ATO failure in AIO

[ralquist]

Herd something off this morning on my way out the door, water spilling out of my 45 AIO tank...

I have a JBJ 45 using a AutoAqua smart ATO w/ 5gallon top off reservoir below in the stand ran into the return chamber along with the sensor. Last night about 10pm I topped off the reservoir, in bed around 12 and all was good. 7am splashing out/running over the front top pushed out by the return pumps splashing so this happened in the 7 hrs during the night. About 1 gallon left in the reservoir. The water line going from the reservoir to the tank was still charged like it was pumping but the optical sensor was not flashing like normal when it kicks on. Turned this off, took a about 3 gallons out to the normal water level. I would say there is about a gallon on the floor so towels down and had to run to work, salinity dropped to 1.023. Hoping to get to leave work soon to sort this out.
I am still new at this and is my first water accident so trying to think/work this out in my head. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
-Snail got only the sensor causing it to overfill, didn't see one back there but doesn't mean there isn't one in there.
-ATO sensor failed on the on position, just happen to catch it while it was happening. *again the light flashes when the pump kicks on and that was not happening, the tube was charged with water like it was still filling. Seems to unlikely that I would catch it while it was happening..
-Overfilled the reservoir over the anti syphon attachment in the tubing and something screwed up there (this one doesn't make sense to me). If a syphon was created, I feel like it would drain from the tank into the reservoir?

Thanks for taking the time to read!

 

[JTP424]

I'd look at the sensor, make sure it doesn't have any condensation inside etc to cause it to fail. Had this happen to me using a Duetto. Also make sure the sensor is clean.
Not super familiar with that ATO, but possible power cycle, if that ATO requires calibration or something.
Next step? Look into an ATO with a overfill kickoff. Tunze Ozmolator or whatever anyone else on here recommends.

 

[TheSheff]

Herd something off this morning on my way out the door, water spilling out of my 45 AIO tank...

A drop of 0.002 is not bad and shouldn't make a huge impact. ATO's are super likely to get stuck on, I've had it happen multiple times since I refuse to use the "best" ATO (tunze osmolator). One of the best purchases I have ever made is buying a float switch like this from autotopoff.com :

This is basically a float switch wired into a extension cord, where the ato power source pluts into the female end of this cord, it acts as a great failsafe for an ATO as it prevents the ato from functioning if the water reaches a certain level. They even make some with two float switches for a ton of redundancy. I use an ATO from amazon that uses two float switches, and add this to it. I've never had issues. Hopefully this helps, best of luck!!

 

[TheSheff]

I'd look at the sensor, make sure it doesn't have any condensation inside etc to cause it to fail. Had this happen to me using a Duetto. Also make sure the sensor is clean.
Not super familiar with that ATO, but possible power cycle, if that ATO requires calibration or something.
Next step? Look into an ATO with a overfill kickoff. Tunze Ozmolator or whatever anyone else on here recommends.

I hate ATO's that require calibration after being powered off lol, sooooo annoying.

 

[ralquist]

I'd look at the sensor, make sure it doesn't have any condensation inside etc to cause it to fail. Had this happen to me using a Duetto. Also make sure the sensor is clean.
Not super familiar with that ATO, but possible power cycle, if that ATO requires calibration or something.
Next step? Look into an ATO with a overfill kickoff. Tunze Ozmolator or whatever anyone else on here recommends.

Thanks! I'll be sure to inspect that closely, this one is just the clear plastic optical sensors so should be easy to see if its getting water in there. I have got the Tunze 3155 Ozmolater in my basket ready to order unless someone has a better suggestion for an ATO?

 

[TheSheff]

Thanks! I'll be sure to inspect that closely, this one is just the clear plastic optical sensors so should be easy to see if its getting water in there. I have got the Tunze 3155 Ozmolater in my basket ready to order unless someone has a better suggestion for an ATO?

If you have the money, than that's probably your best bet.

 

[ralquist]

A drop of 0.002 is not bad and shouldn't make a huge impact. ATO's are super likely to get stuck on, I've had it happen multiple times since I refuse to use the "best" ATO (tunze osmolator). One of the best purchases I have ever made is buying a float switch like this from autotopoff.com :

This is basically a float switch wired into a extension cord, where the ato power source pluts into the female end of this cord, it acts as a great failsafe for an ATO as it prevents the ato from functioning if the water reaches a certain level. They even make some with two float switches for a ton of redundancy. I use an ATO from amazon that uses two float switches, and add this to it. I've never had issues. Hopefully this helps, best of luck!!

That is great info, thanks so much! If my sensor isn't the issue, I will be adding this asap! Way cheaper than a new ATO!

 

[JTP424]

A drop of 0.002 is not bad and shouldn't make a huge impact. ATO's are super likely to get stuck on, I've had it happen multiple times since I refuse to use the "best" ATO (tunze osmolator). One of the best purchases I have ever made is buying a float switch like this from autotopoff.com :

This is basically a float switch wired into a extension cord, where the ato power source pluts into the female end of this cord, it acts as a great failsafe for an ATO as it prevents the ato from functioning if the water reaches a certain level. They even make some with two float switches for a ton of redundancy. I use an ATO from amazon that uses two float switches, and add this to it. I've never had issues. Hopefully this helps, best of luck!!

I've been looking for something like this as a backup ha!

 

[JoJosReef]

Using titanium sensors (IM hydrofill). Was worried about optical sensors getting triggered for something like a snail or sludge or a pineapple sponge, etc.

Second, I make sure the AIO chamber has space for a few gallons of water before overflow happens. The AIO has an emergency overflow back wall, so even if the pump is pushing water up to the top of the tank, it just flows over back into the AIO chambers.

Only keep as much water in the ATO jug as I have soace in the AIO chambers (a bit more, maybe). Worst case, I have the tank/stand sitting on a leakproof galvanized steel pan (like they use for dog kennels/crates) that can hold up to 4 gallons.

Haven't tried to add a float switch yet, but might be worth considering, as long as it doesn't fail also!

 

[ralquist]

Using titanium sensors (IM hydrofill). Was worried about optical sensors getting triggered for something like a snail or sludge or a pineapple sponge, etc.

Second, I make sure the AIO chamber has space for a few gallons of water before overflow happens. The AIO has an emergency overflow back wall, so even if the pump is pushing water up to the top of the tank, it just flows over back into the AIO chambers.

Only keep as much water in the ATO jug as I have soace in the AIO chambers (a bit more, maybe). Worst case, I have the tank/stand sitting on a leakproof galvanized steel pan (like they use for dog kennels/crates) that can hold up to 4 gallons.

Haven't tried to add a float switch yet, but might be worth considering, as long as it doesn't fail also!

Luckily I had the sensor low enough to hold about 3 gallons so that saved me by luck. The pan under the tank is a great idea and afterthought unfortunately, I live in an apt on the second floor so this could have been a horrible situation. I will only be keeping 3 gallons in the reservoir from now on, good lesson learned to avoid future mishaps.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Wow I’m surprised to hear that. I’ve had that same ATO for 2 years now and never had any issue. Sorry to hear it failed you.

 

[ralquist]

Well @JTP424 for the win! Sensor looks like it’s cracked and getting water in. 8 months or less… GEE WIZ!

Tunze has been ordered, hopefully this will get me back on track!

Very fortunate I looked before leaving the apartment. Seems like there was less water than I thought spilled, only about a half gallon so luck was on my side today! Thank you all for your input, chalk this as a valuable learning lesson.

 

[Aquaddictorbj4]

Well @JTP424 for the win! Sensor looks like it’s cracked and getting water in. 8 months or less… GEE WIZ!

Tunze has been ordered, hopefully this will get me back on track!

Very fortunate I looked before leaving the apartment. Seems like there was less water than I thought spilled, only about a half gallon so luck was on my side today! Thank you all for your input, chalk this as a valuable learning lesson.

Is that AUTOAQUA Smart ATO Lite? May I know where did you buy it? I was searching this product before and asked Autoaqua. They told me that ATO Lite is not available in US... it is not authorized product.
They also have an announcement on their website : https://www.autoaqua.com.tw/en/statement5.html

 

[ralquist]

Is that AUTOAQUA Smart ATO Lite? May I know where did you buy it? I was searching this product before and asked Autoaqua. They told me that ATO Lite is not available in US... it is not authorized product.
They also have an announcement on their website : https://www.autoaqua.com.tw/en/statement5.html

That’s the one, bought it on Amazon. My box matches the counterfeit one from the site, that's quite a bummer.

 

[Aquaddictorbj4]

That’s the one, bought it on Amazon. My box matches the counterfeit one from the site, that's quite a bummer.

Thanks for your sharing. It's quite terrible to buy a counterfeit product
I will keep comparing tunze and autoaqua. I am now quite interesting in autoaqua AWC system (duo/lite) with ATO+AWC 2 in 1 function

 

[reefholicbj4]

That’s the one, bought it on Amazon. My box matches the counterfeit one from the site, that's quite a bummer.

Same experience as you! I change to the AutoAqua Smart ATO nano. Love its HOB and diaphragm pump for my reef tank.

 

[ralquist]

That is such a bummer, I attempted see if the link for my order was still active but was removed. I googled it and boom

.

Sent amazon a message with the link @Aquaddictorbj4 provided (thanks again!) and left a review on the product page. Hopefully it might save someone from going through the same headache.

​

​

 

[JTP424]

Wow! Didn't know this was even a thing! At least we know it wasn't any fault of your own and most likely knock-off quality issue.