Neptune Apex ATK (Auto Topoff Kit)

Just thought I would chime in and say the Tunze is an awesome unit, as I just received mine a couple days ago.:thumbsup:
 
If you have the controller, can you program it to turn off the ATK during feed mode? Presumably, this should fix the warning issue, right? Are there any issues with doing this?

Would stopping flow with the mechanical float damage the pump?

How much water drop on the lower sensor does it take to trigger the pump to turn on again?

I know you can add a switch to the water reservoir to turn off the pump and send a notification if you have a controller, but does the pump itself have as water level sensor to shutoff automatically?

Thanks
 
All of the issues I described are related to how Neptune has the alarms programmed for stand-alone use, and as I said, mounting the backup sensor higher in the sump would eliminate some of the issues. If you have an Apex, then you have complete flexibility over the alarms and behavior of the ATK. I recently purchased an Apex and plugged in the ATK to replace my Tunze. It was incredibly easy to set up, seamless, and the fact that the PMUP can use a 24V port instead of a 120V outlet saves space on my EB832.

I don't think the mechanical float would damage the pump, and the pump should shut off after 5 minutes, regardless. In the off event that something has gone wrong and the other safety mechanisms aren't working then potential damage to the pump is an easy trade off for a potential flood.

I did some testing with the ATK, and the optical sensor requires about a ⅛" drop in water level to switch on/off. When I checked the Tunze, it was actually slightly more sensitive, but they're both plenty accurate, IMO.

In using the ATK, I've found the hardware to be solid. The only issue I've seen is from someone using Kalkwasser (The kalk would clog the hole in the float valve, clog the hole in the siphon break) The clogging issues can be eliminated by removing the float valve and siphon break and were issues with Kalk more than with the equipment.

The ATK doesn't come with a sensor for the ATO reservoir, but the FMM that functions as the controller in stand-alone mode has 2 open ports that are designed to handle a leak detector and an optical sensor for the reservoir. (They're about $30 each, IIRC) All you need to do is plug the optical sensor in and mount it in your reservoir and it will turn off the ATK when the water drops too low. Both those are nice features that I haven't seen on other ATO systems.
 
In using the ATK, I've found the hardware to be solid. The only issue I've seen is from someone using Kalkwasser (The kalk would clog the hole in the float valve, clog the hole in the siphon break) The clogging issues can be eliminated by removing the float valve and siphon break and were issues with Kalk more than with the equipment.

I'm looking at buying an ATK but am concerned about problems with kalk. Not only with clogging as noted by @sleepydoc, but also with the pump in the water reservoir. My reservoir contains a good layer of kalk sitting on the bottom. My concern is that the slurry gets siphoned up by the pump, flooding the aquarium with kalk. I don't use a stirrer and would prefer not to. Can anyone dosing kalkwasser share their experience with either this ATO or the Tunze which uses a similar pump?
 
I dose kalk, and have had umpteen clogs with all of my various ATO's. These are my general thoughts:

1. Any pump I've put in my kalk reservoir has failed early, it's nasty stuff. I've since switched to a BRS ATO peristaltic pump and dose kalk separate from the ATO so the kalk is not in contact with any moving parts.

2. The float can be removed as Sleepydoc said. No problem.

3. The pump in any kalk install needs to be a bit offset from the bottom to prevent the slurry from being sucked up. I glued three pieces of eggcrate together to do this and it was fine in a 5g bucket. It was not a problem for the PMUP stirring it up.

If you're running an APEX system now, and are ok dropping the extra money for the peristaltic pump, that's what I would do. I went through three pumps of various pedigree before I bought the peristaltic one. Eventually I upgraded to a kalk stirrer, which I really like.

The code for the ATK can be modified to use a peristaltic pump easy enough as well.
 
I dose kalk, and have had umpteen clogs with all of my various ATO's. These are my general thoughts:

1. Any pump I've put in my kalk reservoir has failed early, it's nasty stuff. I've since switched to a BRS ATO peristaltic pump and dose kalk separate from the ATO so the kalk is not in contact with any moving parts.


This.

Does kalk separately with a peristaltic pump.
 
I dose kalk, and have had umpteen clogs with all of my various ATO's. These are my general thoughts:

1. Any pump I've put in my kalk reservoir has failed early, it's nasty stuff. I've since switched to a BRS ATO peristaltic pump and dose kalk separate from the ATO so the kalk is not in contact with any moving parts.

2. The float can be removed as Sleepydoc said. No problem.

3. The pump in any kalk install needs to be a bit offset from the bottom to prevent the slurry from being sucked up. I glued three pieces of eggcrate together to do this and it was fine in a 5g bucket. It was not a problem for the PMUP stirring it up.

If you're running an APEX system now, and are ok dropping the extra money for the peristaltic pump, that's what I would do. I went through three pumps of various pedigree before I bought the peristaltic one. Eventually I upgraded to a kalk stirrer, which I really like.

The code for the ATK can be modified to use a peristaltic pump easy enough as well.

I've been using a peristaltic pump for years. Both Spectrapure and Avast. The problem with them is the rubber tube will leak after a time. The rollers just wear it out, especially if the tube goes off center.

My thought right now is to use the ATK included pump but attach it somehow to an eggcrate platform about 6" off the bottom. Provided the pump itself isn't so strong that it siphons up the slurry at the bottom in theory it should be ok.
 
I've been using a peristaltic pump for years. Both Spectrapure and Avast. The problem with them is the rubber tube will leak after a time. The rollers just wear it out, especially if the tube goes off center.



My thought right now is to use the ATK included pump but attach it somehow to an eggcrate platform about 6" off the bottom. Provided the pump itself isn't so strong that it siphons up the slurry at the bottom in theory it should be ok.



I'm just over a year with the BRS pump and no issues. It's not maintenance free, I still inspect the tube and make sure it's aligned etc. I have seen that shift on the slower 1.4 ml / min pump.



I did have a Jebao peri dosing pump for a while...never again.
 
Can’t speak for the spectrapure peristaltic pump, but I know you can get replacement tubing for the BRS pumps. I would just plan on scheduled replacement of the tubing. Much easier to do it on a preventative basis than deal with the issues that come with a cracked and leaking tube.
 
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