Duetto Over Fill - intermittent performance, disappointment

[Superdave]

Somewhat of an "old" issue in that others have posted here before, but is still a problem for me.  

 

Have the Duetto set up on my 9.6 gallon and at times it works perfectly.  But then I will check on tank and it has topped up far past the top "triangle" sensor.  

 

I'll clean sensor, unplug and readjust everything and for a week or so it will be fine.  Then I'll see it's way overfilled again.  Not enough to flood my tank, but close enough to give me pause.  

 

For the price, @XP Aqua I would like to see more consistent performance.  

 

I am experienced enough to realize my setup could be the culprit (as others leave great reviews for it) but it is marked for tanks my size so I feel I am not being overly unfair.  

 

This product replaced the very old school style float switch.  After about 10 years the switch got a bit gummed up and did not move smoothly enough.  But it NEVER over filled one single time.  The "fail" of the float switch was simply it would not kick on the pump so salinity would get a bit high.  

 

Sadly, I will probably sell this one and go back to the bulkier option as it was WAY more consistent, which is crucial in this hobby.  

[Chutsk10]

I have a Duetto on a 8 gal AIO and it has been working reliably.  

 

Is your top up line by chance located close to your sensor? When I had them both in the same chamber the waves from the top up water caused the sensor to overfill. I moved the top up line to a different chamber and it seems to have fixed the problem. 

 

 

[MainelyReefer]

It could be as simple as you changing the floss, making the flow through easier, thus increasing total volume in the last chamber.  As my floss gets dirtier over the week my salinity drops as more water backs up in the display and the ATO compensates.  When I change the floss the obstruction is cleared and the final chamber level rises in response.  My Hydros tracks the frequency of ATO cycles on a graph and you can see when I change my floss as the ATO won’t have to fire off for a bit

[Superdave]

17 hours ago, Chutsk10 said:

I have a Duetto on a 8 gal AIO and it has been working reliably.  

 

Is your top up line by chance located close to your sensor? When I had them both in the same chamber the waves from the top up water caused the sensor to overfill. I moved the top up line to a different chamber and it seems to have fixed the problem. 

 

 

I have a hang on back filter, an AquaClear 80.  

 

I just referenced the chamber type filter as it seems people have more luck with those.  

 

Thanks though!

12 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

It could be as simple as you changing the floss, making the flow through easier, thus increasing total volume in the last chamber.  As my floss gets dirtier over the week my salinity drops as more water backs up in the display and the ATO compensates.  When I change the floss the obstruction is cleared and the final chamber level rises in response.  My Hydros tracks the frequency of ATO cycles on a graph and you can see when I change my floss as the ATO won’t have to fire off for a bit

I have a hang on back filter.  

[Reefkid88]

I had mine clipped on to the side of my AC30 as well,because mine overflowed my tank 3 times in 2 days,then I moved,set everything back up,clipped it on my filter and within a week it was doing the same thing. So I took mine offline. 

 

 I had my water in  a 6"x6" container,next to my tank (my tank is 10" cube,so its lower than my tank water level like the instructions say),siphon break over the container water line,cleaned the sensor all the time and still over flowing. Manufacturer said I set it up wrong after sending them pics,so idk. 

 

 Someone is wanting to trade for a older JBJ ato. I never had a problem with that ato,never once,ever. 

 

 I had problem with my newer optical sensor JBJ ato as well doing the same thing. 

[Superdave]

Just now, Reefkid88 said:

I had mine clipped on to the side of my AC30 as well,because mine overflowed my tank 3 times in 2 days,then I moved,set everything back up,clipped it on my filter and within a week it was doing the same thing. So I took mine offline. 

 

 I had my water in  a 6"x6" container,next to my tank (my tank is 10" cube,so its lower than my tank water level like the instructions say),siphon break over the container water line,cleaned the sensor all the time and still over flowing. Manufacturer said I set it up wrong after sending them pics,so idk. 

 

 Someone is wanting to trade for a older JBJ ato. I never had a problem with that ato,never once,ever. 

 

 I had problem with my newer optical sensor JBJ ato as well doing the same thing. 

Well I didn't think it would work having it on the AC filter as that keeps the water level constant so not evap will occur there as the filter sucks in water to same level.  

 

I also had an ATO with an optical sensor that I tried before the Duetto and same issue.  

 

Ultimately I think it is just too sensitive and or the turn off point allows too much water to flow into the tank.  What is still confusing though to me is fact that it works okay part of the time.  That is the real issue, the lack of consistency.  

[Reefkid88]

Well,I should rephrase that. My sensor is in my actual display furthest away from my light,because they kept saying light was interfering with the optical sensor. My fresh water dumps into my filter. 

 

 But,for some reason when it stopped filling,water was getting siphoned back into my reservoir and mixing with my distilled water. Come to find out,even with my tank pushing the filter as tight as possible against the wall my filter was still leaving back,causing the siphon but the siphon break wasn't doing anything to stop it. 

 

 I'm going to try it 1 more time with the reservoir under my tank,hop my 2yr old and 1yr old don't mess with it and see if it ever decided to do its job.  

 

 I think these optical,need to be ran in a sump,where its dimmer than the display so lighting,water splashing on it,salt creep etc don't impact the sensor. 

 

 Older mechanical float switches are 10000x better and reliable I feel like. 

[Superdave]

2 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

Well,I should rephrase that. My sensor is in my actual display furthest away from my light,because they kept saying light was interfering with the optical sensor. My fresh water dumps into my filter. 

 

 But,for some reason when it stopped filling,water was getting siphoned back into my reservoir and mixing with my distilled water. Come to find out,even with my tank pushing the filter as tight as possible against the wall my filter was still leaving back,causing the siphon but the siphon break wasn't doing anything to stop it. 

 

 I'm going to try it 1 more time with the reservoir under my tank,hop my 2yr old and 1yr old don't mess with it and see if it ever decided to do its job.  

 

 I think these optical,need to be ran in a sump,where its dimmer than the display so lighting,water splashing on it,salt creep etc don't impact the sensor. 

 

 Older mechanical float switches are 10000x better and reliable I feel like. 

Hadn't thought about the light interfering with sensor.  

 

Would seem like a HUGE design flaw as most people will have lights on their tank.  Sump is different story.  

 

$99 @Marine Depot for a product this inconsistent is disappointing..  

 

[Reefkid88]

 That is what the manufacturer told that light,bubbles,surface inorganics,and waves from wave makers can mess with the sensor. 

 

 I have a Prime 16HD over a 10",so the light is super bright EVERYWHERE, even at 16w. Filter in the middle on the back wall,sensor as far as possible from direct light.

[Superdave]

47 minutes ago, Reefkid88 said:

 That is what the manufacturer told that light,bubbles,surface inorganics,and waves from wave makers can mess with the sensor. 

 

 I have a Prime 16HD over a 10",so the light is super bright EVERYWHERE, even at 16w. Filter in the middle on the back wall,sensor as far as possible from direct light.

I have the Kessil A80 so definitely lots of light shinning down on the sensor.  

 

I get bubbles and too much turbulence/surface agitation could throw it off, but the product is not marketed as being incompatible if used in the display tank so that's annoying.  Glad I'm not the only one!  Was starting to think I was not bright enough to use it effectively..

[MainelyReefer]

8 hours ago, Superdave said:

I have a hang on back filter.

This is why you are having problems, just to be clear in a typical AIO or sumped system there is a designated pump chamber.  As water evaporates the water level will only change in the pump chamber, and this is where the sensor should be placed for the ATO.  Is yours in the display? I feel bad for manufacturers having to put up with bad reviews because of improper implementation, then to make it awkward and call out distributors who aren’t in a place to call you a knucklehead for poor system design

[Superdave]

18 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

This is why you are having problems, just to be clear in a typical AIO or sumped system there is a designated pump chamber.  As water evaporates the water level will only change in the pump chamber, and this is where the sensor should be placed for the ATO.  Is yours in the display? I feel bad for manufacturers having to put up with bad reviews because of improper implementation, then to make it awkward and call out distributors who aren’t in a place to call you a knucklehead for poor system design

I do not have an AIO.  I have a tank with a hang on back filter.  

 

As far as I know, there is no Duetto literature to suggest it cannot work on my system.  It is not a bad review if they do not clearly specific where they product can and cannot be used.  The instructions that come with the Duetto show it being used in the main/display tank which is what I have.  

 

Distributors can seek a refund from the manufacturers.  They do so all the time.  

[Superdave]

18 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

This is why you are having problems, just to be clear in a typical AIO or sumped system there is a designated pump chamber.  As water evaporates the water level will only change in the pump chamber, and this is where the sensor should be placed for the ATO.  Is yours in the display? I feel bad for manufacturers having to put up with bad reviews because of improper implementation, then to make it awkward and call out distributors who aren’t in a place to call you a knucklehead for poor system design

Just re-read the instructions and see it says tank/sump, which means they say it is appropriate for either.  

 

Then they say do not place in direct light.  Not sure of who has a tank without any direct light on it.  

 

 

So while maybe the light is the issue, the makers of Duetto have a bigger issue which is they are marketing a product to customers without clearly stating how it can be effectively used.  

[Reefkid88]

I wasn't aware of all the things that would affect the sensor until I shot them an email and sent them pic of show everything was set up. 

[GReefer1969]

I’ve had the same problem. I have two main tanks. One has a sump the other cannister filter. So one in sump never had one problem w it works perfectly 

the one in the main tank has over filled twice in the 6 months I’ve had it. So assume light salt bubbles etc maybe causing the overfill. If anyone else has ideas to fix or change or anything about this please post. Thx GReefer. 

[geekreef_05]

I think alot of these new ATO sensors are unreliable. I have two that basically look identical to the duetto, but its an off-brand. I have the same problems you have. Mine can also overfill at times when power goes off and then on. Gives me a scare. 

 

I have a third ATO (i dont recall the company) with a single triangle, instead of the two, and it works alot more reliably. But i also see they arent sold anymore. Im about to swap that ATO onto my Home Office Reef, cause the duetto knock off isnt reliable enough 

 

For a decade prior i used a tunze. They really are super reliable. And more precise with smaller water additions at a time. I ended up selling it years ago, during a period i got out of reefing. At the time i had it there wasnt much choice in small laser atos. Now they are all over the place. 

 

Tunze FTW if you can afford it. 

 

Extra toothbrushes to clean your Duetto if not.