Why are ATO reservoirs so friggin expensive?

[Chessmanmark]

A $5 Rubbermaid container holds water just as well.

 

[Dom]

Could someone explain to me the reasoning behind ATO reservoirs being upwards of a hundred dollars?? 5 gal tanks are like no more than 10 dollars and a lid might add another ten. It just does not add up to me. I really want a reservoir (cause they look clean) but I cant justify paying 100 and thats on the low end lol

I use a 40 gallon Brute for storage of RODI. I also run ATO from there. It cost me $39.99.

There are plenty of inexpensive alternatives out there. And yes, they don't look pretty. But this hobby can get expensive. And if I can save $60.00 on an ATO reservoir by going with something ugly, you can bet I'm doing it.

For me, it is about functionality.

 

[Chessmanmark]

The thing is, you can buy a $5 container that holds water, and yes may be ugly, then spend $20 for a nice basket to put it in. People will never know it’s reef related.

 

[Charlie C]

You can always use a standard glass aquarium for an ATO reservoir. I find them to be a bit less pricy, depending on the size. And there are many options on dimensions and gallon capacity.

 

[hotdogmj71]

I use a 10 gal glass aquarium. I noted a post earlier that mentioned a cover. Do most utilize a cover for their reservoirs?

 

[Flippers4pups]

I use a 10 gal glass aquarium. I noted a post earlier that mentioned a cover. Do most utilize a cover for their reservoirs?

Yes, help with evaporation and keeps dust out. If using kalkwasser in your ATO reservoir, it’s essential.

 

[Saltdaddy]

I can't justify the price either. That why I just use the square water jug. Works great!

 

[DracoKat]

I use a large decorative glass vase I got from Home Goods, looks pretty next to my tank!

 

[eric.tech]

Cell cast Acrylic isn’t cheap. Even the thinner stuff is pricey. And then, you figure in the time and labor. They’re still way over priced IMO though!
Every once in a while you can find a sale though! Might even be one coming up with the next holiday.

This is spot on. Cell cast acrylic is very pricy vs the extruded stuff. Extruded is fine for smaller projects, baffles, or things that are not holding large amounts of water, but anything you want to hold 10 gallons+, I wouldn’t trust extruded and would only use cell cast. Also cell cast has much better thermal stability and will not warp as easy.

they are horribly overpriced, BUT as stated in a few spots in this thread, if reef keeping equipment is the main focus of the business, they have to make enough to keep the lights on and make a profit with the small amount of inventory they move.

 

[jokerman826]

i am currently running a 5 gallon eshopps res that i got for free. it fits under one of the stands i have have side by side. it needs to be filled up every 2 days. i want to get a larger res, but i have to change locations and the only location i have is 8 inches wide. 8 inches wide needs to be more "custom" in order to get a larger capacity. i found a 14 gallon res that is 8" wide, but costs $200. Sometimes we have to get what we can use and it costs more.

 

[snorklr]

insulated picnic jug...unscrewed the spout and a 1/4 push to connect bulkhead fitting fit the hole perfectly....mine gravity feeds to an eshopps float valve

 

[Ray Laneville]

Instead of a pump on my ATO, I connected a solenoid right to a line from my RODI. Is there a problem with doing this? It works great and I don't need a container to refill.

 

[Silent]

Solonoids are known to fail so have redundancy and check it often.

 

[Woodneers]

I’ve had good luck getting containers from trigger systems marked as a “blemish” in fact I bought my sump that way, replaced 2 nylon screws in it and had a nice sump and it was considerably cheaper!

 

[jd371]

Since the container was going in the stand and not going to be seen I used a dog food container. I rigged a float switch in the bottom and hooked it up to an LED that's on the outside of the the stand so when the level gets low the LED lights up to let me know.

 

[FactoryKTMmotocross46]

Instead of a pump on my ATO, I connected a solenoid right to a line from my RODI. Is there a problem with doing this? It works great and I don't need a container to refill.

I did this until I realized how fast it exhausts your di resin. The ro membrane needs a few minutes to start removing tds and purge before it should be ran through your di resin.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I did this until I realized how fast it exhausts your di resin. The ro membrane needs a few minutes to start removing tds and purge before it should be ran through your di resin.

That's why you should outfit your ATO with a high/low (empty/full) level controller rather than the typical ones that maintain a super narrow band (i.e. Tunze 3155 etc). Avoid those for maintaining water levels in your ATO. Just been my approach anyhow.

 

[MichaelReefer]

Haha, I thought the same thing. Mine was like $150 for a 10 gallon trigger; I bit the bullet though, a nice 10 gallon reservoir vs 5 gallon buckets is not only nicer looking but one less switch out I have to do every week. I dont have room under my tank for it, so it's next to it.