Neptune atk

[Mjrenz]

I just bought a neptune atk today and hooked it up. My first issue was that it was in not in poor reefer mode (stand alone) out of the box that I broke the seal on. After searching online I found out how to reset it with a paperclip. Then it just had a trickle of water and then stopped pumping all together (even though the pump was running) I finally got it working when I let the pump run with no tubing connected in my top off water and it finally dislodged whatever was clogging it. Then I hooked it up again and it ran until the water level hit the first sensor and shut off (sweet! That's what what I saw in the crudely drawn pictures on the index card /instructions that were included). Twenty minutes later an alarm is going off, I do not have an Apex controller so I have no idea what the alarm means. I unplugged it and plugged it back in and in another 20 minutes the alarm is going off again. I've looked on both sides of the index card and can't seem to locate the troubleshooting guide so here I am... For $200, this is some bs

 

[Pete1968]

 

[Amado]

Put it back in the box return it and get a tunze.

 

[Mjrenz]

I actually did find this information before I posted anything, it did alarm at first when the pump was clogged and it ran for more than 5 minutes without filling and I fixed that issue. There is nothing plugged into ports 3 or 4 and no water is covering the upper level sensor. I've also unplugged and plugged everything back in multiple times to check connections

 

[Mjrenz]

Put it back in the box return it and get a tunze.

I might need to

 

[Pete1968]

I actually did find this information before I posted anything, it did alarm at first when the pump was clogged and it ran for more than 5 minutes without filling and I fixed that issue. There is nothing plugged into ports 3 or 4 and no water is covering the upper level sensor. I've also unplugged and plugged everything back in multiple times to check connections

I had an atk and the problem i did notice was when you use the float valve it doesn’t allow enough water to exit out of the refill properly due to poor design! So once you remove the float valve there’s no restriction on it and it fills up properly , and your pump will not run long causing the alarm to go off! Try this it will solve your problem

 

[Mjrenz]

I think I just figured it out, I plugged it back in and the alarm is actually going off after 10 minutes and not 20 like it seemed to me. I followed the wires and found out that the sensors are in the wrong places so the upper level sensor is getting covered first. I swapped them and I'll wait another 10 minutes and see what happens...

 

[Mjrenz]

I had an atk and the problem i did notice was when you use the float valve it doesn’t allow enough water to exit out of the refill properly due to poor design! So once you remove the float valve there’s no restriction on it and it fills up properly , and your pump will not run long causing the alarm to go off! Try this it will solve your problem

I thought the problem was the float valve at first so I disconnected the tubing from the float and still nothing would flow out of the open end of the tubing. Then I disconnected the tubing from the pump and was able to blow through it. The problem was definitely in the pump itself, without anything connected to the pump I energized it in water, at first it just spun and then something dislodged and water started flowing. This can only be explained by debris or some other manufacturing defect being present in the pump from the factory, my clean rodi container had absolutely nothing in it but water.

 

[Mjrenz]

Well it's been over 20 minutes and no alarm. I appreciate everyone responding so quickly. I had the sensors plugged in right (1 to 1 and 2 to 2) but they were installed backwards in the bracket. If only I had paid more attention at finger painting time then I may have been able to decipher the pictures on the included "instructions" and not had to bother everyone. I've literally had more comprehensive instructions written in broken English come with a $7 Chinese pump than the bs they put in the box with this

 

[Sleepydoc]

In all honesty, the best thing the Neptune ATK has going for it is that you can easily integrate it with an Apex. I guess the fact that you can add a low water sensor to the reservoir and a leak detector are nice, but for the same money, the Tunze is a better option, IMO.

As for the instructions, they do have videos and instructions online, here. They're really not that hard to find.

I wrote a review here. I've kept mine as I have it hooked up to my apex, but I still have periodic issues with the optical sensors. The big advantage for me is that I can hook up the PMUP to a 24V port rather than taking up a 120V outlet.

 

[Amado]

ATO is too important. Your salinity will not be stable. The skimmer will not function correct without a constant water level.
You are risking your return pump not having any water and failing. ATO is too important to mess around with bad/******
Equipment. I had a bunch of problems with my ATK and now I use a tunze and it just works. I also have a frag tank running this
“Autoaqua ATO and water change” for the same price of the ATK and I have no problems and it does small water changes every day.

AutoAqua AWC - All-in-One... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079C2JPXB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share


The best thing you can do is return that ATK
And buy something else. Do it before you are out of the 30 day return policy and have to eat the $200