Not impressed with Red Sea ATO+

[SheldonC]

I recently set up a Red Sea 300 G2+ and was super excited about the Red Sea ecosystem. Unfortunately, it's been less than impressive, especially the ATO+. On paper it seems like a super awesome system, but in reality it isn't. In my setup, I've noticed that it doesn't do a good job at actually measuring the water in the return chamber. It'll dump upwards of 1 gallon of RO water in 15 mins and then go "uh oh, you're above the sensor" and I think it's because of how the probe reads the level. It can't read through saltwater, which makes sense, but because it just dumps water time-after-time it dilutes the water in the return chamber and therefore it's salty enough to turn the pump off. Eventually it does circulate and things level out, and then the ATO just says it's "above" the level for a few days before things evaporate and we do it all again.

Maybe mine is just finicky or I'm just whiny, but seems like a bit of an oversight by Red Sea to have this problem. Or it could just be my setup and combination of not running my return strong enough or whatever, but regardless it's a pretty annoying point of the Red Sea gear.

 

[Ziggy17]

I know when I setup my system, it took awhile to tune everything so my drain, return, skimmer and ATO were synced up. Making a tune, waiting 6 hours, then again and again… took probably a couple weeks until it was set and forget. But for the first few days I experienced the same thing as you. All or nothing with the ATO. So it may be a case of that, or the ATO kit may be faulty.

 

[Evil1]

Sorry you’re having issues with it. I installed one about 2 months ago. I do not have a sump so the probe and the fill tube is directly in my tank. I have to say mine is spot on so far. As a matter of fact it learned after a few days just about how much water to top off and when. I’m quite impressed especially since it’s not installed in a sump as intended. Perhaps something is not set correctly. I noticed with mine the water needs to be just below the bottom water level sensor (not the very bottom temp sensor) and it will kick on and stops halfway between the bottom water sensor and the top. Just where I want it.

 

[OctaviusBrine]

I have one as well as a Red Sea tank. My problem I already knew before I installed the ato as it wasn’t available when I purchased my tank. The problem a lot of us have is with the valve. It throws off the level in the sump like it plugs up. making the ato dump more water than it should. Then the valve clears and dumps more water. If that makes sense. How long have you had your tank running?

 

[SheldonC]

The tank has only been running for two weeks, so I'm fairly confident that the valve is still clear as there is no livestock in the tank during the cycle. But I also sympathize with your gripe about the valve. It seems like one day the height is perfect, then 12 hours later it's too low. I know it takes time to dial in, but this seems excessive.

I did open a ticket with Red Sea to inquire about the ATO cause it doesn't seem like it should be an all-or-nothing experience. Especially since this is a G2+ so it's designed to work perfectly with their ATO. If you look at the ATO log in my screenshot, you can see how wonky this thing is.

 

[OctaviusBrine]

I too would think it couldn’t be the valve in such a new tank, but even after I put the replacement on it would do the same thing. I was able to watch it through my apex and see that it would fluctuate.it would go from good to sucking anir within a few mins. And my ato would dump. I have the g2 as well. Im just saying it might not be the ato. Once I have replaced the valve with a gate valve my ato works flawlessly. Those valves are so bad. if your already seeing the level fluctuate in your return then that would be my guess.

 

[Ziggy17]

Does your return pump reduce its flow rate in small increments? Perhaps back it off one level and then adjust your DT valve a smidge.

 

[SheldonC]

Does your return pump reduce its flow rate in small increments? Perhaps back it off one level and then adjust your DT valve a smidge.

It doesn't, at least it doesn't because I tell it to. It runs at a consistent speed 24/7.

 

[SheldonC]

I too would think it couldn’t be the valve in such a new tank, but even after I put the replacement on it would do the same thing. I was able to watch it through my apex and see that it would fluctuate.it would go from good to sucking anir within a few mins. And my ato would dump. I have the g2 as well. Im just saying it might not be the ato. Once I have replaced the valve with a gate valve my ato works flawlessly. Those valves are so bad. if your already seeing the level fluctuate in your return then that would be my guess.

What valve did you replace it with, if I may ask? I don't think anyone has positive reviews on the valve, even the G2 ones (I know the G1 valve was awful).

 

[Ziggy17]

It doesn't, at least it doesn't because I tell it to. It runs at a consistent speed 24/7.

What I mean is, can you turn it down a notch so your return baffle isn’t as empty.

 

[SheldonC]

What I mean is, can you turn it down a notch so your return baffle isn’t as empty.

Oh, sure. I could give it a shot. Trying to keep the tank at a relatively consistent basis is proving to be very difficult with the Red Sea valve.

 

[OctaviusBrine]

What valve did you replace it with, if I may ask? I don't think anyone has positive reviews on the valve, even the G2 ones (I know the G1 valve was awful).

I replaced it with a spears gate valve. Now I can actually enjoy the hobbie. My ato was always dumping. I would wake up literally every other day to my return being almost empty because I would turn off my ato. That valve is hot trash!

 

[Ziggy17]

I haven’t had any issues with the supplied valve. I would adjust 1/4 turns and wait a couple hours and adjust again if needed. Like I mentioned, it took a couple weeks of fine adjustments before everything was in synch.

 

[SheldonC]

I haven’t had any issues with the supplied valve. I would adjust 1/4 turns and wait a couple hours and adjust again if needed. Like I mentioned, it took a couple weeks of fine adjustments before everything was in synch.

I'll dial it in, and then the next morning it'll be 1-2" below the emergency drain. Do you use a rollermat? I've read that rollermats sometimes influence the level because it clogs up, then frees itself, and the end result is fluctuating levels.

But as you mentioned, might take some time and letting things go to finally get dialed in.

 

[Ziggy17]

No roller mat for me. I just use the mesh socks. 20 seconds to clean, they last a year, and super cheap. I didn’t mind micro managing for awhile. But sometimes I’d wake up and hear the return pump blowing air into the tank from low water level. I use a jump return pump and it has a ton of adjustability. Much easier to dial in than my old ecotech…

I hope it gets sorted for you man and happy reefing!

 

[Lavey29]

Get a tunze 3155 and a 10g reservoir which fits in my XL300 cabinet and call it a day. The reservoir will last you over a week too.

 

[hsp]

Get a tunze 3155 and a 10g reservoir which fits in my XL300 cabinet and call it a day. The reservoir will last you over a week too.

Nice installation. Do you have the fan in the sump for cooling the system?

 

[hsp]

I recently set up a Red Sea 300 G2+ and was super excited about the Red Sea ecosystem. Unfortunately, it's been less than impressive, especially the ATO+. On paper it seems like a super awesome system, but in reality it isn't. In my setup, I've noticed that it doesn't do a good job at actually measuring the water in the return chamber. It'll dump upwards of 1 gallon of RO water in 15 mins and then go "uh oh, you're above the sensor" and I think it's because of how the probe reads the level. It can't read through saltwater, which makes sense, but because it just dumps water time-after-time it dilutes the water in the return chamber and therefore it's salty enough to turn the pump off. Eventually it does circulate and things level out, and then the ATO just says it's "above" the level for a few days before things evaporate and we do it all again.

Maybe mine is just finicky or I'm just whiny, but seems like a bit of an oversight by Red Sea to have this problem. Or it could just be my setup and combination of not running my return strong enough or whatever, but regardless it's a pretty annoying point of the Red Sea gear.

I had exactly the same issue in a 1-month-old Red Sea Reefer Max G2+ 300. I think the three explanations in this thread are plausible: (1) insufficient salinity to trigger the probe's sensor, (2) the valve is clogged and then suddenly released, and (3) Reefmat causing a blockage. Dumping a lot of water at once could trigger (1), but why would it be way too low in the first place? A clogged valve (2) seems unlikely in new systems like mine. The Reefmat's overflow would prevent the third option, even if the Reefmat is 100% clogged and doesn't advance. Hm....

 

[hsp]

Update: In my tank, it is clearly the valve. Yesterday, again, water from the sump was pumped into the DT with the valve suddenly blocking the water returning to the sump, resulting in a higher water level in the DT and triggering the ATO+ to dump 2.8 litres of water into the sump. I opened the valve (3 turns), resulting in flushing everything down and then turning 3 times back to the exact same position as before--clearly, something was stuck there.

I found this exchange valve video:


And a valve cleaning video: