How do you top off?

[ReefLogic]

I am curious how many use ATO's and how many of you guys manually top off your tanks.

Tell me....what do you do?

 

[Krish]

On all of my old setups, I topped off manually. I kinda like the idea of knowing what exactly is going on and it gives me a little piece of mind to not have to worry about a piece of equipment (ATO) malfunctioning and causing a disaster. There are certain things my OCD won't allow to go automated :lol:.

 

[Scooterman]

It doesn't take long to figure out that having a reliable ATO is a must, keeps consistency your water level, which in turns keeps your levels consistent.

 

[ReefLogic]

I hear you Krish....but with my work schedule and 2 kids I find my tank blowing air bubbles as a notification that my water level is low. I don't want to kill my return pump.

Scooterman, can you shoot me some info on ATO's or your recommendations. I definately do not want a flood or disaster.....but I am also having issues keeping it all level....the every other day adding water....if I push it I can hit 3 days but that is the max. I want like a week or 2.

 

[rainydave]

I was manual top-off until yesterday. I recently purchased a double switch kit from Digital Aquatics (along with an SL1 & extra PC4). Got it all hooked up yesterday. Woke up to a solid water level in the sump. Very nice feeling.

 

[Scooterman]

I hear you Krish....but with my work schedule and 2 kids I find my tank blowing air bubbles as a notification that my water level is low. I don't want to kill my return pump.

Scooterman, can you shoot me some info on ATO's or your recommendations. I definately do not want a flood or disaster.....but I am also having issues keeping it all level....the every other day adding water....if I push it I can hit 3 days but that is the max. I want like a week or 2.

Here's the thing, I can recommend so many it all depends on how much your willing to spend for security. You can go basic, to real redundancy. We have a numbers of sponsors that have various types, they all work basically the same but some just have extras or better parts that make them more secure but at a cost. So that said, redundancy is my recommendation but it isn't cheap, I also like units with Optical sensors with float switch backup. So just starting out, maybe go with the basic and see if there is room for upgrading later, that may be a way to go if your on a budget.

 

[ashton]

I've used the JBJ ATO, its pretty basic but gets the job done. I would like to upgrade to something else in the near future but for now ill stick with what i have.

 

[DonW]

Here is my take on auto top off units. There are pleny out there on the market. The most popular is the DIY kits and autotopoff.com units which are essentially the same thing. All auto top off units use low dc voltage to switch high 110v ac voltage. The reason behind this is the float switches although rated for ac voltage are not 100% water proof. They tend to leak where the wires enter the switch and connect to the magnetic reed. In their intended application this would be no big deal but it becomes a big deal with aquarium use. We as hobbiest have adapted their use by adding a relay to do the switching well away from water. The relay is a failure point. There are ways around this. Using a high quality relay or even better using a solid state relay, no the less the relay is still there. The best and easiest way to be rid of the relay and 110v is to not use a 110v pump. So in closing a simple Tunze Osmolator replacement pump $20 and two float switches $8 ea will make for a nice easy diy ATO system anyone can make and feel comfortable building. No relays and no 110 vac very safe 9-12vdc.

Don

 

[Scooterman]

Do you need a little transformer for that also or is it battery powered?

 

[DonW]

Do you need a little transformer for that also or is it battery powered?

You will need a wall wart. But since you mentioned battery, you could easily add battery back up if for some strange reason you thought it was necessary.
With all the low voltage tank stuff now days you could easily use a central 12vdc supply for all your fans, leds, ato and other stuff. Even Mojo could make one.


Don

 

[tat2z_21]

I know the history of float valves, but that is what I use. I have a 55 gallon drum that my RO feeds into that is controlled by a float valve. Then my drum auto feeds my sump through a float valve. I have the drum for water changes and the feed for the auto top off at about the 10 gallon mark. This way the top off if stuck will dump a max of 10 gallons, which in a 230 gallon system is not going to change the parameters by much. No electrical switches that are going to get stuck. Just me though simple and effective.

 

[Scooterman]

You will need a wall wart. But since you mentioned battery, you could easily add battery back up if for some strange reason you thought it was necessary.
With all the low voltage tank stuff now days you could easily use a central 12vdc supply for all your fans, leds, ato and other stuff. Even Mojo could make one.


Don

I think that would be a nice project, make a 12VDC source for everything as mentioned, heck I have this old radio shack supply the produces 2.5 amps 12v dc. I bet that could go a long ways.

 

[NWDiver]

@Floyd Hahaha, That is so funny! I have a seperate 12 gal container off of my RO storage that I manually fill to prevent an overdose of fresh water. Adding the bulkhead way up on the barrel is SO much smarter!
I will do that this weekend. Why I didn't think of that is beyond me

 

[mcoomer]

ATO...too lazy to carry buckets everyday. Plus, consistency is so important to our tanks that having an ATO ensures a constant water level and salinity.

Mike

 

[Sierramists1]

I just top off once every other day. One of these days I think I will get an ATO but it isn't that much of a hassle! :lol:

 

[Katchupoy]

Kent float valve for the past 10 years.

Simple and effective.

 

[bodycology21]

ATO, the second best improvement I have made to my tank.

 

[NC2WA]

Neither. My topoff is automatically drawn via line from RO water directly into sump.

 

[10gnano]

I'm using a ATO setup on a timer and pumped with a toms aqualifter for 7 minutes a day. I found that this is about how much evaporation I have on average per day. So far so good and it's been like this for about 5 months. I use to do manual top offs but highly recommend setting up some kind of ATO even if its something simple like mine. It's very easy to forget to top off every day and if you have a nano stability is key.

 

[Faciosity]

I top off about 5 gallons per day manually, and it is quite a pain in the butt. However, I am scared after hearing of several tank crashes due to a faulty ATO.