ATO setup

[marcnc]

I travel a fair amount so I want to setup a ATO for my tank. Under my stand is just about full, not really sure I will have room to add water container. I have 180 gallon tank with 75 gallon sump.

I was thinking of running water line from the sump to water holding tank in my laundry room. It about 75 feet way all on same level. I would run the line under the house. No basement here. Will this work? Am I looking for trouble, when how to I setup the ATO to work? Thanks for suggestions.

 

[mcgyvr]

No problems.. Just longer lines need to be run from your sensors/water lines..
Its all about making sure you get a pump that can do it and seeing that there is little head in your application you should be just fine..

FWIW.. The tunze pump is a great ATO pump for your application.. Just need a DC power supply to splice into it.. 12V @1A works great..
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/repla...5000-02.html?gclid=CPDF6eWh2s4CFUIfhgod008MWg

For a longer distance/more head 12V is great.. For shorter runs/less head 5V@1.5A will work great..
I just wired mine up last night using a 12V supply and its too strong so I will be dropping down to a 5V supply more than likely..

 

[marcnc]

No problems.. Just longer lines need to be run from your sensors/water lines..
Its all about making sure you get a pump that can do it and seeing that there is little head in your application you should be just fine..

FWIW.. The tunze pump is a great ATO pump for your application.. Just need a DC power supply to splice into it.. 12V @1A works great..
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/repla...5000-02.html?gclid=CPDF6eWh2s4CFUIfhgod008MWg

For a longer distance/more head 12V is great.. For shorter runs/less head 5V@1.5A will work great..
I just wired mine up last night using a 12V supply and its too strong so I will be dropping down to a 5V supply more than likely..

Thanks for the info. Would it be best to just have R/O type line run under the house? I am in North Carolina so no basement, and does not get that cold so I am wondering if that would work?

 

[Greybeard]

I have an RO/DI line run under the house, in Missouri... it does get cold here. No problems. It doesn't drop below freezing in the crawl space under my home unless the power is out for an extended period, and the 1/4" poly tube normally used in RO/DI systems handles freezing fairly well anyway.

Hooking up an unlimited water supply to an ATO system can be problematic. Can it be done? Sure... but if the system fails 'on', it's can cause a tremendous amount of damage.

Most recommend a fairly small volume ATO reservoir. That way, something sticks in the ON condition, it can't flood the system. That's the way I do it, and the way I recommend it, but... if you give it some thought, it can be done without a reservoir.

Redundancy is key. If I were going to do it, I'd use an optical level switch and a solenoid controlled valve, with a backup mechanical float switch controlling a separate backup solenoid. Water drops below target, solenoid A is opened. Solenoid B is open unless water reaches upper limit. Both have to be energized to allow flow... Should be pretty safe.

 

[marcnc]

I have an RO/DI line run under the house, in Missouri... it does get cold here. No problems. It doesn't drop below freezing in the crawl space under my home unless the power is out for an extended period, and the 1/4" poly tube normally used in RO/DI systems handles freezing fairly well anyway.

Hooking up an unlimited water supply to an ATO system can be problematic. Can it be done? Sure... but if the system fails 'on', it's can cause a tremendous amount of damage.

Most recommend a fairly small volume ATO reservoir. That way, something sticks in the ON condition, it can't flood the system. That's the way I do it, and the way I recommend it, but... if you give it some thought, it can be done without a reservoir.

Redundancy is key. If I were going to do it, I'd use an optical level switch and a solenoid controlled valve, with a backup mechanical float switch controlling a separate backup solenoid. Water drops below target, solenoid A is opened. Solenoid B is open unless water reaches upper limit. Both have to be energized to allow flow... Should be pretty safe.

Thanks for the info. The holding tank I have is around 20 gallons. It would be much simpler if I had room under the stand, but don't even have room for 5 gallon tank. Running the line under the house is not a problem. I guess what I don't understand is I assume is I will need to run lines from pump or switch all the way back to laundry room as well? Keep in mind I have never used ATO before and have not ordered one yet. Wanted to have good understanding as to what I need before I setup so I don't make a mistake with it and what to order.

 

[mcgyvr]

Yes you will have to run electrical lines of some sort to tell the pump when to turn on..
I'd suggest simply running low voltage lines from the float/optical sensor and have the relay/power wiring local to the pump..

And no problems running the 1/4 tubing under the house.. I would recommend stashing it above the insulation right against the sub floor as much as possible.. (NC here too and run my RO lines in the crawl space too as my RO/DI filter is in a pantry closet away from the tank..

 

[Greybeard]

The holding tank I have is around 20 gallons.

Ok, sorry, I misunderstood. I thought you were trying to get by without a reservoir. A 20g reservoir in a 250g total capacity system should be just fine, and reasonably safe.

Tunze's ATO would probably be your best bet. Locate everything _except_ the pump and the reservoir under the tank. You'll need to extend the leads from the pump to the controller, but that shouldn't be a big deal. You'll end up with 1 hose and 2 wires over the distance. If the head pressure is too much for the standard pump, Tunze offers a switched outlet add-on that would allow you to use a more powerful pump. The controller also has a 3-12vdc variable output POT for the pump, might help deal with line loss in your configuration, since the pump is so far away. Use decent wire... I'd probably go with 14 gauge.

 

[marcnc]

Yes you will have to run electrical lines of some sort to tell the pump when to turn on..
I'd suggest simply running low voltage lines from the float/optical sensor and have the relay/power wiring local to the pump..

And no problems running the 1/4 tubing under the house.. I would recommend stashing it above the insulation right against the sub floor as much as possible.. (NC here too and run my RO lines in the crawl space too as my RO/DI filter is in a pantry closet away from the tank..

Thanks for the info, after reading a bit more into this, I assume I could use my Apex to do all this?

I could buy a breakout box, float switches, and the also buy the new Apex PMUP? and setup that way?

 

[mcgyvr]

Yes.. If you have a reef controller they all have ATO functionality by adding a single (or dual) float switches,etc..

The Pmup is new so I don't know about reliability but yes it will work just fine for an ATO system..

 

[rocsec1]

I had the same problem with space. I had an acrylic container made that fit the space I had. Now I have a fish room and use a 10 gallon tank.

 

[Sk8r]

you just need a stronger than usual ato pump. Eheim is a good brand, variety of strengths. Also resistent to kalk abrasion should you decide to use kalk in your topoff for stony corals or clams.