gravity style ATO

[atrox]

Wondering who here has had good results with a non electric gravity fed ato system. I have plenty of room in my stand to use a large container to sit directly on top of sump or even build a shelf. Ive seen a couple of great ideas floating around.

[lambogriffin]

There are a few things to watch out for.. It takes some effort to get them dialed in, and I recommend doing that on something besides your saltwater tank. I am setting up a 15g now, and have a small gravity ATO almost ready to go, but I had one set up on my freshwater sump where it didn't really matter for troubleshooting. It also depends on which design you are going with. They are reliable though, once set up. 2 things to look out for: that when using air line tubes, if the tube that breaks the air seal is too small, the vacuum caused by the release of water can suck water into the air tube, and cause an airlock and it will stop topping off.. Simple fix.. Bigger air tube or attach the little tube to something larger (a cut bottle or something) that would sit at the top-off height.

The other problem, worse probably, is if the container is not sealed.. Just triple test the seal and do a trial run(not on ur tank) to make sure the seal is good.. If not, gravity will do its thing and drain the whole top off reservoir into ur sump. If I get around to it I will post pictures of mine

[Mojado]

Wondering who here has had good results with a non electric gravity fed ato system. I have plenty of room in my stand to use a large container to sit directly on top of sump or even build a shelf. Ive seen a couple of great ideas floating around.

 

Works great! No issues. Get a float valve and done!

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/328648-mojados-40-breeder-build-now-wfts/?p=4396804

 

Here's a pic.

[bonsaidarrell]

My setup is similar to Mojado's. Occasionally the float valve gets gummed up and doesn't open when the level drops, but I check in on my sump daily so it hasn't caused a problem.

 

The other issue I have (and this isn't directly related to the gravity ATO) is that the water trickles in, so it doesn't mix with the saltwater in the sump. And since the saltwater is denser, I end up with a layer of freshwater on top. Perhaps the real problem is that my last baffle dumps water in the bottom of the return area, rather than cascading over the top. So I have a small powerhead making sure the water in the return area mixes.

[tibbsy07]

Works great! No issues. Get a float valve and done!

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/328648-mojados-40-breeder-build-now-wfts/?p=4396804

 

Here's a pic.

How does the float valve help? I love the idea of a gravity fed system, though. Would make my life WAY easier.

[ALexpsycho]

How does the float valve help? I love the idea of a gravity fed system, though. Would make my life WAY easier.

 

The float valve starts the gravity fed ATO when there is evaporation.By the principle of communicating vessels.

When the water level reaches the desired level the valve stops water from flooding.

It can be tricky.Like all other ATOs but it works.

[tibbsy07]

The float valve starts the gravity fed ATO when there is evaporation.By the principle of communicating vessels.

When the water level reaches the desired level the valve stops water from flooding.

It can be tricky.Like all other ATOs but it works.

Other float valves trigger an electronic unit to start a pump, right? Does the float valve here simply act like a gate, as in when water is low, the float valve drops, opening the tube for the ATO water to enter the sump, and then when the level rises, the float valve lifts and blocks the hole for the water, thereby stopping it?

[jacketherington]

I'm a little confused too. How about a diagram for the slow kids?

[ALexpsycho]

Video...with a more primitive sensor

 

 

the ATO vessel is high and airtight ofc. so it is gravity fed.

[Mojado]

Other float valves trigger an electronic unit to start a pump, right? Does the float valve here simply act like a gate, as in when water is low, the float valve drops, opening the tube for the ATO water to enter the sump, and then when the level rises, the float valve lifts and blocks the hole for the water, thereby stopping it?

I'm not seeing how this is tricky. It is easier to see from the pic below. When the float drop, it opens a valve. What it really does is remove a stopper from an opening. When the level raises, it puts the stopper over the hole. The stopper, if removed *just* a little bit is enough to let water trickle down. So it is super accurate.

 

 

 

I'm a little confused too. How about a diagram for the slow kids?

 

 

check the pic from amazon.

 

Also, my 5.5 gallon Aqueon I use for the ATO reservoir is open on top. I should add a cover for evap, but I'll get to it later.

 

I have to clean the float valve every few months or so because it gets gunked up by slime. It is noticeable be a slightly lower desired water level

[tibbsy07]

I'm not seeing how this is tricky. It is easier to see from the pic below. When the float drop, it opens a valve. What it really does is remove a stopper from an opening. When the level raises, it puts the stopper over the hole. The stopper, if removed *just* a little bit is enough to let water trickle down. So it is super accurate.

 

Ok, so it IS what I thought. I wasn't sure if the float valve actually had a stopper in it or not. Other float valves are more like electronic switches for ATO units. I was actually just looking at this picture. Much easier to see. Thanks!

[Mojado]

Video...with a more primitive sensor

 

 

the ATO vessel is high and airtight ofc. so it is gravity fed.

This isn't it.

[ALexpsycho]

Yes this was my first ATO

 

It worked like charm.

i ve seen a lot of disasters with ATO`s even expensive ones with 2-3 protection sensors.

There is none 100% safe.

It is Murphy s law.

[Mojado]

Yes this was my first ATO

 

It worked like charm.

 

i ve seen a lot of disasters with ATO`s even expensive ones with 2-3 protection sensors.

There is none 100% safe.

It is Murphy s law.

Ah, I had float valve on the brain. Never mind. . . this *is* gravity fed.

[lambogriffin]

http://s29.photobucket.com/user/lambogriffin/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20140315_155037_458_zpsmx1x0umk.jpg.html'> just got this running today..my original plan was hamster bottle style like above, but I remembered seeing something similar to this and scrapped the above style one I made. this design is better IMO, but works almost the same.. It's more like a dog/cat style water dispenser, and you set the height of your sump even with the water's surface on the outside(the wood stand is to set the water level even with the sump). Then start a siphon using an airline tube to connect them. When the sump level drops it draws water, and the reservoir pool refills as needed. 2 reasons it's better.. No seals(mechanical connections under vacuum pressure) to fail ie there is no way it can flood your tank(the vacuum is in a single inverted container, and if somehow the siphon broke, you would have normal loss from evap), and the siphon is very slow instead of the relatively large release of vacuum when the hamster bottle style gulps air. Only fail mode for this set up is if it gets completely knocked over.. But really that is a fail mode for almost any equipment. The inverted container I used is round and tapered with a lid that has a small pour spout.. And the bottom container is square, this way the airline(siphon) can run in one of the corners. To refill I just pull it out and fill it and then put it back and restart the siphon if needed. I tried hamster bottle and it made me too nervous... The whole reservoir held above your tank only by a vacuum.. Any seal breaks and your toast. O.o won't be losing sleep over this design.

[SoggyNW]

I'm just finishing getting my first tea jar gravity ATO dialed in, it's been a lot of trial and error. The majority of the trouble is all in the air return hose that controls the water level.

 

Problem #1 was I picked to small a hose, the hose needs to be large enough that the water can retreat when the water level breaks. the hose that ended up working is 3/8 ID hose.

 

Problem #2 when the water level dropped low enough to allow air into the hose, the rush of air would push a small amount of water all the way through the hose and into the reservoir, not good. The fix for that was to add a valve into the air line to regulate how fast the air could move, slower moving air couldn't carry the water all the way up.

 

Problem #3 was that if the bottom of the air intake tube was perfectly parallel to the surface of the water and the surface tension broke just so, the surface tension combined with the vacume in the container could hold water in the 3/8 tube, larger tube would fix the problem but that is just crazy, the solution is to cut or position the air return tube at the water line so that it is at a slant. with the opening at a slant the surface tension will always break on the high side first and the water will follow the surface tension on the low side and flow out of the tube.

[Osric]

A simple system if you have sufficient space above your sump is to use a water jug with a hose attached to set the water level. Foolproof, no float switch required.

 

Images below are of a setup like this that I'd done years ago for my son's freshwater tank.

 

Osric

 

[atrox]

Thanks for all the updates. I ended up going with JBJ ato and an aqua lifter. Amazon cant be beat on pricing, picked up both with free shipping for 70 bucks. Ill get some pics posted shortly in the 40 breeders thread, but I need to organize the cluster F*&^! of a mess i have going with the electrical.