Smart ato micro over filling

pontus.enbom · Nov 6, 2016

As the titel says i have a problem with the smart ato micro over filling. And yes it is set up right and the sensor is clean and not blocked by anything. Any body else had this problem. I have unplugged it for now and I'm waiting for a new sensor to see if that helps.

Couldn't find anything online about it failing in this way...

Pruett-nc · Nov 6, 2016

I have one and never have any trouble with mine . Have you tried pushing it below the water to see if it shuts off . If it doesn't I would say the sensor has a defect .

pontus.enbom · Nov 6, 2016

It just kept filling way beyond the sensor and continued until it spilled out on the floor and my girlfriend noticed it an unplugged it. Luckily I work really close to home so I could gett home and do a water change and wipe the floor.

Pruett-nc · Nov 6, 2016

If mine runs more than say 20 seconds give or take . It will turn red and stop pumping and beep til I unplug and replug back up .

clownsrcool · Nov 6, 2016

Is the water level in your ATO tank above the output line of the ATO?if it is then it siphons water after the pump turns off and that is your problem

Salty1962 · Nov 6, 2016

Make sure you use the siphon break or it will over fill.

pontus.enbom · Nov 7, 2016

As I said the ato is sett up correctly with the sensor a inch below de inlett.

I don't see how the sifon breaker would prevent over filling. I disconnected it because water would spill out from it on to my hardwood floor. Therefore I do not use it.

Nano101 · Nov 7, 2016

pontus.enbom said:
As I said the ato is sett up correctly with the sensor a inch below de inlett.

I don't see how the sifon breaker would prevent over filling. I disconnected it because water would spill out from it on to my hardwood floor. Therefore I do not use it.

Just make sure the tube is above the waterline..even if the tank gets turned off

clownsrcool · Nov 7, 2016

I am not talking about the sensor itself. I have this unit and have seen this same problem come up like 10 times already and each time I have been correct with my advice.

If the water level in your ATO container is higher than the actual tubing height where it pumps your RO water into your sump then it will still siphon water from the ATO tank to your sump even after the ATO shuts the pump off.

For example I use a 29g fish tank as my ATO reservoir. It's like 15" tall. So when it's filled all the way up the water level is 15" from my stand. My sump is only 14" tall and the tubing used to go 2" below the top of the sump into a tubing holder. So my tubing outlet was only 12" from the stand. My output was lower than my ATO water level. I had the same problems and figured out what the problem was.

To fix it I raised the tubing by attaching a PVC pipe to a hole in my sump and attaching the ATO output tubing to that. It now sits 3" above the max water level that my ATO reservoir could be at when full and the problem hasn't happened again in 8 months. This is almost 100% your issue unless the output tubing on your setup is actually underwater for some reason and it just needs to be raised. Both cause it to siphon.

lion king · Nov 7, 2016

Is this the Hydor, if so it operates on a temperature sensor. If your house temp and your tank temp are the same or very close to the same, that's your problem. Changing sensors won't fix the problem, it's a flaw in the design to use a temp sensor.

Salty1962 · Nov 7, 2016

pontus.enbom said:
As I said the ato is sett up correctly with the sensor a inch below de inlett.

I don't see how the sifon breaker would prevent over filling. I disconnected it because water would spill out from it on to my hardwood floor. Therefore I do not use it.

The siphon break assures that after the pump turns off your siphon is broken. If your water level in your ATO container is higher than your sump, it will continue to dump water into your sump, gravity.

pontus.enbom · Nov 9, 2016

@clowbsrcool Oh I gett what you mean now. The water level in ato container is approximately 20 inches below the water line of the tank. I don't use a sump so that is not the problem. I will take pictures when I get home from work.

@linon king its the autoaqua with a optical sensor

saintsreturn · Dec 6, 2018

I am bringing this back to life. I have the exact same issue with different circumstances from the OP. @clownsrcool may have solved my problem with his experience on this. Amazing how much i have not been able to find on this.

My problem is that when i fill my ATOP container full, its about 8" taller than my fill hose height. I solved this, temporarily, by keeping the container 1/4 full. i am going to try to splice in a new pump to see if i have the same results, and if that doesnt work.... i will try to find a way to raise the fill hose higher.