Favorite ATO & any other beginner equipment?

[Fungusamongus]

I just looked it up, that looks like a heavy duty sensor! Can I ask how you decided on it compared to other choices?

Upgraded pump, sensor, and integrated controller. Less cords and good reviews.

 

[SpyC]

I used to have the tunze osmolator and loved it. I was out of the hobby for a while and got the neptune atk. I liked the extra failsafes. It has optical sensors for the main controls, but also a float valve to cut off the water and an autoshutoff if it has been running for longer than usual. I eventually purchased and apex and added a few other sensor in case the promary atk sensors failed for some reason.

 

[Uncle99]

Slowly figuring out all the gadgets I didn’t know I “needed” ..

Currently looking into auto top offs, I know some are built into controllers etc.. suggestions?

Also any other equipment that you wish you looked into when you first started? We have a 65g plus sump and overflow

I bought the $100 Amazon ATO, one with:
1 optical sensor
1 mechanical sensor back up.
Years running without fail.

 

[ca1ore]

Auto top off .com

Seconded. I used their double float assembly on all my ancillary tanks and never had a failure.

 

[Jekyl]

Still don't use a top off for my 6 yr old 90g. The most vital piece of equipment to me is a heater controller. Saved my tank twice now.

 

[Pod_01]

I personally like gravity fed ATO. Very robust, no electronics and no sensors.
The downside is the ATO location may be inconvenient.

 

[Fred A.]

Slowly figuring out all the gadgets I didn’t know I “needed” ..

Currently looking into auto top offs, I know some are built into controllers etc.. suggestions?

Also any other equipment that you wish you looked into when you first started? We have a 65g plus sump and overflow

If you are a short distance to a water and drain line (maybe a bathroom near your AQ?) I would place an RO unit near the sump with a pressure sensor in the sump. When it evaporates it clicks the RO on and tops off the sump to the right level, every couple of days for me. I've been using mine for 20 years, nothing is easier, just change the RO filters as needed, every couple of years or longer!

 

[n2585722]

It depends on how far away your DI reservoir is going to be. I use my Hydros collective for ATO and use one of their water level sensors in the return section of the pump to control it. For the pump I use a Hydros simple doser but my DI reservoir is in the garage 35ft from the tank and the tubing is run up through the attic and down the wall and out a wall box and up to the overflow. To do ATO with the Hydros you could get a X2 starter kit and the Hydros ATO kit. With the ATO kit you would need a DI reservoir near the tank or sump. The X2 has 2 sense ports and 2 drive ports. You would be using one of the drive ports and one of the sense ports for the ATO. I think the starter kit comes with a temp sensor you could put on the other sense port. The starter kit also comes with a wifi power strip that can be controlled by the X2 once setup so you would have 4 USB power plugs but the are all controlled together so they are all on or all off. The wifi strip also has 4 AC outputs. If you use it for heaters use heaters that have a thermostat also and set them a few degrees higher than what you set the controller at as a backup. Alway have a backup off for heaters and also split the wattage between two heaters and it would be best to have them on separate outlets. The wifi strips will stay in whatever state they are in if communication is lost between the controller and the wifi strip so I would not control ATO, AWC or dosing with them. Also I would not use heaters on them without the backup off I discussed earlier but I would use a backup off with any controller for heaters. With the X2 if you do decide to get into controllers more all you would need is another Hydros controller with the ports you want to add, a command bus cable and a couple of terminators. One terminator is defiantly needed for small collectives and 2 is the most you will need for a collective. If the controller you get also has a source of power with it you would need to remove the power supply that comes with the X2 starter pack. Once the two controllers are connected you would power up and register and setup the wifi credential for your wifi in the new controller. Then you would check the firmware in both to make sure the are both up to date. Then you would select you old controller and the create a collective. Once the change are uploaded you original controller will be a member of the new collective and the collective will retain all the settings of your original controller. Then you would add the new controller to the collective. The reason for creating it with your original controller is only the controller the collective is created with will have it's settings transferred to the collective. Any added after it is created will have their settings erased. So you can add on as you automation grows.

 

[liddojunior]

Jebao doser
It’s very cheap, it works very well. And you don’t need a seperate controller. It works right out of the box. Perfect if you don’t need an aquarium controller and good intro to auto dosing

 

[Brucemull]

When I agreed to a salt tank for my kid, I went out and bought the first tank I saw fit knowing it had to cycle.. thought everyone was over hyping the start up cost because of “luxury”.. little did I know there’s so many upfront essentials, rodi, the cans they mix in, filter choice, the list continues to grow

I thought the same about the top off, but it’s a nice piece of mind. Im torn between making everything easy as possible for success - or - making my kid work everyday between, cleaning, monitoring, maintenance for “their” tank so she learns better and can appreciate it when we do automate

It took me almost 3yrs to master the "Basics" . An a ton of reading an question asking to get" comfortable" knowing I was on the right path. Read a lot don't jump on the first " opinion" on solving issues. Think of it as you going to the doctor for an issue and someone else for a "similar" issue. You both may be given different prognosis and treatments for what was a similar issue!
Read lots ask questions alot an make wise decisions! Best of all these forums are your best friends. We've all experienced issues an share cures. No to tanks are alike just like no 2 people are! Good luck Happy reefing

 

[jimfish98]

The "luxuries" so to speak that I wish I had when I started...none are needed, but enjoyed none the less....

1- A second RODI unit. Was running a 75gpd unit which was fine, but filling a new tank or after using a full bucket of RODI on a project, it took forever to fill. Won another one from BRS and run them both and I can replenish fast now.
2- Fleece roller. Started with socks, quickly learned to hate them. Fleece rollers cut down my work load so I could enjoy the tank more.
3- Dosing pump- I used to add things here and there, could never be consistent so I didn't see the results I wanted. The dosing pump does it all so I only have to shake a bottle once a week and top off a bottle here and there.
4- A UV Light- first set up I had so many issues I converted to Freshwater. Algae, cyano, it was nuts. Was dealing with an algae outbreak on the freshwater and added a drop in UV to my pump chamber in the skimmer and it was gone within half a day. Started a small reef, added it right away and skipped so many issues. Restarted the large tank as a mixed reef, had the UV, skipped all those issues again. $20 drop in saved so much time, money, and aggravation.

In time it may expand, but for now this is it. I don't test my water enough to justify something like a Trident. I don't need automation or anything else like that with controllers. Who knows what will come out in the next 5 or 10 years though that will make me wish I hade one when I started.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

If you are a short distance to a water and drain line (maybe a bathroom near your AQ?) I would place an RO unit near the sump with a pressure sensor in the sump. When it evaporates it clicks the RO on and tops off the sump to the right level, every couple of days for me. I've been using mine for 20 years, nothing is easier, just change the RO filters as needed, every couple of years or longer!

With this arrangement, when the sensor fails the tank keeps filling at X GPD (whatever the rate of your RO filter is) until someone notices it or your house floats away. Having a ATO reservoir limits the possible overfill to the capacity of the reservoir.

Also, TDS creep makes this arrangement exactly the same as connecting the ATO feed directly to the tap. Might as well skip the RO unit and associated costs, since running a cup of water at a time completely negates the filtering function. (Don't use tap water in a tank, of course.)

 

[javajaws]

With this arrangement, when the sensor fails the tank keeps filling at X GPD (whatever the rate of your RO filter is) until someone notices it or your house floats away. Having a ATO reservoir limits the possible overfill to the capacity of the reservoir.

Also, TDS creep makes this arrangement exactly the same as connecting the ATO feed directly to the tap. Might as well skip the RO unit and associated costs, since running a cup of water at a time completely negates the filtering function. (Don't use tap water in a tank, of course.)

Its also bad because topping off that way causes your RODI to run for a very short amount of time very frequently. So you'll be getting the worst performance possible out of your RODI. And that may be ok for some people...but not ok for others. Better to have an intermediary RODI reservoir that you fill several gallons at a time (either automated or manual).

You CAN do full ATO automation safely...but you need redundant controls and alert/alarm support with a controller IMO.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

Its also bad because topping off that way causes your RODI to run for a very short amount of time very frequently. So you'll be getting the worst performance possible out of your RODI. And that may be ok for some people...but not ok for others.

Yes, that's the TDS creep issue. Not sure about it being subjective, though -- it is a fact about how RO membranes function.

 

[javajaws]

Yes, that's the TDS creep issue. Not sure about it being subjective, though -- it is a fact about how RO membranes function.

From the technical standpoint, no its not subjective. But whether the extra TDS matters is up to the person and their system - THAT is subjective.

 

[Aquaddictorbj4]

I love XPA Duetto, using for over 2 year and still works perfect.
Sensor with failsafe sensor, pretty good!
Also have auto aqua smart ATO RO for RO water auto top off, no need to worry about TDS creep! Thanks god!

 

[NancyFish]

Other equipment:

For salinity the best thing I got.

I’ll have to check it out, I swear my QT tank is a pain with salinity, I’m always adding to keep it down.. but the lfs made it sound like salinity should never be a issue

 

[NancyFish]

Tunze are best . I have a redsea ato as it comes with Temp sensor, Water leaks sensor as well.

It's just a preference, but still would go with the new tunze ATO. Top notch

I’m tempted for the ato+ esp because of the leak sensors and planning on a fleece roller. But it does seem people tout tunze much more. Things like the hydros also overlap. What made you decide in the Red Sea if you think tunze is the best?