I hate ATOs, please tell me which ones you like and why -

[Harold999]

My nightmare is it failing on

Calculate the amount of rodi it uses daily, and dose only that amount with a dosing pump in your ATO container.
You will need an extra reservoir though but it's pretty much 100% fail safe against flooding your tank.
If it fails in the on position only one day of rodi flows in your tank.

 

[Koh23]

Diy ato, 2 float switch, relay, some wires and sockets.... Paired with 30l glass tank, custom made to fit into space.....

Investment of maybe 10-15$, works more than 10 years, not a single glitch....

 

[Sdbuehler1]

With all the folks out there running Apex controllers I'm surprised no one mentioned their ATK V2. I am using it for my 100 gallon tank and it works great. I really like all the redundancy from the two optical sensors, the ability to set a maximum run time, and being able to shut it off when the leak detection trips. Its a little pricey at $224 but worth the peace of mind IMO. The PMUP pump is really powerful too and can push a maximum head of 14 feet which is perfect for those of us with our RODI reservoirs in the basement.

 

[92Miata]

I've never said a thing about noise. You said they are the most unreliable pump on the market. I countered that because you have zero stats to back that up.

Are they louder than other pumps? Yes, they are. I raised mine an inch off the bottom of my ATO reservoir and put a silicone mat under it. I can barely hear it now. Slight buzz when it runs and my tanks run super quiet. I don't even like the sound of water in the overflow. So I found a way to make the pump quieter. Sound has nothing to do with reliability though.

And you have zero stats saying otherwise.

Just anectdotes.

 

[Greybeard]

Anything special about your float valves? I have three in my system and they seem to stick often even if I clean them frequently.

Special? Nope... got 'em off of Amazon. Kerrick brand. Same as BRS sells, but $8.29 instead of $17.49. I don't like the adjustable type with the big stainless screw. Unnecessary.

Haven't ever really 'cleaned' the valves. I do change the valves out every other year, as preventative maintenance. The only problem I've ever had was right after I installed a booster pump on my RODI system. One of the valves wasn't able to handle the added pressure. I ended up leaving the booster pump in place, and installing a pressure reducing valve right before the electric ball valve. High pressure at the RO membrane, ice maker, drinking water faucet, etc. Lower pressure at the aquarium use areas.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That doesn't leach anything in the tank? I thought 316 stainless was just corrosion resistant not corrosion proof. I thought titanium was one of the only truly reef safe options for metal in a tank.

If that doesn't leach anything that is really good to know there is another option besides titanium and plastic.

It seemed fine after 20 years in the tank. I didn’t run an icp test until it had been in more than 10 years, but nothing seemed problematic.

 

[Rhino]

I have always ran the Tunze options in the past, setting up a new tank and getting back into the hobby. Ordered a Tunze 3155 again yesterday.

 

[fisher99]

I may message you about this later...need to explore.

You can buy a system like that a t Autotopoff.com
I have used one for 10 years and never had a problem.
Good people to deal with too.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Calculate the amount of rodi it uses daily, and dose only that amount with a dosing pump in your ATO container.
You will need an extra reservoir though but it's pretty much 100% fail safe against flooding your tank.
If it fails in the on position only one day of rodi flows in your tank.

Not failsafe when you calculate it for summer, you don't religiously check your tank water level for a week as temps cool down and you end up with water damage on your floor.

The idea of dosing is great, but it needs to be supervised by float switches or optical sensors. In my ATO failsafes thread, I show exactly how to do this with an apex where it will allow up tp double evap when water level is low, stop when water level is high, default to half evap if a switch is detected as stuck, and allow full evap if the low low switch thay protects the sump gets low.

 

[GuppyHJD]

My nightmare is it failing on

Even if mine failed ON, the resevoir supplying it is only 2.5 gallons.

 

[GuppyHJD]

Special? Nope... got 'em off of Amazon. Kerrick brand. Same as BRS sells, but $8.29 instead of $17.49. I don't like the adjustable type with the big stainless screw. Unnecessary.

Haven't ever really 'cleaned' the valves. I do change the valves out every other year, as preventative maintenance. The only problem I've ever had was right after I installed a booster pump on my RODI system. One of the valves wasn't able to handle the added pressure. I ended up leaving the booster pump in place, and installing a pressure reducing valve right before the electric ball valve. High pressure at the RO membrane, ice maker, drinking water faucet, etc. Lower pressure at the aquarium use areas.

I believe my problem is the water pressure to the valve is too low. My RODI fills my reservoir which is above my sump. The reservoir tops off the sump via gravity to the two float valves. I pull the wire retainers and clean the surfaces of the valve about monthly. They usually work fine....until they dont.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Even if mine failed ON, the resevoir supplying it is only 2.5 gallons.

Yea that’s the way honestly. I used to keep a smaller ato tank but got tired of filling it up said screw it and hooked the tank up straight to my 55g water station a couple years back.Putting a lot of faith on that valve here hah

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

I have had the same JBJ for about 12-14 years. I have only replaced the float valves twice and it’s all good, though it’s old and getting to where I feel the need to change it out.

That said, I’m going to standard sized Tunze Osmolator on my new tank later this year. Everyone says they’re the best and, for me, at this point, it’s worth the money for the peace of mind given the failsafes.

 

[Steven Garland]

I LOVE the older jbj ato with regular float switches. Optical sensors have given me nothing but issues,and I tried 3 different ones.

The newer OLD jbj uses the same sensors but a dc pump and its only $110.

 

[TMC]

I have only been in the hobby about 6 months now but I like the Tunze it has been very reliable the pump is a little noisy but it doesn't run that long I rarely hear it.

Idk, my tunze has had its little plastic case (that goes over the tubing to the pump) crack already. Which can cause the pump to run but not pull any water. I’ve seen this be a common error. Silly how something so trivial can cause the pump to sometimes not work.

I don't use the hose that comes with it doesn't make sense to me to plug a line INTO a nipple so I got tubing that goes OVER the nipple like it should no problem with cracked nipple.

My tunze osmolater thingie has always been reliable but I hated that every time I shut it off to do WCs it would "prime the pump" and add RODI water. I guess that's not a big deal on a bigger system, but on a nano it was frustrating. Not to mention the "water level indicator" was always sus. I had issues with the optical eye at times too....seemed like it didn't wanna "wake up" on occasion. Which seems to always be the case, these optical eye ones (any brand) seem to have moments of blindness. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to setup a float valve setup, it's just the same old dilemma - space and resources.

I hated that about the Tunze too had to try and get my salinity adjusted every time I did a water change so now I just unhook one of the pump wires until the control does it's thing and turns off then just connect it back up.

 

[RedReefer]

Avast ATO. Pressure switch with flood protection on the power supply. Has never failed me.