My ATO failed..... recommendations?

The most common problem with the nano is the float getting gummed up wit corraline algae or bacterial film causing the float to stick in the down position and not turning off the pump when the water level rises. Periodic inspection and cleaning can prevent that.

That said, I have two nano units running on QT tanks and they have only had that happen once. My Osmolator 3155 is 7 years old and has been almost perfect. I had to clean the optic sensor once because of algae/bacterial growth and had to replace the pump once. The redundancy on it is worth the money IMO.
 
I have both the full size and the nano Tunze and have never had a problem with either that wasn't my fault. I once had my nano fail and after sending it in to Tunze they sent me photos of water damage on the controller. The controller was so small I didn't use a drip loop because I just thought of it as just a cord. Since the new controller 2 years without issue.

Did the unit truly fail or did the timer turn off the unit?
I took a good close look at the sensor and it appears to be okay, free movement, no obstructions visible. The wire seems to be okay as well. The controller module is mounted outside the tank and is safe from any form of moisture. Considering that the ATO pumped in about 3 gallons of water I'm assuming that it could be a controller fault. It does appear to be working correctly at this time, however not being able to diagnose the fault leaves me not trusting the unit.
 
I took a good close look at the sensor and it appears to be okay, free movement, no obstructions visible. The wire seems to be okay as well. The controller module is mounted outside the tank and is safe from any form of moisture. Considering that the ATO pumped in about 3 gallons of water I'm assuming that it could be a controller fault. It does appear to be working correctly at this time, however not being able to diagnose the fault leaves me not trusting the unit.
It honestly sounds like it did a siphon.

The below was sent to me by TUNZE when I had a problem. I will post it here for you.

1) A siphon, if it is a siphon the issue will be seemingly random, it will tend to only occur when the reservoir is full and the water will fill to a level possibly above or just below the float. Siphon situation 3 is the most probable cause but note as shown in 4 that a loop will not solve it, the end of the hose must always terminate above the reservoir water level.

osmo.jpg


2) A sensor issue. The first test is to use the self diagnostic test on the Osmolator to verify the sensor is in working order.

A) With the sensor completely wiped dry, plug in the controller. The sensor MUST be clean and dry for this test to work, a wet or dirty sensor will always fail.
B) All 4 lights will flash and it will beep, a single light will show for a couple seconds and then the normal 15-20 second pump run at startup will begin.
C) This light that is on a couple seconds is the optic sensor status, green means pass, yellow means it is marginal, red means it failed.

Assuming it passes the self test the issue is bubbles, optic sensors work by detecting the refraction of air vs water and make no differentiation between a bubble or being dry. The most overlooked source of bubbles is placing the top off hose in the vicinity of the sensors, the incoming splash will introduce bubbles and cause a fill. The hose can be routed to any area of the sump or main tank, and the optic sensor must be in a calm and bubble free area. A definitive test to verify bubbles are the cause is if you can catch it in the act of an overfill and wipe your finger across the sensor and filling stops within 5 seconds, the cause was bubbles.

3) There is a 3rd possibility but this is relatively obscure and only will apply to tanks under 50 gallons or due to a misunderstanding of how the Osmolator works. The Osmolator has timed functions in addition to sensor controlled functions and for the first 25-30 seconds it is not actually detecting water levels and is instead running a series of self diagnostic tests. The pump will always run for 15-20 seconds when you first power it up, this is so the installer can verify the pump is operational and the pump and tubing are primed and ready to fill. Also, the Osmolator always waits 5 seconds to fill to account for waves and surface movement and overfills for 5 seconds so the pump is cycled on less often. If the tank is under 50 gallons you need to open the controller and reduce the pump speed to “nano” and if it is under 30, an additional restriction such as a drip irrigation valve might be needed, this will reduce the amount of water added by these timed sequences to avoid raising the float.
 
I have a Nano on my 10 gallon and hate it. Very unreliable float, always has crap on it either spiroid or film etc. I have not had it fail to stop filling but the initial "low" sense it terrible. I have had good luck with the icecap on my 40 I just clean the sensors when I clean pumps. Tunze should just do full optical sensors
 
Going on 5 years with my tunze nano, and the only issue I've ever had was the float getting gummed up and the pump not shutting off. I just check the float for proper operation during my weekly maintenance, and all is good.

I also have the 3155 on my larger tank, rock solid. Did have the optical sensor fail, but a quick PM to @rvitko and I had a new sensor installed and back to me in under a week free of charge!

It's customer service like that in this hobby that will keep me as a customer for life, and I will trumpet their excellent CS to anyone that is willing to listen.
 
It honestly sounds like it did a siphon.

The below was sent to me by TUNZE when I had a problem. I will post it here for you.

1) A siphon, if it is a siphon the issue will be seemingly random, it will tend to only occur when the reservoir is full and the water will fill to a level possibly above or just below the float. Siphon situation 3 is the most probable cause but note as shown in 4 that a loop will not solve it, the end of the hose must always terminate above the reservoir water level.

osmo.jpg


2) A sensor issue. The first test is to use the self diagnostic test on the Osmolator to verify the sensor is in working order.

A) With the sensor completely wiped dry, plug in the controller. The sensor MUST be clean and dry for this test to work, a wet or dirty sensor will always fail.
B) All 4 lights will flash and it will beep, a single light will show for a couple seconds and then the normal 15-20 second pump run at startup will begin.
C) This light that is on a couple seconds is the optic sensor status, green means pass, yellow means it is marginal, red means it failed.

Assuming it passes the self test the issue is bubbles, optic sensors work by detecting the refraction of air vs water and make no differentiation between a bubble or being dry. The most overlooked source of bubbles is placing the top off hose in the vicinity of the sensors, the incoming splash will introduce bubbles and cause a fill. The hose can be routed to any area of the sump or main tank, and the optic sensor must be in a calm and bubble free area. A definitive test to verify bubbles are the cause is if you can catch it in the act of an overfill and wipe your finger across the sensor and filling stops within 5 seconds, the cause was bubbles.

3) There is a 3rd possibility but this is relatively obscure and only will apply to tanks under 50 gallons or due to a misunderstanding of how the Osmolator works. The Osmolator has timed functions in addition to sensor controlled functions and for the first 25-30 seconds it is not actually detecting water levels and is instead running a series of self diagnostic tests. The pump will always run for 15-20 seconds when you first power it up, this is so the installer can verify the pump is operational and the pump and tubing are primed and ready to fill. Also, the Osmolator always waits 5 seconds to fill to account for waves and surface movement and overfills for 5 seconds so the pump is cycled on less often. If the tank is under 50 gallons you need to open the controller and reduce the pump speed to “nano” and if it is under 30, an additional restriction such as a drip irrigation valve might be needed, this will reduce the amount of water added by these timed sequences to avoid raising the float.
Awesome!! Thank you for that detailed information. I could have a siphon problem as showing in diagram 3....I shall have to measure this. I will try the diagnostic as well. Great info!! :)
 
How long have you used it? Was the water level in the reservoir filled above the point you're return line to the tank/sump is? I've caused siphon more than once..... and filled a lot of ATO water into my tank!
This one has been running for about 6 months trouble free. About two weeks ago the pump was pulsing in the reservoir, kind of like a bump, pause, bump, pause, bump, never quite coming on. I power reset it and it appeared to run fine until the pump drained the reservoir.
 
Awesome!! Thank you for that detailed information. I could have a siphon problem as showing in diagram 3....I shall have to measure this. I will try the diagnostic as well. Great info!! :)
I've carefully checked the line output height against the reservoir level....the line output is about 1/4" above the top of the reservoir so this should be okay.
 
Get yourself a neptune ato v2, and additional optical sensors, can be used as a standalone but would personally hook it up to apex, Have one sensor in my ato reservoir to tell me when my rodi is low and one sensor in the sump to kill the ato power if it ever reaches the sensor, with mobile alarms for both.
A Neptune Apex is a 'down the road' upgrade. (I'm still learning how 'things' work)
 
I had this happen with the Tunze Nano ATO. I ended up soaking the sensor in vinegar water then rinsed in RODI. Haven’t had the issue happen again.
I pulled the sensor right apart and cleaned all of the surfaces....didn't do the vinegar part though....I'll give this a try right now.
 

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