How do you auto fill your ATO?

[Dj City]

My next project for my reef is to figure out a way to auto fill my ATO from my RO/DI unit. My ATO is integrated into my glass sump (16 gal reservoir)
My RO/DI is in my basement and the reef is on the main level of the house. I don't want to drill a hole in the floor.
I'm thinking about maybe using the air duct intake vent which is pretty close to the reef tank.

What will I need to get this done?
I'm looking for ideas on how to do this

 

[Reef AquaCult]

RO line and a float switch, 120v relay connected to a BRS 50ml/min doser that pumps into 5G aquarium reservoir. Relay is plugged into smart skimmer auto shut off in case float switch gets stuck in on position the whole system shuts off if water level hits optical sensor. You could alternatively pump directly into sump and skip 5G reservoir.

ro line easy to work with and peristaltic pump has good head pressure to lift 20 ft

 

[Gtinnel]

I have my mixing station on the same floor of my house as the tank (which is important for the way I auto fill mine). In my utility room where my mixing station is I have a 5g bucket that has high and low float switches that controls the rodi to keep the bucket full between that range. I then have a hose (5/8" if I remember correctly) going through my air ducts to my ATO reservoir. I keep that hose at a full siphon so that as the water level in the bucket raises it keeps an equal water level in my reservoir. The important thing was I had to make sure that the top of the bucket wasn't a higher elevation than the reservoir to prevent it from overflowing. Also, on occasion the line gets air in it and I have to use a pump to fill it back up with water. I'm not sure how it gets air since both sides are submerged at all times.
If on different floors the way I do it won't work for your setup, but I can say that I have not had any issues running my tubes through my hvac duct. I also run my AWC lines through the duct as well.

 

[Rubberfrog]

I don't like autofillling from an rodi. You're constantly getting those first few minutes of dirty water off the membrane. Maybe fill into a reservoir in the basement periodically, and then use a pump out of that for the rodi.

 

[Dj City]

My RO/DI unit automatically back flushes every time it's activated.

I'm thinking of using this...

RO Water Controller

Make RO Water production more convenient with Tunze's automated RO Water Controller! The Tunze RO Water Controller 8555 is used to regulate the water level in your fresh water storage container. It uses two float switches to control an electronic valve. When the water level drops below the...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

With a unit like this, the RO/DI will only fill the ATO when it's near empty. I would use my float switch to fill from as an additional back up fail safe.

Are there any other units that do what the Tunze does?
Does Neptune make one for the Apex?

I need to figure a way through the air duct so I'm not cutting my walls or drilling through my floor.

 

[Bad Company]

Mechanical float switch in the ATO container. MY RO filter shuts off after 30 minutes of continuous operation, and an overflow outlet on the ATO container is hosed to the drain. Simple, cheap, failsafe.

 

[Dj City]

Mechanical float switch in the ATO container. MY RO filter shuts off after 30 minutes of continuous operation, and an overflow outlet on the ATO container is hosed to the drain. Simple, cheap, failsafe.

My ATO is part of my glass sump.
How would this work?

 

[Gtinnel]

I don't like autofillling from an rodi. You're constantly getting those first few minutes of dirty water off the membrane. Maybe fill into a reservoir in the basement periodically, and then use a pump out of that for the rodi.

My rodi is setup to dump the initial water that comes out of the membrane for the first 3 minutes. Between the entire cycle my rodi uses it takes 5 minutes before it starts producing usable water.

 

[Dj City]

I have an Apex with the FMM. My FMM has two ports available.
I wonder if I could get two of their optical sensors and their solenoid to do what needs to be done?

 

[landlubber]

I don't like autofillling from an rodi. You're constantly getting those first few minutes of dirty water off the membrane. Maybe fill into a reservoir in the basement periodically, and then use a pump out of that for the rodi.

the tds creep and even more pressing to me, the connection to a continuous source of water is what has kept me from doing it. It would be so nice to have no commitment to filling the reservoir ever again tho!

 

[AdamD76]

ATO for your ATO?! Cool.

 

[LadyMac]

Hah I have a trash can outside that I fill with RODI water (it’s covered) and use a gallon jug to walk back and forth between the can and the sump So high tech I know.

 

[Mike konesky]

I use a brs top off doser to top off ato res. Doser in garage, through wall to 5gal jug. Once you get it kinda close just check it once a week or so. I check it daily so no worries there.

 

[Dj City]

I want to automate the filling of my ATO from my RO/DI.
Pretty much I want an ato for my ato.

I have the FMM with two available ports (3, 4) and the DC24 accessory port is available for the solenoid.
Can I run a line from the RO/DI to a float valve (redundancy) put the Apex solenoid in line and have two optical sensors regulate on and off?
One sensor on the bottom of the ato to trigger the solenoid to open so the ato can fill and the other sensor on top to close the solenoid when ato is full? The float valve is an additional fail safe.
I want the ato get nearly empty before the RO/DI unit fills it back up. That way I don't have a lot of tds creep and the RO/DI only turns on once about every 6 days.

I have a separate ato pump that takes care of ato to tank.
I am looking for the solenoid and optical sensors to take care of filling the ato itself.

 

[buddy.]

My RO/DI unit automatically back flushes every time it's activated.

I'm thinking of using this...

RO Water Controller

Make RO Water production more convenient with Tunze's automated RO Water Controller! The Tunze RO Water Controller 8555 is used to regulate the water level in your fresh water storage container. It uses two float switches to control an electronic valve. When the water level drops below the...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

With a unit like this, the RO/DI will only fill the ATO when it's near empty. I would use my float switch to fill from as an additional back up fail safe.

Are there any other units that do what the Tunze does?
Does Neptune make one for the Apex?

I need to figure a way through the air duct so I'm not cutting my walls or drilling through my floor.

I have the tunze controller on my tank and it is so great. Super easy and convenient to use.

 

[Dj City]

I have the tunze controller on my tank and it is so great. Super easy and convenient to use.

That is an option.

I remembered that I have the Apex FMM so if I can go that route, I will.
If not, the Tunze will be the next option.

 

[Dj City]

I confirmed that the apex solenoid along with two optical sensors will work to do what I want so I ordered them!

 

[Dee Tee 75]

I confirmed that the apex solenoid along with two optical sensors will work to do what I want so I ordered them!

How did it go?

I'm thinking about joining up my new system exactly this way.

 

[gbroadbridge]

My next project for my reef is to figure out a way to auto fill my ATO from my RO/DI unit. My ATO is integrated into my glass sump (16 gal reservoir)
My RO/DI is in my basement and the reef is on the main level of the house. I don't want to drill a hole in the floor.
I'm thinking about maybe using the air duct intake vent which is pretty close to the reef tank.

What will I need to get this done?
I'm looking for ideas on how to do this

Autofiller direct from the RODI filter.

Refills the ATO reservoir when it gets down to 20 percent.
It flushes the membrane for 20 secs on start.
Safety float switch shuts the water off if anything fails

DIY job With 4 optical sensors, 2 solenoid valves and the float switch.

 

[Joe's Coral Reef]

For 3-4 years I've used the Avast Marine Barrel Tender. Whats nice is you can have it turn on/off at a certain heights by adjusting the tube lengths. It uses pressure sensors to measure barrel level, low and high. I do this for a 55 gallon ro tank in basement. If I was to do this on the main floor I would also add a simple float valve on ro supply. Whatever you do I'd add the simple float valve, its a solid backup that doesn't cost much.