Silly question re ATO, please help

[Butuz]

Guys, I just realized that while I focused on a few major items, I have not really considered a basic one yet. My build is under the link below, Reefer 250:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/m...ugium-skimmer-lights-action-pic-heavy.446760/

I am getting a custom 10g ATO reservoir made. I will be placing a mini pump from ekoral into the reservoir and I already have their optical water level sensor. So, the ekoral controller (using the data from the sensor) will turn the mini pump on and off when water needs to be topped off. So, I won’t be using the ATO ballast in the pump area that came with Reefer 250 (as you will see, I have converted the Reefer ATO to a small refugium for copepods and chaeto).

Question: do I simply connect/run tubing from ATO reservoir mini pump to the pump return area? How do I secure the end of this tube? I’d like to use the hole left after I removed the native Reefer ballast. Its in the corner of the sump, you will see it in pic 6 and 7 under the build link above. I have also heard about back suction/siphoning, so not sure what I need to prevent it, if anything.

Thanks for feedback, guys, much appreciated.

PS for those in the States, happy Labor Day weekend!

 

[Butuz]

Bump.

 

[SuncrestReef]

As long as your ATO reservoir is above the water level of your sump return chamber water, there won't be any problem with back siphoning. On my Reefer XL 425, the stock ATO bracket left behind after I removed the Red Sea float valve is about 1 inch above the return chamber waterline. You could probably secure your ATO tubing in that hole with some foam rubber or use a traditional magnetic dosing line holder.

I took a quick look at your build thread and it's quite impressive. However, one word of advice I would give: It looks like your refugium is being fed from your manifold plumbing. My refugium drain occasionally gets clogged with stray fragments of chaeto, so I have a float switch in the refugium to tell my Apex to turn off the refugium pump so it doesn't overflow. For this reason I suggest having a separate small pump dedicated to your refugium rather than feeding it from a manifold with reactors. If you do end up keeping your plumbing design as is, I'd still at least recommend a float switch to detect a refugium overflow and have it shut down the manifold pump. But having a separate refugium pump would allow your reactors to continue operation even if the refugium is shut down.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[Butuz]

As long as your ATO reservoir is above the water level of your sump return chamber water, there won't be any problem with back siphoning. On my Reefer XL 425, the stock ATO bracket left behind after I removed the Red Sea float valve is about 1 inch above the return chamber waterline. You could probably secure your ATO tubing in that hole with some foam rubber or use a traditional magnetic dosing line holder.

I took a quick look at your build thread and it's quite impressive. However, one word of advice I would give: It looks like your refugium is being fed from your manifold plumbing. My refugium drain occasionally gets clogged with stray fragments of chaeto, so I have a float switch in the refugium to tell my Apex to turn off the refugium pump so it doesn't overflow. For this reason I suggest having a separate small pump dedicated to your refugium rather than feeding it from a manifold with reactors. If you do end up keeping your plumbing design as is, I'd still at least recommend a float switch to detect a refugium overflow and have it shut down the manifold pump. But having a separate refugium pump would allow your reactors to continue operation even if the refugium is shut down.

Just my 2 cents...

Thanks for advice on the ATO return. Also appreciate the feedback on manifold feed to my refugium. I did not think of that, great point. Will add some contingency plus a rule for ekoral. Thanks again!

 

[WVNed]

You want the discharge end of the ATO tube to be above both the level of water in the sump and the ATO reservoir. This prevents water from siphoning in either direction.