Reefer69 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I really need to get my tank thread up and going but i figured i share this little story. 5a.m rolls around to the sweet sound of water trickling off my dresser. My ATO had not shut off and was pumping water into my tank for the past hour. Luckily for my floor i only have a Fluvial Spec V. About 1.5 gallons total were around and under my tank. PITA. Cleaned it all up and drained 1 gallon of water and replaced with fresh salt water. Will be doing the same when i get home. The salinity was actually not to far off from normal. The problem arises in my ATO timer. I have a "ghetto" ATO using the timer method. I have a multiple channel timer with 1 minute intervals so i can spread the top off through out the day. When i looked at my timer, all of my settings were reset!!! This meant that it was set on all the time. Not sure how this could have reset so randomly. May be time to invest in the Aqua Smart ATO. Link to comment
GHill762 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 yeah that always sucks. I have a simple float switch ato that's on a timer. it runs 15 minutes 2 times a day. even if the ato switch got stuck on it would not run long enough to flood my sump. check out www.autotopoff.com for some simple, cheap and effective ato's. that's where I got mine and it's been running strong for years now with zero maintenance. Link to comment
Boggers Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 BRS has a DIY one that is pretty cheap as well. It sucks when this happens, but it could have been much worse. Link to comment
ps2cho Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 yeah that always sucks. I have a simple float switch ato that's on a timer. it runs 15 minutes 2 times a day. even if the ato switch got stuck on it would not run long enough to flood my sump. check out www.autotopoff.com for some simple, cheap and effective ato's. that's where I got mine and it's been running strong for years now with zero maintenance. Don't make the mistake and think its zero maintenance. The inside of the PVC Cap will build up with slime and the float valve gets stuck. Take apart the float valve once every 3-6 months and scrub it with a toothbrush, then its good. I caught mine just in time as it stuck on and I noticed that my ATO bottle was emptying way too fast. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Redundancy is key friends... Though it's tough to build a more sophisticated system for a tiny tank. You might consider a gravity feed system. Basically you put the reservoir above the tank and use a small mechanical float to open/close the flow of water. Link to comment
GHill762 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Don't make the mistake and think its zero maintenance. The inside of the PVC Cap will build up with slime and the float valve gets stuck. Take apart the float valve once every 3-6 months and scrub it with a toothbrush, then its good. I caught mine just in time as it stuck on and I noticed that my ATO bottle was emptying way too fast. it's in a mostly dark area and I've torn it apart only to find it is perfectly clean.. either way, even if it sticks on it won't flood my sump as long as I check it every few days, having a slow pump paired with a switch and a timer makes the whole setup almost fail proof.. Link to comment
Reefer69 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Redundancy is key friends... Though it's tough to build a more sophisticated system for a tiny tank. You might consider a gravity feed system. Basically you put the reservoir above the tank and use a small mechanical float to open/close the flow of water. I wish i could have a gravity fed system. I just don't have an are to put a reservoir over the tank. Really hoping that aqua top Micro ATO comes out soon. Link to comment
Bingo1213 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 I have never had this happen thanks to redundancies in my Apex (knock on wood). Bottom line, my recommendation is to get an Apex, breakout box and float switch. It really works great and is simple. My apex shuts off the ato of it runs longer than x amount of seconds. It also plays an alarm and notifies me. This also protects the pump from burning out if the top off container runs out. Just my opinion. Link to comment
GHill762 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 I have never had this happen thanks to redundancies in my Apex (knock on wood). Bottom line, my recommendation is to get an Apex, breakout box and float switch. It really works great and is simple. My apex shuts off the ato of it runs longer than x amount of seconds. It also plays an alarm and notifies me. This also protects the pump from burning out if the top off container runs out. Just my opinion. a tom aqua lifter can run dry with no problems, and is a pretty slow pump that works great for top offs.. Link to comment
Nightstar Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Since you havent room over the tank for a gravity fed resevoir how about the same float valve with a pressurized resevoir. Link to comment
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