Auto Top-Off suggestions needed!

S

Spork3245

New member
After 3.5 years I'm finally getting an auto top-off :p
I was always hesitant since I have a non-drilled tank with an overflow box (U-tube) but "screw it", I want consistency with my water chemistry.

What I'm thinking of buying is...
Pump: Tom's Aqua-Lifter
ATO Controller: JBJ Auto Top-Off Controller

Good choices? I'm also going to get a 10 gallon reservoir from BRS or Marine Depot next week (I'll use a 5 gallon bucket until then). I also need one of those things (valves) that stops water from flowing "back" but I'm having a huge brain fart due to a current mini-headache and cannot remember what they are called for the life of me (so... please help with that :p )

Thanks in advance! :D
 
If you have a Apex you could buy just a aqualifter and a float switch, very inexpensive if you have the Apex already. One way check valve is the name of the valve.
 
I use a ten gallon pressurized RO resevoir plumbed to a Watt humidifier float valve mounted to a plastic spring clamp drilled to accommodate the threaded bit. My current tank is sumpless, my old tank had the same valve mounted through the side of the sump for oh 20ish years without failure.

It doesn't get more simple or reliable than water pressure feeding a good float valve.
 
Had a couple of the Aqualifters once but didn't like them too much and sold them. The Tunze Osmolator has been running on my system for about eight years. Works great.
 
BTW, I'm getting a 27 gallon ( :fun4: ) reservoir for the RODI water. It's dimensions are 15(W)x15(L)x24(H) (it'll fit perfectly in the open space between my tank and a surrounding wall) - Will the aqualifter be okay pulling from ~24" down?
 
I just set up my first ATO and went with the the Tunze. it works great, easy to set up and I think it's well worth the money
 
I know most of you are singing praises for the Tunze but I'm still leaning towards the JBJ because those who have it seem to love it equally on top of it costing 65% less. It also seems to be just as reliable... So, with that being said, are there any feature-based reasons that the Tunze is better when directly compared?
 
I have seen great reviews with the JBJ and know people that love it, I've been using the Tunze for several months now and it's the best purchase I've made on my tank. I got it because of the reviews, all in one purchase (comes with very reliable pump and controller), and more importantly using the main detection through the red eye rather than a float switch. Eventually if forgetting to clean float switches can fail, plus the Tunze has a backup float switch along with adjustable timer if the pump is running too long.

Also to add, I wanted more reliability because when the time is right I'm running Kalk for dosing my reef. Tunze allows time maximum and flow rate adjustment which I found important. If I have a malfunction in my ATO things can go south very quickly. Hope this helped a bit!
 
My first ATO was a JBJ, had it for a year and during that time I had 2 floats fail. I did clean the floats every 6 months in vinegar so PM was being done

I now use a Spectrapure UPLC-II that uses a quality Peristaltic pump that I love, its especially good if the container of top off water is away from your tank.

http://spectrapure.com/DOSING-TOP-O...op-Off-System-UPLC-II-Liquid-Level-Controller

One thing I did was not trust the suction cups that connect the pressure tube to the inside of my sump, I have siliconed the pressure tube to a Tunze magnet

if you are concerned with budget www.autotopoff.com has some decent options
http://autotopoff.com/Nano/index.html
 
azjohnny said:
My first ATO was a JBJ, had it for a year and during that time I had 2 floats fail. I did clean the floats every 6 months in vinegar so PM was being done

I now use a Spectrapure UPLC-II that uses a quality Peristaltic pump that I love, its especially good if the container of top off water is away from your tank.

http://spectrapure.com/DOSING-TOP-O...op-Off-System-UPLC-II-Liquid-Level-Controller

One thing I did was not trust the suction cups that connect the pressure tube to the inside of my sump, I have siliconed the pressure tube to a Tunze magnet

if you are concerned with budget www.autotopoff.com has some decent options
http://autotopoff.com/Nano/index.html
Click to expand...

This is pretty much the exact advice I was going to give. I too have Spectrapure and it's great. . I also attached the pressure tube to a tunze magnet I had laying around. Really any magnet will do. I have the high level switch attached to an old magfloat.
Spectrapure can handle kalk just fine because it's a peristaltic. Also it can suck up from 25 feet and pump 60 feet! Works great if you want to stick a bigger reservoir in a closet across the room or something.
 
I had a tunze osmolator for 10 years and worked flawlessly. You do have to replace the pumps every 2-3 years or so but they are under $25. The only reason I had to replace it was because they made the pumps more powerful, and the old controller became unreliable with the new pump. Given the redundancy in the float switch/optical sensor system, and the gravitational syphon break (gravity cannot fail!) I have never had a more reliable and failsafe piece of equipment. You may save a few bucks on the initial investment, but if it fails after a few years and needs replacement have you really saved?
 
I don't have any experience with the Tunze or JBJ options, but just to throw this out as a cheaper alternative...

Will you be running a float switch to detect water level and control the ATO pump? If so, it's really easy to splice the float switch into a short extension cord, then plug the aqualifter into the extension cord and you're good to go. That's the setup I've been running for years with no problems. And it's dirt cheap.

As far as back flow... just make sure the end of the supply line isn't under water and it won't backflow.
 
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