The most reliable ATO in the world

[Harold999]

My electronic ATO failed, luckily i was at home and heard that the pump was filling way longer than normal. Don't want this to happen again and i feel that ALL electronic sensor based systems will fail sooner or later. It can take 3 months or 3 years, one day it will happen.

Now we all know the system on the picture. Downsides are that you can only screw a small bottle on it and it stands on top of your tank, so a no go for most of us.

But what if you have a room behind your tank, drill a small hole in the wall and connect it to a large jerrycan or something which you place high up the wall in the other room?
Wouldn't we have the most reliable ATO system in the world then? Also, the water drips almost continuesly in your tank (because the border between filling and not filling is very very small, way smaller than normal ATO's), so no salinity swings at all.

Is this the most reliable system or can it fail too?

 

[Sam816]

This is what i have done. i have connected my ATO through a wifi switch. This switch turns on 3 time a day for 2 minutes. every time the switch turns on the ATO beeps for about 10 seconds and then has 110 seconds to top up the tank. most of the times its more than enough. I dose diy nopox every night so keep an eye on the water level in the sump. try it. after a few adjustments you will find your sweet spot. I use autoaqua ato

 

[Paul B]

But what if you have a room behind your tank, drill a small hole in the wall and connect it to a large jerrycan or something which you place high up the wall in the other room?

Thats what I have been using since the 70s. The thing runs in a small tube to a float switch on my tank.

I have it set up so it can only supply my tank with slightly more water than it needs for evaporation in case it fails, which it never has. The suspended bucket is fed by my RO/DI and I have a DIY float switch in it made from a mercury switch from an old thermostat. The float switch turns off an electric valve which fills the bucket.

I like to build all my own stuff because the stuff you can buy is junk and will fail. My stuff will never fail because it all has failsafes built into it.

The guy in China where you buy most of this stuff is not going to answer your call when you are mopping up a flood.

 

[Harold999]

About a jerrycan high up the wall in a room behind your tank. I think you don't even need that device from the picture. Just let the water drip in your tank very slow with a small valve. After a while you know you let it drip too fast or too slow.

 

[Reef.]

If you are going to that trouble, balancing a bottle on the edge of the tank, why not just use a small ato reservoir?
Then if it fails you are only adding a very limited amount of rodi water.

 

[Harold999]

If you are going to that trouble, balancing a bottle on the edge of the tank, why not just use a small ato reservoir?
Then if it fails you are only adding a very limited amount of rodi water.

Maybe i wasn't clear. Ofcourse i'm not going for a bottle balancing on the edge of the tank, i was trying to say to leave the bottle and only use the system where the bottle is on. Connect those 2 hoses to a reservoir in the next room high up a wall.

 

[Reef.]

Maybe i wasn't clear. Ofcourse i'm not going for a bottle balancing on the edge of the tank, i was trying to say to leave the bottle and only use the system where the bottle is on. Connect those 2 hoses to a reservoir in the next room high up a wall.

Maybe I wasn’t clear, I was essentially suggesting a safety measure for those that are going for a set up that either needs checking daily or filling daily, a ato with a small reservoir is worth also considering.

 

[rickyb]

I use a 35G container and a float valve at the sump. I've run this type of setup for many years on my tanks, only once it failed due to a snail got caught under the valve (closed position). Now there are no small snails in the sump.

 

[Midrats]

I've been using Spectrapure Litermeters as ATOs for 25 years. No sensors or floats to fail, I just dial in my evaporation and it breaks it up into 150 doses over 24 hours. It won't ever overfill and I don't have to worry about turning it off and on during maintenance. Works great for limewater.

 

[Reef.]

I've been using Spectrapure Litermeters as ATOs for 25 years. No sensors or floats to fail, I just dial in my evaporation and it breaks it up into 150 doses over 24 hours. It won't ever overfill and I don't have to worry about turning it off and on during maintenance. Works great for limewater.

Is that a doser? Don’t dosers fail?

 

[Simply__J]

Wouldn't the valve/switch eventually fail?

 

[Midrats]

It's a precision peristaltic pump, so yes a doser I guess, and no Litermeters don't fail. I've used dozens of them over the years for my personal systems and when I was in the business. They are bullet proof.

 

[McPuff]

I've been using a tunze osmolator for over 10 years and it's been rock solid. I'm sure it can fail but it's been tested several times and always passed. User error is the typical reason this thing fails... if ever. Tunze for the win.

 

[abbypoodle]

Tunze 3155 and a Spectrapure Litermeter connected for redundancy. I don't have the Spectrapure piece connected together yet, but that's the route I've chosen to go.

 

[Harold999]

I did it, drilled a hole through the wall, put the reservoir in the next room slightly higher than the sump, and letting the water slowly dripping in the sump with a small adjustable (air)valve. Will need some finetuning the next couple of days (less or more dripping).
I'm done with sensors.

 

[X-37B]

I run tunze on both systems.
I had a small issue on my frag tank but it was the pump.
In the 80's-90's I ran a peristaltic pump.
I calculated the evaporation rate and it slowly ran/dripped in over the course of 24 hours.
You can do the same with an elevated reservoir and a metering valve and drip it in.
You will have to adjust the drip rate throughout the year as your tanks evaporation rate may change with the seasons.
This method is simple and fool proof, imo.

 

[Harold999]

You will have to adjust the drip rate throughout the year as your tanks evaporation rate may change with the seasons.

As soon as i have a steady rate i will do a drop count (counting the amount of drops per minute) and write it down, so i will know it for next year during this season.

 

[Gaspipe]

I did it, drilled a hole through the wall, put the reservoir in the next room slightly higher than the sump, and letting the water slowly dripping in the sump with a small adjustable (air)valve. Will need some finetuning the next couple of days (less or more dripping).
I'm done with sensors.

won't you need to adjust the drip if you have seasons?

 

[Gaspipe]

What about having a 3D printer make a screw in cap that is like a funnel and you can attach the RODI tube to the printed funnel.

Allows you to a) have a larger reservoir and b) remove the unsightly bottle.

I was thinking about this w/ a AIO tank.

 

[TheDuude]

I have never heard of a Tunze ATO failing in the on position but yes gravity fed can be a great ( And cheap ) way to go if you have the space to place your ATO above your sump level.