Recommend an ATO

[Jefdav84]

Hello All

I know the overwhelming answer to this is probably going to be the Tunze 3155 ATO, but I wanted to see what everyone thoughts were anyway.

I have looked at two other ATO's . The XP Duetto and Smart ATO. The difference in these two is like 10 bucks, and the Tunze is roughly $70 more. I was just wondering what everyone has, or would choose if you had to pick one up again.


I have a roughly 64 gallons of total water volume, and was looking at maybe a 5 gallon ato reservoir. With limited cabinet space I am going to have to place this on the outside of the tank stand. It's not as pretty but would a 5 gallon water storage container work just as good as one of these acrylic containers? There is a huge price gap there.

 

[rusty hannon]

Hello All

I know the overwhelming answer to this is probably going to be the Tunze 3155 ATO, but I wanted to see what everyone thoughts were anyway.

I have looked at two other ATO's . The XP Duetto and Smart ATO. The difference in these two is like 10 bucks, and the Tunze is roughly $70 more. I was just wondering what everyone has, or would choose if you had to pick one up again.


I have a roughly 64 gallons of total water volume, and was looking at maybe a 5 gallon ato reservoir. With limited cabinet space I am going to have to place this on the outside of the tank stand. It's not as pretty but would a 5 gallon water storage container work just as good as one of these acrylic containers? There is a huge price gap there.

Yes I and my wife have the tunze mine was 99.$ and hers 199. And have both been great she also found a very nice container at md I just have a 5 gal bucket o the difference between hers and mine is hers has an optical sensor too mine doesn't. There's others with different ones but I can't speak for those as I don't know about them.hope this helps R

 

[hans4811]

Just received an Avast Marine ATO...I chose this for it's simplicity, no maintenance worries, and has a peristaltic pump for a long run so you don't have to worry about siphoning issues. Which is what I wanted as I intend to hook this up to my RODI Brute storage directly. Great customer support too...

 

[Cambrian Reef]

Smart ATO with 5 gallon water container. Works like a champ.

 

[Peace River]

IMO they are all good options and the quality of the Tunze is reflected in the price. Personally I am using the Autoaqua Smart ATO on two different systems and have not had any issues.

 

[reefiniteasy]

I have the Duetto and love it. Honestly, they all do the same thing. Really it comes down to whether you want one with a digital sensor or float switch.

 

[rusty hannon]

IMO they are all good options and the quality of the Tunze is reflected in the price. Personally I am using the Autoaqua Smart ATO on two different systems and have not had any issues.

Can you use one between the two or two different units.the tunze does have a siphon ing issue I don't like n worry about if a power outage n we r gone R

 

[Peace River]

Can you use one between the two or two different units.the tunze does have a siphon ing issue I don't like n worry about if a power outage n we r gone R

I have one Smart ATO on one system, another Smart ATO on another, and a DIY ATO on a third system that was built by @oldchoppy. I am thinking about adding a fourth one soon to a nano to gain some more stability as I transition to corals in that tank. If I do that then I may get a Tunze and more one of the Smart ATOs to the nano. Personally I haven't seen an ATO that is reliable across multiple systems (of course, I would be interested if someone knows of one).

 

[rusty hannon]

I have one Smart ATO on one system, another Smart ATO on another, and a DIY ATO on a third system that was built by @oldchoppy. I am thinking about adding a fourth one soon to a nano to gain some more stability as I transition to corals in that tank. If I do that then I may get a Tunze and more one of the Smart ATOs to the nano. Personally I haven't seen an ATO that is reliable across multiple systems (of course, I would be interested if someone knows of one).

Thank you for the information will be of good use for me n the near future R

 

[solitude127]

Avast Marine ATO gets my vote. No moving parts or electronic sensors to go bad.

 

[zoomonster]

Hands down Tunze. German or Chinese you chose the one component most likely to wipe out a tank. After having one of the no sensors, no moving part ones wipe out a tank some years ago no thanks. Tunze gives you all sorts of failsafe's and redundancies with optical and mechanical sensors and Tunze having a siphon problem is wrong. If there is a siphon problem its your setup.

 

[Aqua Man]

@Alex Sadowsky How long have you had the Duetto? Looking to get an ATO and the Duetto looks good. Any issues with it at all?
thank you!

 

[Mical]

I have Duetto on my frag tank and it is plug and play. When my ATKs on my main DTs go "south" it's going to be Duettos for both.

 

[reefiniteasy]

@Alex Sadowsky How long have you had the Duetto? Looking to get an ATO and the Duetto looks good. Any issues with it at all?
thank you!

I have had the Duetto running since February of 2019. It has worked flawlessly. Cleaned the sensor once when I moved the tank about a month ago. Just wiped off some built up crud. The pump is great. One of my students even cut the tubing short when we set it up and XPAqua sent us new tubing. I have nothing but good things to say.

 

[phatduckk]

I have the Tunze and the Smart ATO. Both are fine with minor issues/nuisances...

The Tunze annoys me b/c it will prime the pump and dump in some ATO water upon power up. Not the end of the world but its annoying if you turn off the ATO for maintenance etc (I turn it off when changing filter socks etc).

The Smart ATO is on my 10g cube and its mostly good but it would get triggered by light etc. Again, not a huge deal but slightly annoying.

I'd definitely buy either of them again

 

[RiversideReefer]

as a first time reefer who just set up his first tank, i have to say the xp duetto ato was a no brainer to set up and get running. it beeps to let me know ato reservoir is low, and there are 2 optical sensors to tell ato when to top off, and when to stop.

 

[joseph scott]

Just received an Avast Marine ATO...I chose this for it's simplicity, no maintenance worries, and has a peristaltic pump for a long run so you don't have to worry about siphoning issues. Which is what I wanted as I intend to hook this up to my RODI Brute storage directly. Great customer support too...

I have been using two of these trouble free for many years. I think the pressure sensor is the superior way to measure water level.

 

[homer1475]

When you guys run into problems with your ATO's, let everyone know how the CS went.

I have used Tunze for years, and Tunze has me as a customer for life! Ran into an issue with the 3155 that was several years old, and out of warranty. Contacted @rvitko here on R2R. Within a week I had it mailed to him, and back to me. Never asked for any money to repair, even though it was obviously several years out of warranty, and even followed up with me to see if the issue was resolved.

This alone, is the reason Tunze has me as a customer for life. Of course it helps their ATO is the gold standard, and has been for years.

 

[spfahnestock]

I recently installed and started using the Hydrofill Ti controller, pump, and water container. It was a reasonably priced combo package. I also liked the water sensors had no mechanical parts to get stuck open.

Also the reservoir they sell is pretty sharp looking sitting next to my tank cabinet so my wife doesn't have to see a plastic container hanging out in the family room

Now I will say it is relatively new to my system but so far I am liking it.

 

[lapin]

3155 ..... 9 years and still hopping along