auto top-off

[DMBillies]

Very soon I will be in the market for an auto top-off. I have a tunze osmolator on my 90 and have had good experiences with it. That said, a brand new unit is a killer on the wallet and I haven't seen any used ones coming up for sale anywhere. I was wondering what auto top-offs y'all have and your experiences with them so far. If I decide to go with a different brand I'd like get a reputable one. I'd also be interested in other options that people have used. The only thing I refuse to consider is hooking my RO/DI to my tank with a float switch (something about having an endless supply of water connected directly to my tank makes me edgy).

 

[Kalied20]

I got a C-Level Autotop off with a 5 gallon reservoir. I got it at Christmas and been working great. You can order different size reservoirs online. They are a little expensive but I like mine so far.

 

[c_stowers]

I would just get another osmoator. I recently looked at top-off options beyond the osmolator and there just isn't an alternative that provides the redundancy and safety that an osmolator does. I know it will hurt the pocket book, but you won't be sorry.

 

[fishdoc11]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9113858#post9113858 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by c_stowers
I would just get another osmoator. I recently looked at top-off options beyond the osmolator and there just isn't an alternative that provides the redundancy and safety that an osmolator does. I know it will hurt the pocket book, but you won't be sorry.

Ditto

 

[greystreet41]

I've had this for over a year...
http://www.autotopoff.com/

what's the upside of the tunze in comparison?

 

[rsteagall]

I've been thinking about getting an ATO using my 32gal RO/DI reservoir. Can anyone give me a tip on what hardware it would take to do this?

 

[CloudIX]

Rsteagall, look at spectrapure's site. They have all the stuff you need to get a Auto top off for your Ro/Di system. I have the setup that they are selling and it works great.

 

[gflat65]

I've got the same one as Casey (two switches for redundancy). No issues in almost three years... Now if I would only make sure my tube stays in the pump when I go on vacation, etc...

 

[fishdoc11]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9114241#post9114241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by greystreet41
I've had this for over a year...
http://www.autotopoff.com/

what's the upside of the tunze in comparison?

The Tunze is triple redundant while the autotopoff.com units have just one switch or two.
Also the main sensor for the Tunze is optical not a float switch, which can stick.
The most reliable topoffs are the types that Spectrapure sells and the Tunze. I believe the Tunze has a much finer control and more redundancy..I could be wrong on that.

FWIW, Chris

 

[tanku]

I have jbj ato. it has worked great for over a year now. it will automatically shut off the powerhead after 3 minutes of use. use a low gph powerhead so if it does get stuck on it will not pump to much water into your sump for that 3 minutes.

 

[CloudIX]

My spectrapure top off only uses a Float switch for protection (in case the main switch fails), The main switch shuts off the water via a airline hose that uses pressure to control a electronic valve. There is diagrams on how they work on spectrapures site. let me know if ya need help locating them.

 

[rsteagall]

its all about redundancy in ato's for sure!

 

[crumbletop]

I have not seen the spectrapure system in action. From the description on the site it looks like the sensitivity of the switch is +/- 1". Depending on how you have your sump setup, that can be quite a bit of water volume. I run my topoff through a kalk reactor, and my setup only adds a few oz at most at a time. Thats basically +/- .5 cm or so of water in the return section of my sump. +/- 1" would add a bunch more kalkwasser which could cause a pH spike, and cloudy water, etc. Anyway, something to think about with brands other than the Tunze...

I third saving up and getting another osmolator

 

[loyalty]

how much are the tunze units? maybe we can get a group buy together

an ATO would make my reef maintenance free excluding feeding and water changes

 

[DMBillies]

I was looking on the tunze website and it looks like they run about $170... which was even more than I thought they were. If you think a group buy is possible, let's see how many people want them...