ATO

[ramsey]

Since buying the 175 gallon tank, I've quickly realized that I need an auto top off system. I'm currently having to add about 2-3 gallons a day. Since I have a bathroom on the other side of the wall from my tank, I'm thinking about tapping into the cold water line, hooking up an RO unit, then running a pipe or tube through the wall. Once it gets to my sump, I'll have a float valve waiting for it. Does anyone have something similar to this set up? Any suggestions or ideas?

[BIGBIRD123]

When I had my 280g up and running, my ATO was fully automatic. You can have the same situation as long as you have a place for the waste water. Man, I hate those words..."waste water". do you have a way to run the waste water to a flower bed or something?

[ramsey]

I may be able to actually. It wouldn't be very hard to direct the waste water outside. I don't have anything to water there but I could either plant something or have a collection container. Good idea!

[ramsey]

Any recommendation on a float valve or system? I'm a little concerned about valve problem causing the tank to overflow.

[BIGBIRD123]

Here is how mine was arranged but on mine, I had a RO/DI storage because mine had almost 600g in the system. We can get together and I can show you exactly what you need. I never had to turn the supply on or off, eliminating the water going down the street or all over the floor...lol

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j20/onebrickstrait/ATO.png

[BIGBIRD123]

Nothing is "FOOL-PROOF" but this was as close as I could get...

[StevenSeas]

If i understand this correctly, the float valve would turn the RO/DI on and then the RO/DI would directly flow into the sump. the only problem I have heard come of a setup like this is that the RO/DI doesnt perform at peak when first turned on causing some not so pure water to go into the sump. The other thing to be aware of with this setup is the float valve has to be high enough to ensure that the RO/DI can fill it up without the pump running dry. Thats a fairly easy problem to prevent though...

[BIGBIRD123]

As long as the unit stays full of water, I have never had a problem with that. I use float switches and not float valves. The valves have a tendency to stick. The way mine is set up now, there is only a 1" difference in levels. My sump level never differs more than 1".

[StevenSeas]

sweet well there you go, as long as the float switch is high enough up your good to go so your pump doesnt run dry

[StevenSeas]

the guy I knew that had done it like that and had problems was b/c of his skimmers optimum height was lower, and had it tuned and he didnt wanna mess with that lol

[ramsey]

Hmm, I didn't think about that. If I set it up the way I was thinking, there will be a constant supply of waste water leaving the system. I'm gonna have to rethink what I'm going to do.

[Bill S]

the only problem I have heard come of a setup like this is that the RO/DI doesnt perform at peak when first turned on causing some not so pure water to go into the sump. \

And for that reason alone, you don't want to do it that way. When you run your RO/DI, you need to RUN it. Otherwise, as it cycles on and off, you will get some really not-so-pure water coming through.

[Europhyllia]

And for that reason alone, you don't want to do it that way. When you run your RO/DI, you need to RUN it. Otherwise, as it cycles on and off, you will get some really not-so-pure water coming through.
Our sponsor for RO units wrote a really good explanation on that subject with the conclusion that the constant on/off is not yielding pure water results.

[ramsey]

Well, one option I may investigate is having a container that has a float senor or valve in it. I can have it set up on a timer so that it fills once a day. From that, I can have the water fill my sump. Just use a gravity feed for this part. Well either that or just get a glass canopy. :) That would probably be the cheapest solution and would cut down on evaporation I would think. It would still evaporate from the sump, but at a much slower rate I would think. I dunno though, an ATO system would be killer. If you do not suggest having it come straight from the RO unit, what do you suggest? There's no way the Wife would let me put a huge container full of water in the living room.

[ramsey]

Actually, now that I think about it. If I get an ATO unit, I could just plug it into a timer to have it run once a day. That way it would turn on for a while and make 2-3 gallons at a time.

[ramsey]

Here's one product I'm currently looking at:

http://tinyurl.com/ycereor

[jroescher]

My RO/DI unit is plumbed directly to my sump. I use this dual float switch (http://www.autotopoff.com/products/DS1/) connected to this: solenoid (http://www.autotopoff.com/solenoid/) to control it.

The top solenoid is a backup in case of failure. The single control float (lower) keeps my water level within about an 1/8 inch. On a heavy day I can hear the solenoid cycle on for about 10 seconds at a time about every 30 minutes.

I have always heard that the constant cycling of the unit does not produce perfect water, but algae has never been a problem for me. I have this setup for more than 6 years now.


My solenoid valve is inside my stand and is heavily corroded now. I'm planning on replacing it with 2 stainless valves wired together. Both must operate for water to flow for added safety.

[brewercm]

I've been running mine for years that way. My RO is under the sink in the house and I tapped off the tank under the sink into a DI cartridge before going into my sump in the garage.

Never tested the theory about having not so pure water like that though.

[BIGBIRD123]

Same as Cliff, I ran mine this way for years with no ill effects. I never had an hair algae until using store bought water on this tank. Glad I got rid of it...and went back to my ro/di unit...

[brewercm]

I guess I never thought about it but mine is actually coming from the storage tank that is under the counter also and that water always tests good. Maybe the difference between the two methods then.

[BIGBIRD123]

Mine went to a storage tank that was sealed...

[jroescher]

Mine comes off the tank under the sink, through a DI cartridge then into my sump also.

[brewercm]

BTW, going on five years now with this method and the only mishap I've had was my own stupid fault. After cleaning my in sump skimmer I didn't pay cloase enough attention to where my cord was going after I put it back it. Yep, sitting right on top of the float valve. Noticed before flooding the garage but not before nocking the salinity of the tank down quite a bit.

[ramsey]

After doing some research I think I'm gonna go with the dual float valve + solenoid solution. My plan is to run the solenoid for an hour a day, once in the AM and once at night. That way I'll be home if there's problems. It would also allow the ro/di unit to run a while and not just trickle all day. I'm still a little clueless as to how it all goes together. I assume that the good water line off the ro/di unit goes to the solenoid which in turn goes to the float valve(s). The waste water will go through the wall outside. If I get an auto shut off valve on the ro/di unit it would prevent it from running waste water all the time, correct? In other words, I don't want it pushing waste water through when the ATO is preventing the flow of good water.

Sorry for all the questions! I'm still a novice when it comes to reefing and a complete noob with the ATO stuff. Thanks for the help and suggestions though!

[ramsey]

Bump

Am I on the right track or way off-base? Thanks guys! Just want to make sure I get everything I need in one shot.

[ramsey]

I finally got an ATO hooked up. I decided not to go with the RO/DI method but instead I bought a 30g water container which should last about two weeks before needing to be filled. The container and pump are in a closet on the other side of the wall from my tank. I went with the Tunze ATO. Here's some pics:

Dual float switches in my sump:

http://ramseypawlik.com/ato.jpg

Freshwater line going into over-flow. I tried to have it go into the sump but it was creating a syphon.

http://ramseypawlik.com/ato1.jpg

I used some plumbing supplies from home depot to make the hole in the wall nice. I wanted a decent sized hole in case I wanted to add a dosing system at some point. I didn't just want a nasty looking hole in the wall though.

http://ramseypawlik.com/ato2.jpg

Finally, the 30g container in the closet.

http://ramseypawlik.com/ato3.jpg

I really like the Tunze ATO. I feel pretty safe using it since it has dual switches, one optical and one float switch. It also has safety features that prevent the pump from running dry and shuts the pump off permanently if the pump runs more than 10 minutes.

Once I get a couple automatic fish feeders, I can go out of town for a few days without having to worry too much!

[roscozman]

We use a JBJ ATO and works great. We also have a 40gal RODI storage next to our tank and need to refill little more than once a week.

I read a great suggestion on RC to eliminate a siphon use a PVC pipe. Run your tubing about 1/3 down a PVC pipe in your sump and the break will eliminate the siphon. I do like that storage tank.

[Big_Pun]

i also run a jbj with a 5gal bucket in a cabinet, last about 6 days, is it syphoning from the ro water to the tank or tank to ro