Another vacation horror story/ATO help

[Raptor72]

I returned Thursday night from a 2 week vacation only to find that my makeshift top off system failed drastically. Long story short, my return section of my sump ran dry and there was no heat going to the tank for probably at least a week. I came home to a tank with no live fish except for a clown and a blue hippo tang. The only corals left are two candycanes and a couple of ricordeas. All in all about a 98% loss. The water temperature was 63 degrees.

Funny how I'll drop $500 dollars on something like an Ipad without thinking about it, but I skimp on a good ATO. I've started with the water changes and removing the dead corals and fish. To make sure this never happens again, I'm looking for a good ATO system. :furious:

 

[aquaph8]

Sorry about the losses man. A good ATO doesn't have to be expensive, I bought mine used for like $50 and its been awesome for like five years now.

 

[Newsalth2o]

Bummer.... You're right about the $$$ on other stuff. There's enough of us around town we need to start a tank sitters club....Just someone to look in and prevent something like this happening again.

 

[jjk_reef00]

Sorry for the losses, I hired a pet sitter to stop in while I was away. Well worth the money.

 

[danfeig]

That really sucks! I finally feel comfortable leaving home, now that I have my Apex system. If something goes wrong, I get text messages or email alerts and can control or change various programs with my iPad.

I use an ATO from Avast Marine Works which I am extremely happy with. It sells for $89.99 on their website. The Apex Jr. sells for $250 on Marine Depot and occasionally you can find a used Apex online for much cheaper.

 

[evo_2679]

Bummer.... You're right about the $$$ on other stuff. There's enough of us around town we need to start a tank sitters club....Just someone to look in and prevent something like this happening again.

+1

Raptor 72 - I use the autotopoff.com double float switch for my sump in my last two tanks. They work awesome - never had an issue with them in the last 3 years and they don't break the bank. http://www.autotopoff.com/products/DS1/

 

[savageAJC]

+1

Raptor 72 - I use the autotopoff.com double float switch for my sump in my last two tanks. They work awesome - never had an issue with them in the last 3 years and they don't break the bank. http://www.autotopoff.com/products/DS1/

100% agree. Awesome price, awesome product. I have never had a problem with mine. But sorry to hear about your loss!

 

[Raptor72]

Thanks for the advice and input. I was looking @ the TUNZE OSMOLATOR UNIVERSAL 3155 on M.D. since it appears to be a complete unit. It's priced at $200 bucks. I like the double sensor feature. I don't see anything about it working with any app or sending texts or notifications. That would also be something to strive for.

I had a webpage saved that showed a small webcam that worked with Apple or Android apps and would let you see what was going on in your house while you are away. I can't seem to find the site though. I would get one of those preferably with an ATO that didn't have texts or notifications.

 

[Raptor72]

I found the website, it's dropcam.com. It has an app that works with the camera and it's a decent price.

 

[cramideas]

I plan on putting a camera on my tank as well when i do my home security, it has an app so you can view all the cameras too.

 

[MHG]

Been very happy with my jbj running in "c" mode (google it) for $70... Back that up with an apex and some more floats when things don't work as they should.....

Also have one heater in my dt's overflow and one in the sump.... Probably would not heat the tank fully in this case but the warm overflow hay have helped by a few degrees....

 

[Raptor72]

I also had some nicely formed Monti caps with several shelves coming off of my tank ends that are bone white now. I hope that they somehow come back. I can always replace the fish, but watching my corals develop was the biggest highlight of my reefkeeping experience. Live and learn is all I can say.

Lesson learned; Don't skimp on the crucial parts.

 

[MHG]

Been very happy with my jbj running in "c" mode (google it) for $70... Back that up with an apex and some more floats when things don't work as they should.....

Also have one heater in my dt's overflow and one in the sump.... Probably would not heat the tank fully in this case but the warm overflow hay have helped by a few degrees....

 

[keithhays]

I am not sure it matters how much you spend; everything will eventually fail and always when you are not there. Whichever system you get, you will need to make it redundant so that if one peice fails another piece takes over...and two weeks is probably too long to not have a human checking things out. I like the security camera thing; I am setting that up myself. Just out of curiosity which part of the ATO system failed?

 

[scubabum1983]

Couple float switches from grainger, inexpensive extension cord, water proof irrigation wire nuts, and 1/4 PVC pipe to make the frame. Mine has been going for almost 9 years on two tanks, without an overflow or lack of top. Cost is less that $40

 

[Raptor72]

Couple float switches from grainger, inexpensive extension cord, water proof irrigation wire nuts, and 1/4 PVC pipe to make the frame. Mine has been going for almost 9 years on two tanks, without an overflow or lack of top. Cost is less that $40

And you trust your entire investment on something like this? I don't mean to sound harsh but I feel like an idiot for not doing something about this sooner. I entrusted everything to a piece of air tubing that was on a "controlled" drip, no pump or float valve.

 

[scubabum1983]

I entirely trust it, it's solid, I have nearly a decade of using this method. I'm not afraid to spend money on aquarium related items, however this is something I have found to be both cheap and equally reliable. The cord is supplied power through an otlet, the other side is connected to the power head in the container with top off. The slot switches are mounted to PVC built in a u shape. Two u shapes are tied together using PVC. The bottom of the side of the U is capped with PVC, and drilled and tapped to accept the thread from the float switch. One U sits deaper into the sump than the other. One float is the desired water level. The other sits higher on the shallower U shape to act as a safety. Should the lower float valve fail, stick, snail, whatever and the system inputs too much top off, the safety switch cuts power as soon as the float changes level a fraction of an inch. The cord is cut and the float leads are switches are spliced in. The ends are capped with water proof irrigation nuts filled with grease. The splices is securely zip tied to the top of the PVC frame. I don't take any of fence the comment if I trust my investment to this set up. I built it before jbj built an ato and I felt tunze was very much over priced for the same top off function. Mine is easy to service, clean and find parts for.

 

[scubabum1983]

Mine is similar to this http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f267/my-diy-auto-top-off-154336.html. I'd take pictures, but I'm at work. The 12 v system is fine and dandy, but with all the other 120v equipment in the form of pumps power heads, and other equipment, I didn't deal it nessary to go out of the way to do it. If you are interested in metering it you can run a dosing pump like brs sells, do not use the 1.1 ml it will run way too much and shorten pump life. The make one that is made for an ato. I use a 20 gal acrylic tank for my container, an old power head, and a length of hose to supply the water. My power head kicks on for 1 second or less when it tips off, on average it adds a 1/8 cup per top off. On a more than 200gal total water volume system I don't sweat 1/8cup top off, it will not swing my salinity on a noticeable level

 

[CT Grim]

Bummer.... There's enough of us around town we need to start a tank sitters club....

+1

I never leave town without someone...a living someone...to watch my stuff. Just to check on it every couple of days. There are plenty of us in all parts of town. ...Shouts to Scubabum for giving me peace of mind during my week-long trip to Austin!

 

[Boa1277]

I have used a Tunze Osomolator for the last 2yrs and after numerous vacations it has yet to fail on me. The only mod is I use a 30 gallon trash can for my water storage when I go on a trip instead of the 5 gallon containers when i am home. I think you have the right idea though with a good quality ATO and some backup with a controller and possible video or pet sitter option. Sorry for your loss that really sucks.