Gravity fed ATO

[oceake]

I'm working on a new build and have a vertically arranged saltwater mixing station in the garage which is conveniently on the other side of the wall from my tank.

I'd like to plumb an ATO directly to the RODI barrel, so that it's gravity fed to the tank. I plan to have a solenoid near the RODI source to cut off supply in the event of leak detection.

In normal operating conditions, the solenoid is open and the sump's float valve controls flow of RODI water for auto top-off.

1. Any red flags with this design? In my internet searches, I've not seen this approach mentioned very much so maybe I'm overlooking something.
2. If I plumb the 1/4" tubing bulkhead near the bottom of the barrel, it seems like when the barrel is full, there would be a lot of pressure through the 1/4" lines and connections. Any reason for concern here?

Thanks!

 

[Saltyreef]

I'm working on a new build and have a vertically arranged saltwater mixing station in the garage which is conveniently on the other side of the wall from my tank.

I'd like to plumb an ATO directly to the RODI barrel, so that it's gravity fed to the tank. I plan to have a solenoid near the RODI source to cut off supply in the event of leak detection.

In normal operating conditions, the solenoid is open and the sump's float valve controls flow of RODI water for auto top-off.

1. Any red flags with this design? In my internet searches, I've not seen this approach mentioned very much so maybe I'm overlooking something.
2. If I plumb the 1/4" tubing bulkhead near the bottom of the barrel, it seems like when the barrel is full, there would be a lot of pressure through the 1/4" lines and connections. Any reason for concern here?

Thanks!

I dont see an issue with the plumbing. You can put a flow restrictor inline if it becomes too much pressure.

But, the only reason you might want to feed a smaller container for ATO is in the event of a failure, 55g of RODI in the sump would likely kill everything on top of flood your floor.

I have an ATO sized not to flood or kill my tank in the event of a failure.

 

[theatrus]

Pressure is easy to calculate - 1 inch of water is ~0.035 PSI. Its not going to be a lot.

Using a solenoid and a switch is redundancy in my mind.

 

[Saltyreef]

Pressure is easy to calculate - 1 inch of water is ~0.035 PSI. Its not going to be a lot.

Using a solenoid and a switch is redundancy in my mind.

I forgot, head is unaffected by weight/gallons...just height lol.

 

[oceake]

Pressure is easy to calculate - 1 inch of water is ~0.035 PSI. Its not going to be a lot.

Using a solenoid and a switch is redundancy in my mind.

Good redundancy or bad redundancy? :grinning-face-with-sweat: