ATO Shutoff

[bsharding1982]

I have a 125 gallon DT, 55 gallon sump, Eshopps HOB overflow and Avast ATO

If the overflow would lose its siphon my return chamber would run dry pretty quickly. Problem is my ATO would keep pumping in water until it ran dry too. Is there something I can use as a safety measure to turn off the ATO or return pump?

 

[prdubois]

Put the ATO on a timer so it can only run 5 min per hour

 

[Joe31415]

Put the ATO on a timer so it can only run 5 min per hour

Well that was an unexpectedly elegant solution. Also I don't know about the Avast ATO, but the Tunze ATOs will automatically shut off if it runs continuously for 10 minutes (at least with the 3155, the nano has a different time). It's my understanding that this is basically the reason. So to mitigate the risk of filling the tank with fresh water.

Another option would be to get a smart outlet with a water level sensor. Set the sensor an inch or so below the water level. Plug the ATO (and return pump, for that matter) into the smart outlet and tell it to only provide power when the water is at or above the sensor. That would not only kill the ATO if the return section runs low, it would also shut off the pump and reduce the risk of flooding your DT.