Most reliable ATO?

mooputingtong · May 21, 2021

Im looking for a reliable ATO that wont prematurely fail in a few months. From what i heard and researched tunze 3155 is the product what im looking for but the price is just way too high. 240 for an ATO? It cost almost as same as my 15 gallon nano tank. is there another cheaper option for ATO? Im looking at autoaqua smart ATO lite. Its only $63. Anyone had heard or experience this ato? I dont wanna ended up with flooded tank with failed ato. Let me know your thoughts!

Zeal · May 21, 2021

mooputingtong said:
Im looking for a reliable ATO that wont prematurely fail in a few months. From what i heard and researched tunze 3155 is the product what im looking for but the price is just way too high. 240 for an ATO? It cost almost as same as my 15 gallon nano tank. is there another cheaper option for ATO? Im looking at autoaqua smart ATO lite. Its only $63. Anyone had heard or experience this ato? I dont wanna ended up with flooded tank with failed ato. Let me know your thoughts!

I used the Autoaquasmart ATO. Ive had it for over a year and no issues with it

DeniseAndy · May 21, 2021

Gravity works great! Mine are all gravity based. I realize for most, that is not an option due to configuration of sump and tank. However, never had a failure aside by me forgetting to turn on after water change.

mooputingtong · May 21, 2021

DeniseAndy said:
Gravity works great! Mine are all gravity based. I realize for most, that is not an option due to configuration of sump and tank. However, never had a failure aside by me forgetting to turn on after water change.

which gravity ato do u recommend? is it possible to install gravity as a second back up on other atos?

Montiman · May 21, 2021

I would look at the Avast ATO. The pressure sensor is very reliable.

T-J · May 21, 2021

Reliable or cheap? Choose one.

Having said that, I've had success with the ReefBreeders ATO on my 40g. I have the Neptune ATK top-off on my 120g. Most likely overkill for your situation tho.

Biokabe · May 21, 2021

For the most part, you get what you pay for in this hobby.

The Tunze 3155 is the gold standard ATO for a reason. Two different types of sensor, high-quality components... I've even had my pumps run dry and they're working like a champ as soon as they're filled with water again.

If you don't want to spend on the Tunze, you can of course go other routes. More than likely you would be fine, but the chances of getting a dud unit are, in my opinion, much higher than if you go with the Tunze. Up to you whether the cost savings of another unit are worth rolling the dice.

thewire · May 21, 2021

Most reliable ATO? My maid standing there 24/7 and pour water in

So far my reefbreeder prism works good

Calm Blue Ocean · May 21, 2021

The Tunze 3155 is definitely one of the most highly recommended ATOs and I have one on my 50 gallon tank. The problem is that it's not really designed for nanos (even with the internal dial turned to nano it pumps a lot of water). I would love to have all of it's features on my 10g but I think it would end up with a mess. One thing with the Tunze 3155 is that if it loses power it goes into a priming mode where it pumps water for about 10 seconds. In my nano, 10 seconds of water is a lot of water! Also with the spacing between the optical sensor and the emergency sensor (yes you can separate them and place them manually but no space in a nano), again we're talking about a lot of water in a nano. Unfortunately the Tunze ATO that is built for nanos does not have all the same features and, as a result, doesn't have the excellent reputation of it's larger cousin. Still looking for a suitable nano ATO as well so following along!

DeniseAndy · May 21, 2021

mooputingtong said:
which gravity ato do u recommend? is it possible to install gravity as a second back up on other atos?

I literally have a tank of water above my sump that gets filled via garden timer each night. This runs down an airline tubing to a simple float valve in the sump. Done. Been like this for my systems for over 16 years. When I have my picos/nanos, I sometimes resort to the maid thing. Although, I cannot afford one, so I am the maid. I just top off each night.

mooputingtong · May 21, 2021

T-J said:
Reliable or cheap? Choose one.

Having said that, I've had success with the ReefBreeders ATO on my 40g. I have the Neptune ATK top-off on my 120g. Most likely overkill for your situation tho.

i would love to get neptune, but it cost more than my tank lol

mooputingtong · May 21, 2021

Biokabe said:
For the most part, you get what you pay for in this hobby.

The Tunze 3155 is the gold standard ATO for a reason. Two different types of sensor, high-quality components... I've even had my pumps run dry and they're working like a champ as soon as they're filled with water again.

If you don't want to spend on the Tunze, you can of course go other routes. More than likely you would be fine, but the chances of getting a dud unit are, in my opinion, much higher than if you go with the Tunze. Up to you whether the cost savings of another unit are worth rolling the dice.

i dont think it will fit my im 14.5 tank.

mooputingtong · May 21, 2021

DeniseAndy said:
I literally have a tank of water above my sump that gets filled via garden timer each night. This runs down an airline tubing to a simple float valve in the sump. Done. Been like this for my systems for over 16 years. When I have my picos/nanos, I sometimes resort to the maid thing. Although, I cannot afford one, so I am the maid. I just top off each night.

Lol its such a pain in the neck. you know even the most reliable ato eventually will fail in some point. Im just hoping that it wont fail while away. Love your gravity ato set up!

hans4811 · May 21, 2021

Avast Marine...peristaltic pump...flawless and accurate

indiana812 · May 21, 2021

I bought Icecap ATO for my 14 Nano. I believe they discontinued it so the instructional videos that came in the package didn't pull up because they were no longer posted but there are some instructional videos on YouTube that i watched that helped me set it up. I've only had it for about 2 weeks but I haven't had any major issues as of yet. It will randomly give me beeping sometimes when I'm fiddling with the water and I forget to unplug it. It is a tight squeeze back in my third chamber to make sure the water level is correct and to make sure the sensors are level. Besides that - its done a great job thus far, no complaints as of yet! *fingers crossed*.

SteveMM62Reef · May 21, 2021

I’ve got a Prism a year ago, and it’s worked flawlessly. I do take a soft toothbrush and clean the sensor, every two weeks. Before that I used a medical drip, but couldn’t get it perfect. BTW, I marked my Water Change Hoses with “ATO” as I kept forgetting to unplug it when draining the tank down. As I understand the Sensor needs to be in a low or no light area.

Darrell Brady · May 21, 2021

Spectrapure

Saltyreef · May 21, 2021

+1 spectrapure.

Twice as reliable as the Avast.

176327 · May 21, 2021

mooputingtong said:
Im looking for a reliable ATO that wont prematurely fail in a few months. From what i heard and researched tunze 3155 is the product what im looking for but the price is just way too high. 240 for an ATO? It cost almost as same as my 15 gallon nano tank. is there another cheaper option for ATO? Im looking at autoaqua smart ATO lite. Its only $63. Anyone had heard or experience this ato? I dont wanna ended up with flooded tank with failed ato. Let me know your thoughts!

Unpopular opinion, I think anyway.

the most reliable one, is the one you maintain and check frequently. Failure is usually a float or something that gets stuck. Like with salt creep for example.

Biokabe · May 21, 2021

mooputingtong said:
i dont think it will fit my im 14.5 tank.

I have one on my IM 20 peninsula. The dimensions of the rear chambers are basically the same between those two tanks. So I don't think you need to worry about it fitting your tank.

It's your tank, so I'm not going to twist your arm to get the Tunze if you really don't want it. It is expensive, and only you can decide if the small added risk of going with a less reliable unit is worth the savings. So long as you're not relying on a unit that only uses float valves, you will, in all likelihood, be fine. What you really want to look for is a unit that has two or more different types of sensors, like a float valve and an optical sensor - both are unlikely to fail at the same time, so as long as you're maintaining the unit regularly you shouldn't have issues.