite a bit above the sensor. The hose is several inches above the water line so I don't think it is a siphon issue like I have been reading. The sensor is probably two weeks old so I don't think it would be dirty enough to be causing an issue. It is ran through a Hydros x2. If pictures of the set up would help I can take some once I get home. Be in mind it isn't filling to a point of spilling out of the return chamber or anything but still almost 2 inches above the sensor at times.

I set mine to run a minimum of 6 seconds, this reduces the kick on, but mine still kicks on every 20 minutes on a high evap day.

More frequent is just fine, it means you are keeping the salinity more stable.

However, you may bennefit more from increasing minimum off time if you are overfilling. The distance between where your ATO is dispensing from the return chamber is a factor here.

My ato empties into the begining of my fuge, and is about 15 inches from the sensor in my return. But I don't get much of any overfill.

One factor to note is your powrheads, they can cause a fluctuation in how much water drains as they kick on and off or turbulence hits a high spot in its cycle of how your water moves. Youre ATO may be triggering when it's at a low point causing it to overfill a little.

These pumps are alsp pretty powerful, my solution to assist with this was to use a much longer tube than I needed that is coiled up some to increase the travel time and give the siphon it creates a little nore strength when it kicks off so that the wayer still in the tube at shutoff is sucked back and doesn't continue to drain. My tubing is slightly smaller diameter than what the kit comes with, so that also helps prevent more water in the tube draining into my sump once it shuts off, the larger the inner diameter of the tube, the less the back siphon will stop extra water from being poured in.

 

[frydaddy]

On my nano I have min on time to 5 seconds, max on time to 8 seconds, and min off time to 30 mins

 

[MugiwaraGrape]

We have a Hydros ATO on one of the Office Tanks. It could be some sensor problem but I think it is more likely an issue with your minimum and maximum On Times. I would suggest lowering the minimum on time and maximum on time. You might also want to increase the minimum off time. 2 things could be happening.

1. If your Minimum On time is too long then it may just be that each time the pump turns on it has to pump for the minimum on time which overfills the chamber. This is common with nanos.

2. If you lower the Maximum On time and increase your Minimum Off time this may also help. In my 200-gallon system at home, I add ATO water to the display to avoid siphon issues, but when the water is added to the display it can about a full minute for it to fully equalize to where the water level in the sump is going to finally rest. Because it takes a while, the water level in the sump always goes beyond the sensor of my Osmolator. This got really annoying because it would trip the emergency alarm on my osmolator and send ringing through the house. The way to fix this with Hydros would be to lower the maximum on time so that only the needed amount of water is added and then increase the minimum off time so that the unit will have to wait until everything is equalized before turning the pump on again.

Sooooo how do I change on and off times? Lol I don't remember seeing it during setup and just taking a look on the app it isn't an option either.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Another thought is filtration holding back some water.

I have aquamesh inbetween the 2 baffles between my fuge and return chambers, if I get debris resting on top of that aquamesh slowing down water flow, and my ATO kicks on, that slight increase in water level at that moment will lift the debris off of the mesh, letting more water through, and will bring the water level up a little higher than the sensot because of the slight overfill already being experienced on my fuge side. I notice a big difference in how precise my tipoff is if I keep mechanical filtration in between my ATO dispensing, and my sensor.

I also noticed when I did dispense my ato into my return near the sensor, it was less precise, because of the way it would disturb the water surface.

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

Another thought is filtration holding back some water.

I have aquamesh inbetween the 2 baffles between my fuge and return chambers, if I get debris resting on top of that aquamesh slowing down water flow, and my ATO kicks on, that slight increase in water level at that moment will lift the debris off of the mesh, letting more water through, and will bring the water level up a little higher than the sensot because of the slight overfill already being experienced on my fuge side. I notice a big difference in how precise my tipoff is if I keep mechanical filtration in between my ATO dispensing, and my sensor.

I also noticed when I did dispense my ato into my return near the sensor, it was less precise, because of the way it would disturb the water surface.

This could be the case. My wave box stores a bit of water in the display that rushes into the sump when I shut it off at night.

 

[frydaddy]

Sooooo how do I change on and off times? Lol I don't remember seeing it during setup and just taking a look on the app it isn't an option either.

At the bottom enable advance settings, they have a nice YouTube video on setting up an ATO and all the different settings you can do

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Here ya go

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

Sooooo how do I change on and off times? Lol I don't remember seeing it during setup and just taking a look on the app it isn't an option either.

Here is a screenshot from one of our office Hydros's the on and off times are at the very bottom of the configuration page.

 

[MugiwaraGrape]

Here is a screenshot from one of our office Hydros's the on and off times are at the very bottom of the configuration page.

Ah it's in the enable advanced settings tab. I left that alone because I wasn't confident to fiddle with things during set up. Thank you so much!

 

[MugiwaraGrape]

You all are awesome! Thanks a bunch! I didn't even tick advanced settings on when I set it up in fear of doing something detrimental to the system. I'll give the new settings a try and see how it goes from there.

 

[MugiwaraGrape]

These are the stock settings it was on. The tank is 25g nano. Any suggestions?

 

[frydaddy]

definitely don't want max on time to be 2 minutes, if the sensor were to fail, it would run the full 2 minutes before shutting off. Figure out how long it takes to get the highest point you want it to fill and set that as the time. I let mine fill till the sensor is completely under water which takes about 8-9 seconds and set that as my max.

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

These are the stock settings it was on. The tank is 25g nano. Any suggestions?

I would start by decreasing the minimum on time from :05 to :01.

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

definitely don't want max on time to be 2 minutes, if the sensor were to fail, it would run the full 2 minutes before shutting off. Figure out how long it takes to get the highest point you want it to fill and set that as the time. I let mine fill till the sensor is completely under water which takes about 8-9 seconds and set that as my max.

I agree. For a nano, I would set it at a minute or less.