Ato

[magicalmets]

Has anybody build an ATO? If so please advise

 

[Lostinthedark]

I got mine at autotopoff.com. All you have to add is a bucket of rodi water.

 

[fishman1069]

Its fairly simple to make your own ATO. You go online and buy 2 float switches, 1 always open and one always closed. Take an extension cord and strip the covering off to expose the 3 wires inside. The always closed switch will be your main switch and set at the water height desired. The always open switch will sit about an inch or 2 higher than the main switch( You can buy a JBJ float switch bracket to make this install simpler). Strip the black and white wires on the ext. cord and wire the 2 switches to it. Cover with electrical tape. Plug into wall outlet and plug a pump in the other side and place in bucket with RO water. When the water drops, the main switch will kick the pump on and fill the chamber. If the switch fails and it keeps filling, the second switch will cut the pump off. Good luck

 

[magicalmets]

thank you guys

 

[duke62]

or you can wait for someone to sell one on here that thought there new ATO was broken but the floats were upside down

 

[fishman1069]

or you can wait for someone to sell one on here that thought there new ato was broken but the floats were upside down

lol

 

[edd]

ato

im using a gravity feed and it seems to work fine,just wondering if theirs anything wrong with that system.i don't see many using it.

 

[Koyfam16]

I tried the gravity feed but could never get it right..I just bought a jbj auto top off from another MR member..can't wait to try it..

 

[lnevo]

I'm using a gravity feed ATO. Works great so far. I think the issues that can go wrong are the same with any ATO. Float valve gets stuck instead of switch getting stuck... overflow in sump (I have more than enough room to accomodate the 5 gallon reservoir I have)

I can imagine if you had a 30-40 gallon ATO or direct connection to your RO/DI than it might be a bigger deal...

I just didn't see the need for an extra outlet, an extra pump, wiring, etc when gravity and a float can do the same thing...

 

[edd]

i agree with you inevo.i have 5g resivoir and my sump can handle it,thanks

 

[fishman1069]

I'm using a gravity feed ATO. Works great so far. I think the issues that can go wrong are the same with any ATO. Float valve gets stuck instead of switch getting stuck... overflow in sump (I have more than enough room to accomodate the 5 gallon reservoir I have)

I can imagine if you had a 30-40 gallon ATO or direct connection to your RO/DI than it might be a bigger deal...

I just didn't see the need for an extra outlet, an extra pump, wiring, etc when gravity and a float can do the same thing...

Thats cool that your sump could handle the ATO res in case of a float failure BUT can your livestock handle a quick drop in salinity?

 

[lnevo]

Well that's assuming the res is full when it fails, and I honestly don't know what the salinity change would be. I asked the question in y DIY thread and no-one replied on that question the tank is 65g and the sump is 20 about half full....

But i would think there's some risk in any ato system for failure...granted you've got some level of redundancy in a dual switch setup, there's also an increased level of complexity.