ATO Reservoir

[Gunsnroses]

So I took advantage of all the Valentines Day sales and picked up a ATO set up for my tank.
Scored a Tunze Osmolater for $180.00 shipped from Marine Depot.
And picked up this dog food container from Pet Smart today for $35.00
It's made to hold 50 lbs of food but it will also hold 13 gallons of water.
It has a nice screw on lid to keep everything air tight.
Its not clear, which is good for me since it will be close to my Fuge and I dont want the light causing algae in the ATO.
But I wont be able to see the water level. So I bought two hose adapters and 1.5 feet of hose and made one of those veiwing pipes so I could see how much water was left in there.

 

[mike_cmu04]

Looks good should work well for you

 

[PeterHall]

These also work well for fermenting brew in!

 

[Gunsnroses]

These also work well for fermenting brew in!

Lol!!! Dont get those containers mixed up.

 

[tankfull]

Nice find on the ato. and the bin.

 

[Dendro Dude]

Give an update on how this works out I think I may try it too

 

[MWalton91]

Any update? Algae growth etc?

 

[Gunsnroses]

I completely forgot about posting this.
The reservoir is working great. Definitely no algae.
The container let's no light in and the top is air tight.
Last me about 5 days right now. Of course, with summer rolling in, I'm sure I will lose a day or so.
But combined with the Tunze ATO, flawless operation so far.

 

[MWalton91]

It's an ingenious idea. I was looking for an ato reservoir that was sealed and i found it. Did you get the nano or full sized tunze ato?

 

[MWalton91]

Also did you use silicone for the sightglass mod? And did u run plumbing through the lid? Thanks

 

[Gunsnroses]

I did silicone the fittings for the sight glass mod from the inside.
Let the silicon cure for about 2 weeks before I added water.
I got the full size Tunze Osomalator 3155.
But I ran my power inlet and water outlet through the upper side of the container. That way I have no obstruction when removing the lid to refill.

 

[blrubin1]

very good idea. i might use it on my ato i have to open my lid all the time and see how much i got left

 

[sleepydoc]

Where did you find the hose adaptors? I've been looking to do something like this for my saltwater mixing station, but haven't found anything that would work

 

[MWalton91]

Where did you find the hose adaptors? I've been looking to do something like this for my saltwater mixing station, but haven't found anything that would work

I think they have them at petsmart by the tubing, im not a 100% though

 

[EllisJuan]

Wow. The viewing pipe is a great idea. I just ordered this 10 gallon Brute to use as an ATO resevoir. I may have to steal your idea and add a viewing pipe...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KDAK8O/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MDM8LK/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Gunsnroses]

Where did you find the hose adaptors? I've been looking to do something like this for my saltwater mixing station, but haven't found anything that would work

They have these at the big blue and orange home improvement stores back in the plumbing section. They are mixed in with the copper fittings. I have these on my mixing station as well.

 

[Gunsnroses]

Wow. The viewing pipe is a great idea. I just ordered this 10 gallon Brute to use as an ATO resevoir. I may have to steal your idea and add a viewing pipe...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KDAK8O/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MDM8LK/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

it is a great mod. I found it on this forum and copied it myself.
I had to modify it a bit to make it work in my application, but that's part of the fun.

 

[mfinn]

I've been using that dog food container for a water top off container for 8-9 months and love it.
I considered doing the sight glass mod, but was afraid I'd bump it and cause a leak.
So I just check it on water change days.
I use a aqualifter for a pump so there is no danger of running a powerhead dry.

 

[houstonhobby]

I'm a little surprised about algae growth in a top off container being a problem. Mine is a 44 gallon brute with a lid so there is not much light but I would not expect algae to grow in water with a tds of zero. Plant life needs more than just light.

 

[sleepydoc]

They have these at the big blue and orange home improvement stores back in the plumbing section. They are mixed in with the copper fittings. I have these on my mixing station as well.

I've found hose adaptors, but nothing like a bulkhead that allows a good seal on the vessel. The best I've come up with was to use a Uniseal and then screw the hose adaptor into a threaded fitting.

How are you sealing the adaptor to the container? Do you just use a threaded fitting on the inside with a gasket?