Thats just the max load. should still work with dc...?

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I'm building this ATO and I'm having trouble understanding the up/down concept of the switches. This is the cheapest switch I could find Ebay Link and it says it's an up switch. So if I'm correct and the seller isn't wrong, when I have the switch oriented with the wires up(and out of the water) and the float goes down the switch will turn on, thus activating the pump. Am I correct in my statement, and is that the right switch I need? Thanks for you help!

I cannot tell. The nomenclature of an "up" switch is meaningless. Is it up to close or up to open?

The proper way to describe what you need is "normally closed". This means that in the absence of water, the floatswitch falls, and the switch closes. "normally" refers to the "shelf state", or the state of the switch without any water.

Thanks! I got my definition of up from plumbing supply. I thought I was using the right terms, but now i know what I need.

I'm also looking, at doing an ato where can I get a cheap float switch?

ebay... ^

I recommend the Chicago Sensor FLT015. These are the well-known floatswitches.net floatswitches. Chicago Sensor bought them out a couple of years ago. Good product, not as cheap as ebay, but at least you know what you're getting.

Just what I needed to know. You sir just earned a beer.

Just came here to say that I built one and so far it's great! Got my switch from Chicago Sensor, ordered Sunday and it was here today. Picked up a bubble box from Wal-Mart and away we go. Using it on my 10g, only have a quart bottle right now until I can learn to trust it. So easy and completely effective. Thanks a ton for the idea.

I did the exact same thing, just make sure that you have a perfect airtight seal throughout the system. If you don't even if it's a slow leak it will suck water back in the bottle. Also, it's just a hunch I had and it may or may not be true, but the water stopped getting sucked back in when I had my pump higher than the jug.

I've actually got my hose out of the water, so I'm not too worried about it siphoning back.

Is everyone's ATO loud? I am using an Azoo pump and it is rather loud. I really like the simplicity, and cost, of this system but the noise is a bit bothersome. Has anyone found a quiet pump or a way to conceal the noise from these pumps?

Conceal it in your stand?

Mine lets off a bit of noise but it runs for less than 15 seconds every 90-120 minutes, so it's not too big of a deal. I've just got it sitting on my desk with the tank and everything right now though, once I get it put away it likely won't be noticed.

any good suggestion what kind of container is air tight enough? I found that 1g bottle is no good. Also how you sealed the hose (rigid) and soft? Where to buy rigid hose?

I'm using a 1g jug and it's working just fine for me. I superglued the crap out of the inside and outside of the cap and then I tighten the cap as hard as possible. It also helps to get a check valve from the pump into the jug just to make sure you don't get a slow leak from the cheap diaphragm in the pump.

Mines not even air tight yet. It's only pushing water 12" or so, but I had planned on either super glue or silicone to seal up the hoses, should work just fine.

On a funny note:

I got a call from my GF the other day and she left a voicemail. I listen to it and she starts out: "Hey, this contraption you made...it just keeps running." At this point I'm thinking, "Oh ####! There's water everywhere!" Then I remembered it's only a 40oz container, how bad could it be?

She then continued to say that my container was out of water. Whew. I bout had a heart attack. Moral of the story, keep your container filled.

Yeah it doesn't really have to be air tight, it's just if it's able to maintain the pressure in the jug then the pump has to be on less because the pump won't have to build the pressure again.

anyone has did the ATO on a NC12? I need to find something to hang on the back wall chamber without actually trying to bend some plexi...any idea?

I used a cd case. Just heated it up with a candle or something and bent to shape. Works great.

thanks...i will give it a try.

Kyle that thing will rust lol

So spray paint it. Replace it every other week. Dont drop it in your tank? Those clips dont rust too fast, I use them for holding the tubing when acclimating. When ya dont wanna heat up some acrylic yer kind limited, I'm just lazy.

Ok. My switch has arrived.
Time to get my pump and figure
and figure out the mounting.
I would like to ask you, UTR, what battery
pump should I get? When calculating head pressure,
is the delta in elevations tank elevation minus the
water level elevation in the supply reservor. If so
my max head would be 4' when the supply is at it's
lowest.

Careful if you're batteries are getting low. Might have just been a fluke but my pump must have stopped at a point where the batteries didn't have enough juice to get it going again. Sat on all night like that, most likely. Although I did just do a water change, so hopefully it wasn't on too long. Motor was pretty warm, but once I figured out what was wrong it kicked right back on.


Has anyone with a bubble-box from walmart thought of wiring the batteries in series instead of parallel? I would assume that motor wouldn't have much problem with 3v instead of 1.5v. That should get you more head pressure also, if you need it.

I have the same problem occassionally. I just keep the container filled higher and it seems to help.

Ugh I'm having problems, whenever the pump turns off water slowly gets sucked back into my jug. I'm thinking the jug is leaking air but I'm not sure what is causing this. I have a check valve in between the pump and the bottle so there isn't any stress on the pump to hold the pressure. I'm out of ideas. Any thoughts?

Is your top off line in the water?

The line going from the pump into the jug isn't, but the line going from the jug to the jar is at the bottom of the jug.

So is the line supplying the top off water in the tank water?

Yes.

Your bottle might not be air tight but the problem is the top off line being submerged. The tubing needs to be just above the water line as a fail safe.

Ah that worked, thanks!

lol, no prob man!

me too cept for $15



im serious

This thread is like 6 years old and more of a build guild for others at this point.
I dont think the OP has logged in to the site since last September.
You didnt read the whole thread other wise you would know the price of float switches went up.
You publicly low balled the OP in your first 4 posts on NR. Good job

HAHAHAHA

Ha