Recommendations? Which ATO Do I Need For a 32 Biocube?

[Nevada Wiseguy]

Hello! I decided to take the lid off of my Biocube 32 and get a Kessil a360x light. As soon as I did all of that, boy did the evaporation come quickly. I have a 5 gallon Blue Life jug that I am wanting to use with an ATO. My question is, which ATO do I get? I see the Tunze Nano which looks out of stock in a lot of places and has less features than the Tunze 3155. My question is two fold...

One, Is the 3155 acceptable to use for an ATO in a 32 Biocube? Two, what others would you recommend?

Note, I plan on going on vacation for a week soon and either plan to put the lid on for that or get a much larger jug for that trip. I live in an upstairs apartment so I need to make sure what I get will work without worry of burning out if the jug runs dry or over filling the aquarium by accident. I worry a lot so need a worry free solution if such a thing exists. My budget is $250 or less preferably, but open to better pricier ideas if needed.

Thanks in advance!
JC

 

[Nevada Wiseguy]

 

[Nevada Wiseguy]

 

[ctopherl]

Hello! I decided to take the lid off of my Biocube 32 and get a Kessil a360x light. As soon as I did all of that, boy did the evaporation come quickly. I have a 5 gallon Blue Life jug that I am wanting to use with an ATO. My question is, which ATO do I get? I see the Tunze Nano which looks out of stock in a lot of places and has less features than the Tunze 3155. My question is two fold...

One, Is the 3155 acceptable to use for an ATO in a 32 Biocube? Two, what others would you recommend?

Note, I plan on going on vacation for a week soon and either plan to put the lid on for that or get a much larger jug for that trip. I live in an upstairs apartment so I need to make sure what I get will work without worry of burning out if the jug runs dry or over filling the aquarium by accident. I worry a lot so need a worry free solution if such a thing exists. My budget is $250 or less preferably, but open to better pricier ideas if needed.

Thanks in advance!
JC

I would still only use the full tunze personally, solely because it is by far the most reliable based on reviews.

A 5G Home Depot bucket lasts me ~5 days on 65g of water without a lid. I also usually pour an extra cup or two of RODI in the tank before I go to give it just an extra day or so-the overall decrease in salinity is not noticeable.

Get a friend to check on the tank and top off the jug.

 

[Nevada Wiseguy]

Thanks for the input ctopheri! I just saw this, which is a new video from BRS, but this solution looks janky at best. If you have to clean a sensor, is it really a worthy sensor?

 

[ctopherl]

Thanks for the input ctopheri! I just saw this, which is a new video from BRS, but this solution looks janky at best. If you have to clean a sensor, is it really a worthy sensor?

You have to occasionally clean the Tunze sensor as well. Over time it just gets some dust on it. The end result for me when it gets dusty is that it will think the water is level even though it has dropped (which is much better than the alternative, which is that it endlessly fills and overflows). I clean it probably every 2 months or so.

That one looks like it could be good for small space applications, the only negative ones are very specific. I have heard the JBJ nano is popular as well for small spaces.

 

[Tman007]

Hello! I decided to take the lid off of my Biocube 32 and get a Kessil a360x light. As soon as I did all of that, boy did the evaporation come quickly. I have a 5 gallon Blue Life jug that I am wanting to use with an ATO. My question is, which ATO do I get? I see the Tunze Nano which looks out of stock in a lot of places and has less features than the Tunze 3155. My question is two fold...

One, Is the 3155 acceptable to use for an ATO in a 32 Biocube? Two, what others would you recommend?

Note, I plan on going on vacation for a week soon and either plan to put the lid on for that or get a much larger jug for that trip. I live in an upstairs apartment so I need to make sure what I get will work without worry of burning out if the jug runs dry or over filling the aquarium by accident. I worry a lot so need a worry free solution if such a thing exists. My budget is $250 or less preferably, but open to better pricier ideas if needed.

Thanks in advance!
JC

After doing a lot of noob research for my 28g nano, I ended up going with the Tunze Nano 3152 and it is rock solid. Of course the 3155 is better but also it's double the cost.

Also, Tunze customer service is great. One piece that started to crack was replaced under warranty quickly, with simple instructions on how to change out the part.

 

[ctopherl]

After doing a lot of noob research for my 28g nano, I ended up going with the Tunze Nano 3152 and it is rock solid. Of course the 3155 is better but also it's double the cost.

Also, Tunze customer service is great. One piece that started to crack was replaced under warranty quickly, with simple instructions on how to change out the part.

Tunze also has a forum here on R2R they monitor regularly and help out with Customer issues

 

[Nevada Wiseguy]

Awsome, I heard Ice Cap and the JBJ were good too, but I don't know enough about those brands. I just want a worry free solution. I also heard that the 3155 may be a bit overkill for my tank. Also something about adding an extra cup of water during power cycles. I still have my rim on it too, so hoping I won't have issues with any of the mountings for whatever solution I go with.

 

[sHockz]

I have 2 years running the SmartATO in my 32 biocube. No moving parts. Dead simple. Works extremely well. Priced well. Reliable. Super compact in size. Been using it for years with only one issue that was completely my own fault.

The only issue I had, was when I started adding kalk to my ATO container. My ATO return tube was dumping the water right on top of the ATO sensor, and it eventually got covered by the minerals. Cleaned off the sensor, and moved it so the return tube didn't dump right on top of the sensor, and problem was solved.

I didn't want to get the Tunze because A) expensive and B) more perceived maintenance since it has moving part that need to be maintained. I have no experience with the Tunze ATO's though.

 

[Austin_H]

I have 2 years running the SmartATO in my 32 biocube. No moving parts. Dead simple. Works extremely well. Priced well. Reliable. Super compact in size. Been using it for years with only one issue that was completely my own fault.

The only issue I had, was when I started adding kalk to my ATO container. My ATO return tube was dumping the water right on top of the ATO sensor, and it eventually got covered by the minerals. Cleaned off the sensor, and moved it so the return tube didn't dump right on top of the sensor, and problem was solved.

I didn't want to get the Tunze because A) expensive and B) more perceived maintenance since it has moving part that need to be maintained. I have no experience with the Tunze ATO's though.

100% agree with what he’s saying. The Smart ATO has no float valve or moving parts that can get jammed and add more water than needed. Just toss the laser sensor in a cup of vinegar or whatever you use and it comes right off. Also has a built in timer so if water is being pumped for too long it’s stops and beeps to alert you

 

[Nevada Wiseguy]

Thanks for all the advice. I ended up buying the Tunze 3155. Hopefully it works out and fits properly. Going to adjust the internal dial setting to nano.