ATO Auto Topper Contoller

[TheNobleSavage]

Ok,, I was very tempted in buying one of these devices but before I shelled out the money, I wanted your opinions.

Here is what I have, I have 30ish gallon bio cube and I do get plenty of evaporation and since I do travel a bit, I want to make sure that my tank is ok. I wont knock my wife but she doesnt know anything about reef keeping or fish other than feeding them flakes (perc clowns).

Anyways, I dont have a sumpon the bottom of my tank nor do I have a refugium but I do want something that will add water when it evaporates.

My thinking is that I would use a 5 Gallon bucket fill it with RO/DI water, put in a pump at the bottom and then run a tube from pump in the bucket to the outlet(exhaust compartment). Then adjust the floaters in the exhaust compartment.

I would be filling the 5 gallon bucket towards the top so the pump wont have to pump so much water upwards. I am assuming that we are looking around 2 to 2 1/2 feet from the pump to the exhaust compartment.

Is this adviseable and has anyone else done this. Also what size tubing will I need to do this. It will look ghetto at first but I am going to build a box around the bucket to match the color of the tank stand.

Your thoughts and opinions are reallly needed and apreciated. I just dont want to waste money on something and find out that it wont work. also what kind of pump would you recommend. Would a simple rio work and which model?

Thanks

TNS

 

[mcoomer]

Tunze Osmolator is your friend. I'm running a 20G off a 5G bucket in my garage and the Osmolator works great. If you buy one new they can be a bit pricey but cast around on the reefing sites and you can find deals on used ones that are in good shape.

 

[TheNobleSavage]

Would the 5 gallon bucket on the floor work out for me along with a rio pump?

 

[mcvicker]

Just keep the tube outlet above the water line so it doesn't syphon.
-chris

 

[TheNobleSavage]

Thats going to be tough one since I dont have a sump and the 5 gallon bucket would be on the ground. I could at the most get it right around a few inches below the waterline. Would an anti siphon valve solve the problem and keep it from syphon it back into the 5 gallon bucket?

 

[TheNobleSavage]

Also would they have an anti siphon for a larger gauge tubing?

 

[sandswhitson]

I don't know anything about the Biocubes but does the water level drop in the "exhaust" area as you called it? I don't see why your plan wouldn't work. You can also use an aqualifter pump that way you only have to run airline tubing up to your tank. Zip Tie the airline tubing above the water in your tank and problem solved.

 

[TheNobleSavage]

I am trying to make this as painless and least complicated as possible. The exhaust area is a chamber that is next to the skimmer, then there is an opening underneath with a sponge to keep the bubbles down to a minimum. In the exhaust chamber, there is a pump that pumps shoots the clean water out into the tank. There is a clear level meter to show me where I am at. I was hoping to add the minimum and maximum floater in this chamber so it can add the water when needed after evaporation.

When the level gets too low, the pump will start shooting out air and water with a nasty slurping sound. So a Rio power head would work just fine, I assume? I heard that the ATO doesnt send out a rush of water, just gradual amount of water as needed as long as it makes it to the max floater. IS that correct?

Again, I want to make this simple and painless so that when I am gone on vacation or trips, everything is taken care of.

 

[sandswhitson]

Look at the JBJ ATO units. They consist of the main controller and two float switches with adjustable brackets all for around 80-100$. All the ATO does is turn on whatever pump you have hooked to it. That is why I recommend the AquaLifter because it pumps water at a very slow pace. Another nice thing about the JBJ ATO is it automatically shuts down after 14 minutes even if your float switch sticks. It sounds like your plan will work with putting the floats in the overflow chamber of your BioCube.

 

[TheNobleSavage]

Thanks. I think that the final chamber with exhaust pump that shoots the clean water back into the tank would be the best place to put it. If I were to put it in the first chamber which is where the overflow box is at, the tank would never get filled.

If you look at the top of the Biocube, the first chamber is the overflow, thats where I put the sponge media at to collect large debris. Then there is a small place to slide another biocube brand filter. It contains the aquatic floss and activated carbon. After that, it overflows into my CP3 skimmer. After that, there is a small opening that leads to the next chamber. In the next chamber, there is a peice of foam to help keep the bubbles to a minimum. Then there is a pump where the water is pumped into the tank. I normally use Chemipure at the bottom, close to where the sponge is at so the water flows directly through the Chemipure and then the pump shoots the water back into the tank.

I hope that explains how my system works. So I gather that the ATO will work. Looking at the aqua lifter, there is no need to submerse it into the water. I am assuming that it takes a standard small aquatic tubing. Would it be powerful enough to push the water about 12 inches or so? If I do go with the aqualifter, one tube would go to the tank and the other would go to the fresh water supply? I am assuming an anti siphonining device would be a good idea too. What do you think? The price is right on the aqualifter, I just am concerned that it will be powerful enough.

TNS

 

[sandswhitson]

You are correct on putting the floats in the last chamber. I was a little confused on how the BioCubes were put together. The aqualifter should be more than powerfull enough. I use one on my 75 gallon and it pushes water through about 6 feet of tubing not much vertical lift on mine but it does fine. Actually I just checked my aqualifter and it will lift water from the floor to the sink OK and mine is about 5 years old now. Probably time for a new one. You are also correct about the small airline tubing that is all you need to use. You can get a chunk of rigid airline tubing to stick down inside the bucket so it sucks water off of the bottom, or you can glue the prefilter that they sell for the aqualifters to the bottom of the bucket which is what I did and it is pretty amazing all the hair and junk that the prefilter will catch.

 

[TheNobleSavage]

Perfect!!! You answered my questions to the "T"!! It is hard for me to explain how the tank is set up, so I wanted to at least explain how it works so you can get a better understanding on what I was trying to achive!!! Now Ill be able to find one at a good price. I should consider an 2 anti syphon check valves to prevent the salt water contaminating the fresh water. Biocubes are pretty cool tanks since everything is compartmented to the point where you can add a CPR 3 skimmer, like I have and also they make refugiums for these tanks, somthing I would love to have but just dont have the space. My tank is too close to the wall and would be too difficult to move. I dont feel like draining out my tank, and stressing out my corals and my system. Maybe one of these days Ill do it but it is all about the money. So I have to really to put things piece by piece as the money comes through. This is not a cheap hobby. CPR makes nice refugiums and add ons for biocubes. They make refugiums in all sorts of sizes and shapes and they hang on the rear of the tank so no one can see it.

I recently added a phosphate reactor to reduce the phosphates in my tank. I noticed a huge drop in my levels. I used 3 different kits to include Aquarium Pharmacuticals, Seachem and Salifert and all 3 of them gave me different levels. The Seachem gave me the highest level of Phosphates which I know is wrong. They include a test solution to check the accuracy and the results were the same as the tank. Too strange plus I bought the seachem at a discount rate since it just expired. The Salifert was very close to the aquarium pharmacuticals. It was a tad bit higher but not by much. So as far as I am concerned, Seachem is a test kit I will not be using. Ill stick with Aquarium pharmacuticals or Salifert. Amazing how different the readings you can get just by using different brands. I tested the water all at the same time, so there was no delay in the testing.

 

[sandswhitson]

Glad I could help. You won't need an antisiphon valve of any sort if you can secure the output of the Aqualifter line (or whatever pump you decide on) above the water in the BioCube that would be the best way to do it. I wouldn't solely rely on an antisiphon valve of any sort.

 

[TheNobleSavage]

Unfortunately it will have to be below the waterline. So that is why I am thinking that an anti siphonining device would be my best bet. I am going to build a box to cover the 5 Gallon container and paint it black so it will match my furnature and the tank stand. The Aqualifter seems like the best bet due to the low price and I saw a lot of reviews as that it is a good pump with little problems. So now I have to buy one of these things now!!!

Do you all add any dosing to your water that gets added to the tank? It seems that if I do decide to dose, I can do it this way and it will slowly dose the tank without shocking the tank with doses of chemistry. I do know that some chemicals will deminish over time and become useless. I am going to have to check my Calcium levels, Magnesium, alkaline and DK hardness before I even consider dosing. I know that in one of my other posts I asked questions regarding my Green Slimer Acropora. Some one brought up the point (Smart idea) that why dose if you dont know your levels. So I will have to really keep an eye on this stuff!!!

 

[TheNobleSavage]

Also, what size tube will I need for the Aqualifter?

 

[TotalVapor]

use an ato from autotopoff.com should be under $100.00

When you run your plumbing into the tank just use a u-tube and drill a small hole above the water line just after the bend on the inside of the tank side. This will break the siphon by allowing air into the tube. As it starts to siphon it will be broken by the air getting sucked into the tube.

Another way is to add a check (plastic) valve at the top of the plumb before the bend on the outside of the tank. You can get them at marinedepot.com for a few bucks.

Personally I would use both if I used this route.

If you have a few extra bucks and still want to save money over the tunze unit.
You can use a solenoid valve towards the top of your plumbing. When the float turns on the pump it opens the valve. When the pump shuts off your valve closes. My preferred choice for your set up:

Tank Mount ATO unit (http://www.autotopoff.com/products/ST1/) $40.00
FT-130 Pump (http://www.autotopoff.com/pumps/FT130/) $13.00
Solenoid valve (http://www.autotopoff.com/solenoid/) $34.00

HTH

 

[TheNobleSavage]

What size tube do I need, is it the same size that you use for a standard air pump?

 

[TotalVapor]

if you have an RO/DI unit you can connect it directly to the valve and you will not need the pump.

 

[TotalVapor]

1/4" I believe but it is made for water lines so it is harder material

 

[TheNobleSavage]

I do not have one, thats why I am asking about the tube size.