Redsea 250 G2

[Daniel korchick]

I need help with the red sea 250 G2 ATO valve.

today it added like 2 gallons of ro water for no reason

someone help how do I adjust it ? What should it be at

 

[JNalley]

It's just a simple float valve, right? It should be set to be closed when your return chamber is at its highest point, as water evaporates and the return chamber water level drops, it will open slightly and let water in.

 

[Daniel korchick]

It's just a simple float valve, right? It should be set to be closed when your return chamber is at its highest point, as water evaporates and the return chamber water level drops, it will open slightly and let water in.

Right but people are saying you can adjust it?

 

[JNalley]

Right but people are saying you can adjust it?

I'm sure it is adjustable, most are, but you adjust it to where your water level is supposed to sit, the high water point while the system is running is where it should be set to, and then you just let it do its thing. I don't have a RedSea G2, but a float valve is a float valve and how they function is universal. It's just like a float valve in the back of your toilet, but cheaper to make since it's all plastic and doesn't deal with pressurized water lines.

 

[Lavey29]

It would probably behoove you to ditch the cheap float valve and invest in a tunze 3155 for your ATO.

 

[ColonelCrow]

It would not have added it for no reason. Are you connected to any sort of controller or monitoring system?

You may have experienced a failure that caused extra evap or water not to flow into yiur return chamber. Or even a piece of debris may have gotten stuck and forced the float falve open?

Did you ensure there were no leaks in your ato resevior? I dont mean to imply you did anything wrong just that there is always a reason something failed or may have been setupnwrong or misaligned theres are many reasons.

My experience is limited but if youre using the stock ato there is nothing to worry about regarding settings.

I would suggest ensuring everthing else is working properly(you have added new equient that would change your water levels etc. And considering ambient enviornment and monitoring the drainage of the ato over a period of time if you havent already(didnt mention a normality in its drainage prior)

Next i would make a suggestion that you will never be happy with the stock ato on these things. It became a reutine before work to add more water every single day. And am actually in the process this weekend of installing a stand alone ato with resevior that holds 50% of my tanks volume(didnt aim that high just happened to find a container in fantastic dimensions for the space i have for it) that i will be filling with sensors and failsafes to be sure i never forget about it but should last me maybe a month. As i found my evap in a 200xl g2 to be about 1g per day in a humid forida with a.c. and humidy controlled heavily in the summer. But that also included evap from the ato res which will now be sealed so will drop ever so slightly.

 

[Daniel korchick]

It would not have added it for no reason. Are you connected to any sort of controller or monitoring system?

You may have experienced a failure that caused extra evap or water not to flow into yiur return chamber. Or even a piece of debris may have gotten stuck and forced the float falve open?

Did you ensure there were no leaks in your ato resevior? I dont mean to imply you did anything wrong just that there is always a reason something failed or may have been setupnwrong or misaligned theres are many reasons.

My experience is limited but if youre using the stock ato there is nothing to worry about regarding settings.

I would suggest ensuring everthing else is working properly(you have added new equient that would change your water levels etc. And considering ambient enviornment and monitoring the drainage of the ato over a period of time if you havent already(didnt mention a normality in its drainage prior)

Next i would make a suggestion that you will never be happy with the stock ato on these things. It became a reutine before work to add more water every single day. And am actually in the process this weekend of installing a stand alone ato with resevior that holds 50% of my tanks volume(didnt aim that high just happened to find a container in fantastic dimensions for the space i have for it) that i will be filling with sensors and failsafes to be sure i never forget about it but should last me maybe a month. As i found my evap in a 200xl g2 to be about 1g per day in a humid forida with a.c. and humidy controlled heavily in the summer. But that also included evap from the ato res which will now be sealed so will drop ever so slightly.

I have an ATO pump that fills the tank I stopped using the stock one. Seems like the overflow doesn’t keep the same level as I put it, and my ATO dumps water I as needed.

 

[ColonelCrow]

I have an ATO pump that fills the tank I stopped using the stock one. Seems like the overflow doesn’t keep the same level as I put it, and my ATO dumps water I as needed.

Where did you put your ato? Also it takes tike and awareness of any additions willbchange your weir levels. Adjustmust will be a thing for months. And why we are so thankfull for thr improvements of thr g2(so i have heard)

 

[52728299]

I have a g1 or whatever (the older model) but I use a separate container with a ato connected to the tanks original ato reservoir so in total I get about 6.5 gallons of top off.

But if it's anything like mine I just connect the little hose to the reservoir then there is a little white knob sticking up that you can use to open/close the flow from reservoir to sump. But as long as the tube is connected and the sump water is floating the float valve it should be fine..

 

[Daniel korchick]

Where did you put your ato? Also it takes tike and awareness of any additions willbchange your weir levels. Adjustmust will be a thing for months. And why we are so thankfull for thr improvements of thr g2(so i have heard)

I had it in the return section but it would wait till the pump was running dry and then it would dump like 2 gallons in

 

[ColonelCrow]

I had it in the return section but it would wait till the pump was running dry and then it would dump like 2 gallons in

Is that by your design for it to wait until the pump is running dry or just a consequence of the setup? Are you using an ato setup you've parted yourself or a manufacurers kit?

 

[JNalley]

I had it in the return section but it would wait till the pump was running dry and then it would dump like 2 gallons in

This indicates there is something wrong... Without seeing it firsthand, I couldn't begin to know what that is... It could be the part, it could be the setup, it could be that it was stuck in the closed position and eventually fell to the open position... It could also indicate that you set it up below the high water line and it needed to be moved up some...

ATO Functionality:

Float Valve:

As water evaporates, the valve drops, opening the line to let gravity fed water in.

Advanced ATO(for want of a better term):

Uses sensors for Low Water Point (where it adds water), Fill point (where it fills the water to), and sometimes Emergency point (often a 3rd sensor higher than the other two in case the fill point is not triggered).


These are simple devices, the water levels are set by you, but should be dictated by the water levels under normal operation of your sump. So, when your system is freshly water changed and everything is running, the return chamber should be at its highest point. This is often the chosen point for the "Fill" sensor. If you have the ability to set the "Low sensor" then you want to place it at whatever amount you feel comfortable with below the fill line, this will also dictate how often water is added. You can set it very far below and only have it fill once a day or once every two days with large amounts of water... Or you can set it relatively close making it fill many times a day with smaller amounts of water. The second way is more optimal. However, some ATO's remove this choice from you, such as is the case with the ReefBreeders Prism, where all 3 sensors are on the same stick and set and pre-determined heights.

In all cases though, your high water level should be dictated by the high water line in your full, running, sump.

When you water change, and you shut off your return pump. It is also a good idea (especially if you're removing water from the sump/vacuuming it out during this process) to turn off your ATO.

 

[52728299]

This indicates there is something wrong... Without seeing it firsthand, I couldn't begin to know what that is... It could be the part, it could be the setup, it could be that it was stuck in the closed position and eventually fell to the open position... It could also indicate that you set it up below the high water line and it needed to be moved up some...

ATO Functionality:

Float Valve:

As water evaporates, the valve drops, opening the line to let gravity fed water in.

Advanced ATO(for want of a better term):

Uses sensors for Low Water Point (where it adds water), Fill point (where it fills the water to), and sometimes Emergency point (often a 3rd sensor higher than the other two in case the fill point is not triggered).


These are simple devices, the water levels are set by you, but should be dictated by the water levels under normal operation of your sump. So, when your system is freshly water changed and everything is running, the return chamber should be at its highest point. This is often the chosen point for the "Fill" sensor. If you have the ability to set the "Low sensor" then you want to place it at whatever amount you feel comfortable with below the fill line, this will also dictate how often water is added. You can set it very far below and only have it fill once a day or once every two days with large amounts of water... Or you can set it relatively close making it fill many times a day with smaller amounts of water. The second way is more optimal. However, some ATO's remove this choice from you, such as is the case with the ReefBreeders Prism, where all 3 sensors are on the same stick and set and pre-determined heights.

In all cases though, your high water level should be dictated by the high water line in your full, running, sump.

When you water change, and you shut off your return pump. It is also a good idea (especially if you're removing water from the sump/vacuuming it out during this process) to turn off your ATO.

It does sort of sound like maybe just sensors placed in undesirable locations