ATO container, using your RO/DI storage container? Bad Idea?

[Chbix]

So I have my mixing station set up next to where im putting my 180, see pic. The top 32g brute is for fresh ro/di, the bottom is for mixing salt. I initially was going to get a separate 10-20g container for under the stand for top off with my ATO. I want your input, initially I was thinking that I didnt want 25-28 gallons dumped into the sump from the RO/DI bin, but if Im looking at a 20G container, is there much of a difference between 20 and 28 if for some reason the ATO fails on? I plan to use a tunze and will be adding another float valve on it just in case. Also the RO/DI supply will not stay running all the time. It will only be a manual turn on for me to make more water. It may come down to capacity of the tank/sump for the 8 gallon difference, but I wanted some other input from people with bigger tanks/ATO containers. May just end up waiting for a petco $1 per gallon sale and pick up a 20 tall for ATO.

 

[bobnicaragua]

I have a float valve and my ato is plugged into a timer to only run 2 minutes every three hours.

Nothing wrong with using the brute, maybe start off not filling it all the way up.

 

[Chbix]

I have a float valve and my ato is plugged into a timer to only run 2 minutes every three hours.

Nothing wrong with using the brute, maybe start off not filling it all the way up.

What kind of timer? How big of a tank? Thats not a bad idea though.

 

[MarshallB]

I'm using a 55 gallon storage container connected to the apex ATO. I have the RODI unit hooked up to a float value and I manually close the input valve once my container is full. It's in my garage in the off chance the float valve fails im not in too much trouble. I also only fill it up when i'm home and I know how long it takes to fill up. So once that time is up i check it to make sure the float valve shut it off then i manually close the line until its time to fill it up again.

The ATO uses a optical sensor, a timer, and a float valve. The optical sensors are not trust worthy, but I have complete confidence in the float valve+timer.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I personally say it's not the ideal solution but if you put in mechanical failsafes like a float valve then you should be set.

Having the rodi container that high will promote a run away with siphoning. Unless your tunze pump is a positive displacement type, I would rely solely on a float valve.

Ideally, I would have a smaller rodi container (I have a 10g for my 300 gallon tank) and feed the small rodi container with the brute. Same thing applies though, you're going to want a float valve to prevent siphoning

 

[MarshallB]

I personally say it's not the ideal solution but if you put in mechanical failsafes like a float valve then you should be set.

Having the rodi container that high will promote a run away with siphoning. Unless your tunze pump is a positive displacement type, I would rely solely on a float valve.

Ideally, I would have a smaller rodi container (I have a 10g for my 300 gallon tank) and feed the small rodi container with the brute. Same thing applies though, you're going to want a float valve to prevent siphoning

This is a good point. You can add a physical siphon break by poking a small hole in the tube above the water line in the RODI container. That way the line is always sucking in a small amount of air. Once the pump shuts off the air should be enough to break the siphon. ( Test it )

 

[Chbix]

I personally say it's not the ideal solution but if you put in mechanical failsafes like a float valve then you should be set.

Having the rodi container that high will promote a run away with siphoning. Unless your tunze pump is a positive displacement type, I would rely solely on a float valve.

Ideally, I would have a smaller rodi container (I have a 10g for my 300 gallon tank) and feed the small rodi container with the brute. Same thing applies though, you're going to want a float valve to prevent siphoning

And this where my initial train of thought was, Keep the RO/DI 32g brute separate from the ATO container. Once a week or so as needed, my RO/DI container has a valve and hose attachment specifically so I can manually feed into whatever my ATO container ends up being.

This is a good point. You can add a physical siphon break by poking a small hole in the tube above the water line in the RODI container. That way the line is always sucking in a small amount of air. Once the pump shuts off the air should be enough to break the siphon. ( Test it )

Yes I plan to have a siphon break on the ATO line just inside the container if I go this route.

 

[Pistondog]

So I have my mixing station set up next to where im putting my 180, see pic. The top 32g brute is for fresh ro/di, the bottom is for mixing salt. I initially was going to get a separate 10-20g container for under the stand for top off with my ATO. I want your input, initially I was thinking that I didnt want 25-28 gallons dumped into the sump from the RO/DI bin, but if Im looking at a 20G container, is there much of a difference between 20 and 28 if for some reason the ATO fails on? I plan to use a tunze and will be adding another float valve on it just in case. Also the RO/DI supply will not stay running all the time. It will only be a manual turn on for me to make more water. It may come down to capacity of the tank/sump for the 8 gallon difference, but I wanted some other input from people with bigger tanks/ATO containers. May just end up waiting for a petco $1 per gallon sale and pick up a 20 tall for ATO.

Use the brute with safety checks, tunze or other.
Make sure the ato output line is above the brute water level to prevent siphon.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

I limit the amount of makeup water to below what will crash the tank. I’d rather burn up the little pump, which is super cheap on Amazon, than crash my Corals. My Aquarium gets checked everyday, with a rare day here and there I skip a day. When I go out of town I’m going to do a RO/DI drip, along with a 50/50 Saltwater mix in my makeup bottle. In that situation I’ll have double the amount of water available for makeup, in the bottle. This should cover what my skimmer is pulling out.

 

[92Miata]

Doing topoff from the 32 brute that does double duty as the fresh water container for your mixing station may limit your ability to make saltwater quickly in any sort of tank emergency. Part of the appeal of this style of mixing station is that you have 32 gallons of salt on hand, and can make another 32 gallons in roughly an hour. You won't be able to count on that.


You'll either have to be okay with the idea that an emergency may happen and the top reservoir is almost empty - or you'll have to make water much more frequently to keep that bin fullish and burn through media faster.


I'm very much in favor of a separate ATO resevoir unless you can't physically fit it.

 

[Drew1900]

You could take the electronic ATO out of the mix and just run a simple gravity fed line with a float valve in your sump like this one. I would think it would be less likely to fail than an ATO with a pump.