Most reliable ATO?

[RedReefer]

Avast ATO here. Never any issues.

 

[Jeffcb]

Tunze

 

[bpbonds]

Tunze 3155 was my first choice but was unable to get, so settled for the Reef Breeders XO

 

[Sshannon]

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*.

I have an icecap ato, and it has failed 4 times in less than a year. Each time it failed, I sent it back to coralvue ( I had to pay shipping each time) only for it to fail again within a few weeks. I've had it going for a month do far, but it just started to fail on me again last week. They will not refund the purchase, I was told to return it to the LFS I bought it from, but the LFS has a no return policy on goods that have liquid run through them. Stay away from it.

 

[MrZ2u]

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 know this is an older thread but I am looking for reviews right now because I had the AutoAqua Smart ATO Lite you asked about as did a friend of mine. Both have failed now. I reached out to AutoAqua because I was inside a year. They told me it had not warranty because they are not authorized for sale in the US...despite the fact that I bought it from THEIR Amazon page (which is gone now).

Hope you didn't buy that one and/or if you did that you have better luck than we did.

 

[Saltyreef]

My duetto finally kicked the bucket after almost 3 years. It just failed to pump anymore which is best case scenario for failure!

Just got a new one so we will see how long it lasts.

 

[capted]

Still using a hydor ato. I had one where the water level sensor failed and they replaced the unit for free. Still going about 5 years now. Unfortunately they sold the company. Not sure who took it over or If they are still available. I actually should look into it because I just jinxed myself!

 

[GarrettT]

+1 spectrapure.

Twice as reliable as the Avast.

lol that’s a good one!

 

[GarrettT]

The Avast pressure tube has yet to fail

Tunze 3155 failed twice (salt creep on sensor - back up switch caught it tho)

For this reason, I much prefer pressure over optical sensors.

 

[Big Smelly fish]

Not sure how the Avast ATO would work on a nano tank because I have only used on larger systems. But will say after using Tunze 3155 for a number of years and switched to Avast because if Tunze being out of stock, best move I’ve made. Pressure switch works flawlessly and saved money.

 

[gbroadbridge]

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've had two smart ATO lites fail on me. Both times the sensor seal failed and filled with water, turning the pump on until the refill container ran out. Even with the so called failsafe dual sensor.

Fortunately I normally have a 3 gal RODI refill on a 90g tank, so it did not cause a disaster.

If I'd been on vacation with the 30g RODI top off attached it would have been disaster.

Regards
Graham

 

[capted]

I've had two smart ATO lites fail on me. Both times the sensor seal failed and filled with water, turning the pump on until the refill container ran out. Even with the so called failsafe dual sensor.

Fortunately I normally have a 3 gal RODI refill on a 90g tank, so it did not cause a disaster.

If I'd been on vacation with the 30g RODI top off attached it would have been disaster.

Regards
Graham

Yeah, I do the same thing when I'm on vacation. That is my biggest nightmare.

 

[Uncle99]

A $20 multi-timer from Amazon would ensure that if any an all sensors fail, the timer will ensure it does not over flow.
I plug my ATO into the timer,it only turns power on for 1/2 minute every hour.
5 years running now, even optical sensors fail at some point.
Each time, this cheap timer saved the day.

 

[gbroadbridge]

A $20 multi-timer from Amazon would ensure that if any an all sensors fail, the timer will ensure it does not over flow.
I plug my ATO into the timer,it only turns power on for 1/2 minute every hour.
5 years running now, even optical sensors fail at some point.
Each time, this cheap timer saved the day.

Thats a good idea.

Since my last one failed I'm running a Profilux 4 controller, so it has multi sensors and also only enables the ATO periodically so I'm *reasonably* confident with vacations and top off's.

Something else will fail instead. lol.

 

[capted]

A $20 multi-timer from Amazon would ensure that if any an all sensors fail, the timer will ensure it does not over flow.
I plug my ATO into the timer,it only turns power on for 1/2 minute every hour.
5 years running now, even optical sensors fail at some point.
Each time, this cheap timer saved the day.

That's a great idea!! The hydor has a 10 minute timer built in and will shut down if it pumps longer then 10 minutes until you reset it. Never thought of an external timer.

 

[discostew]

A $20 multi-timer from Amazon would ensure that if any an all sensors fail, the timer will ensure it does not over flow.
I plug my ATO into the timer,it only turns power on for 1/2 minute every hour.
5 years running now, even optical sensors fail at some point.
Each time, this cheap timer saved the day.

Could you show an example of this type of timer?

 

[Uncle99]

Multi Function Programmable Timer outlet Count Down on and off timer Infinite Loop timer in second timer outlet indoor outdoor min setting 1 second in loop timer controller​

From Amazon

 

[Uncle99]

If you watch your ATO, it will come on every X minutes, then add X ml of RODI.

Example, my ATO would come on every 15 minutes and run for 10 seconds.

So I set this timer to come on every hour, but, only for 1 minute.

My ATO stops in 40 seconds, so if any sensor failed, the ATO could not add any more than 60 seconds of RODI, each hour.

Combined with an optical sensor and mechanical back-up, creates strong redundancy for this important task.

 

[NY_Sea]

Tunze hands down!

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

Spectrapure, and it's not even close. It uses a peristaltic pump, so no back siphon, or over filling, and the pump and reservoir can be as far away from your sump or tank as you'd like. It uses dual pressure switches with no moving parts so it will not fail due to salt creep or growth on the sensor unlike ATO's that use float switches and light sensors. I have had 3 separate Tunze units fail on me, and don't even bring Neptune into the conversation LOL their products other than the Apex itself are a joke.