ATO and SUMP questions

[boosted chemist]

Just added a sump to my 20l, and absolutely love it! No visible equipment, more water, filter socks keep my water sparkling, The only down side is evaporation is up a ton, i use to top off 1 gal every 3 days now i need to top off daily. Conclusion, i need and ATO, easy right?

Well i designed my sump so my return section is as small as possible, to prevent overflows should the drain clog. Now during evaporation this is the only section to show a change in volume, so the ATO needs to have a plunger in this area, my concern is if a drain clog now my pump chamber will empty, putting 2 gal or so in the tank (tank can hold 1.5 extra so no biggie), and the ATO will come on, adding another 3 gals to my floor.

Has anyone though about this or ways around it? Any advice tips is appreciated.

 

[jacksonpt]

You could run dual float switches - one in the sump and one slightly above the water level in the tank. Depending on how your display is setup, this may or may not be easy to do.

You could run a second (backup) drain line. This probably makes the most sense as backup/redundancy is ALWAYS a good good idea, but may be a hastle to plumb, depending.

There are probably other options, but those make the most sense to me right off the top of my head.

 

[5380]

I'd rec. a tunze osmolator from my first hand experience the thing has run great for 3 years. It has the optical sensor to top off, a kill switch for overflows, and it will limit the duration the pump runs. I always keep an extra pump on hand just in case though.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

Interesting! I never thought of that. Another reason for using a drip type application and just continually dialing in the setting. Other than perhaps heating the water, I wonder how restricting the flow from an aqualifter pump with a simple flow restrictor would work out?

 

[Gravesj1s]

Interesting! I never thought of that. Another reason for using a drip type application and just continually dialing in the setting. Other than perhaps heating the water, I wonder how restricting the flow from an aqualifter pump with a simple flow restrictor would work out?

Agreed,with using small dosingpumps amounts that deliver close to the evaporation rate.If you can keep the water makeup resevior close to the sump the aqualifter pump with a floatswitch would be my first choice. It can be dialied back just as noted above with a simple airline needle valve,costs around 10-12 bucks,and completly silent Ime with it.

Yeah and very little electricity draw