ATO question

[jmccown]

Ordered a JBJ ATO kit with an aqualifter pump today. Looking forward to not have to manually top off. Gotta find a good water container now. Looking at the 29g tuff boxes from lowes. They're very thick, commercial grade.

 

[jmccown]

http://www.lowes.com/pd_44066-51438...URL=/pl_Totes++Baskets_4294936623_4294937087_

here is the container I was talking about.

 

[LtPiper]

That'll work. How many days you think the 27 gallon will last for your swimming pool?

 

[jmccown]

LOL, I dunno hopefully longer than a week. I'll start with the 27 g unit and see how far it takes me. If it isn't long enough I'll find something bigger.

 

[rsuplido]

Try to find those white food grade containers if you can. As for the JBJ ATO, that's my first ATO. It failed after about 6 months so check it once in a while. If it does fail, contact JBJ and they will replace it for you.

 

[aloupos]

One of my first tanks was plumbed direct to a RODI for auto top off, although I'd recommend as others have suggested a container that you manually fill. This tank had a redundant set of solenoid valves, floats, controllers and a timer to "ensure" against an overflow. Even if you use a container, I'd recommend the same type of system. The commercially available systems can and will fail, and sometimes will fail in the open position. Think about the effect on salinity if you put 27G into your sump.

I was a bit careless on my current tank, and cowboyed an ATO with a single float and a small container, but I was using ATO to dose kalk as well. My float stuck, and I OD'd on kalk, causing precipitation and the untimely death of two corals.

Long story short, go with:

- atleast 2 float valves and 2 relays to control your aqua lifter
- timer to top off while you're home, set to just enough minutes to complete the top off cycle
- inspect daily

The time offers some additional insurance, so you can catch a fault before you overfill, if you check on a regular basis.

Aside from all that, you can't beat an ATO for helping to keep parameters stable and prevent salinity drift.

Good luck!

 

[aloupos]

In terms of containers, try us plastics ... They have a lot of food grade containers at reasonable prices:

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/default.aspx?catid=459&parentcatid=458&clickid=topnavmenu

 

[rsuplido]

Yup, I forgot about US Plastics. They're just in Ohio and orders usually just take overnight.