oceanus vs. osmolator

[notajr.fan]

Looking to get an ato. Anybody use one of the units from oceanus? It looks like they hook right up to the ro/di unit which would work well for me b/c I don't have room for a storage tank in my stand. Anyone know how to hook one up or how they work?

 

[szwab]

love my osmolator haven't had any problems in 2 years. no experience with the oceanus so i cannot comment on it.

the osmolator as a few safeties that will prevent malfunction or at least slow it down until I notice. It is pricey though. With the electronic eye it ddoesn't rely on a mechanical float switch which is nice.

 

[baja_hammer2003]

I have 2 oceanus systems ato`s now just received my new pro ato from them oceanus is far better than tunze does more than any top off out there the new pro model is the best hands down.if you have a neptune controller oceanus has outputs that interact with there controller.

 

[baja_hammer2003]

here is a few features of a pro oceanus
15 minute timer on pump protection
1-6 timer on top off circuit
dual solenoids with a test button and port to test each solenoid.
manuel fill button
gfci receptacle
outputs to connect to aqua controller for high and low water alarm also has a output for a kalkwasser stirrer stirs the kalk and gives time to settle before top off comes on.
plus they are built i have a poseidon and a atlas to compare to a tunze
I had a tunze and the problems i ran into is salt spray gets on sensor so never comes on also light from refuge made it not work also if the pump goes bad and they do you have to buy 1 from them you just can`t go down to the local fish store and get a pump you have to order plus you need to have a container to hold water so your still have to manuelly fill a container so you need another top off to top off there top off

 

[notajr.fan]

thanks baja, can you describe how you hooked it up, how it attaches to the sump, how it affects the life of your ro/di filters since it directly hooks up to them? Interesting point about the tunze with the fuge light, never heard that one before and I will have whichever unit hooked up to my sump directly under my fuge light.

 

[gcarroll]

it's like comparing apples to oranges
Tunze - fills from a reservoir
Oceanus - fills from RO/DI

 

[notajr.fan]

oceanus has models that also fill from a reservior, at the end of the day they're both top off units.

 

[ralphie16]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9480971#post9480971 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by baja_hammer2003
.... also light from refuge made it not work

yea.....ok....light makes it not work?? i have so much light in my fuge and never had a problem with it. this statement as well as the other crap you wrote in your review makes no sense. i own both and I like the tunze better. the optical sensor on the tunze is the best device that we have currently available to monitor water levels.

i do not like to fill direct from rodi. that is a disaster waiting to happen. you want to have as much redunduncy as feasible. If your topoff container is never ending, there is a chance you will overflow your tank with freshwater. if your topoff container is limited in size (say 5 gallons) then you are limiting the potentially dangerous scenario of overflowing your tank. and i never had a big problem filling up my top-off container once a week...the point of the top off unit is to stabilize your salinity.

 

[notajr.fan]

ralphie, what model oceanus do you have? and what do you not like about it?

 

[manderx]

the optical sensor on the tunze is the best device that we have currently available to monitor water levels.

i like the tunze and still recommend it to everyone i talk to (even though i use a litermeter), but i have seen many more cases of the tunze not coming on (because a flake of lime scale or blob of algae stuck to the eye) than a mechanical float failing. i think i would trust a mechanical in a snailcage more than the optical. though i guess you could make a cage around the optical that would protect it as well.

if the pump goes bad and they do you have to buy 1 from them you just can`t go down to the local fish store and get a pump you have to order

at least the replacement pump is extremely cheap. like 10 bucks or so. but you *can* use any pump you want to drive it, the best option is to wire in a peristaltic (either directly to a DC peristaltic, or wire in a $5 relay for an AC peristaltic). that's what all the cool kids in my local club do. the peristaltic can pump higher, doesn't backsiphon, and you can draw from a kalk'd reservoir. and it won't burn out if it ever runs dry.

you need to have a container to hold water so your still have to manuelly fill a container so you need another top off to top off there top off

that's a good thing in my book. if you can run a RO line to your tank like the oceanus needs, then you can run it to a small (~2g) tub under your stand with a float valve. put a solenoid/timer on the RO so that it only fills once or twice a day. this way it can't ever flood your tank, doesn't take much space at all, is completely automated, and prevents TDS creep.

 

[ralphie16]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9484232#post9484232 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by notajr.fan
ralphie, what model oceanus do you have? and what do you not like about it?

there is nothing wrong with it, i just prefer the tunze. i knew the features the oceanus had when i purchased it so no surprises.

and yes, mechanical sensors do fail many times. why do you think they have so many redundant features? because they fail!

i have the tunze supplied pump sitting in a container saturated with lime. it is not sitting on the bottom so its no sucking in any solid lime. the pump has not failed yet, but if it does it costs like 10 or 20 bucks. but like someone else mentioned you dont have to buy a tunze replacement, you can buy whatever brand you want.

 

[baja_hammer2003]

I like the new pro model from oceanus does so much more than any top off has to offer i have a aqua controller jr with serial port i ordered a breakout box form neptune and now my controller gets info from oceanus for high or low water and also i have it hooked to a geo kalkwasser that stirs the kalk 3 hours before the top off comes on very slick as for the floats they are reed style not mechanical they have never failed almost 2 years on the first oceanus even tunze use`s them the brakets hang over my sump using nylon screws . what i really like about the new oceanus is having dual solenoids with a test button and valve you can test each solenoid the odds of 2 things going wrong at the exact same time never.

 

[crumbletop]

I don't care how well a topoff system is designed. Hooking up directly to RO/DI is a mistake waiting to happen, IMO. It's an unlimited reservoir, and people have had their tanks crash because of topoff failure AND because the topoff performed perfectly but water was gushing out because of a blocked drain line or an overflowing skimmer...

Redundancy is a good thing. Both the Osmolator and the Oceanus topoffs have many redundancy features built in. However, the best redundancy feature by far for an auto topoff is a limited source water reservoir.

 

[baja_hammer2003]

blocked drain line the controller would catch it (high water) as for a overflowing skimmer been using a skimmer for over 12 years all kinds never had 1 go nuts had them stop skimming plus most are in sump i have a external and a in sump i would have to say if it goes nuts you did something to your system adding chems etc. I think to so called crashes are from people that made there own homemade top off.

 

[crumbletop]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9490371#post9490371 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by baja_hammer2003
I think to so called crashes are from people that made there own homemade top off.

"so called" crashes? They actually happen, and they don't discriminate, commercial system or no, seasoned vets, and newbies. Are you saying that connecting to an unlimited water supply is better than connecting to a limited reservoir? Some people don't have that option, but that doesn't make it a good idea. As always, people are free to do what they want. Sometimes it is a risk people are willing to take -- but at least let people take it with their eyes open.

 

[baja_hammer2003]

Hello crumble your home is hooked to a unlimited water supply with alot less protecting you. There is nothing wrong hooking up to a unlimited water supply as long as you have some redundancy and saftys set up. I agree with you about having choice`s and it just works better for me not to have to fill a container every day why even have a top off.

 

[shred5]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9484363#post9484363 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by manderx
i like the tunze and still recommend it to everyone i talk to (even though i use a litermeter), but i have seen many more cases of the tunze not coming on (because a flake of lime scale or blob of algae stuck to the eye) than a mechanical float failing. i think i would trust a mechanical in a snailcage more than the optical. though i guess you could make a cage around the optical that would protect it as well.

I have owned the unze units for a long time and so do a few of my friends and have never once heard of a problem with them not comming on.. I cleaned my sensor once a month.

I have seen and have heard of the mechanical onse failling tons of times. I have had several stick on several times myself. Plus the optical seem a lot more acurate and keep the slainity more stable.

That said I do not like the idea of hooking a ro/di right too the tank. My buddy did that and one weekend while he was out of town his mechanical float switch stuck on (it was not part of the unit talked about in this thread). Well I think you can figure out what happened. Thankfully his sump was in the basement because his sump overflowed.

If any kind of top off system is used I alway recommend a high level switch just in case.

Dave

 

[ralphie16]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9490753#post9490753 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by baja_hammer2003
.....and it just works better for me not to have to fill a container every day why even have a top off.

why would you have to fill a container every day? a 5 or 10 gallon reservoir is perfect for most tanks so you only fill around once a week (depending on evap rate). your just trying to limit the amount of freshwater that can accidently go into your tank, imo 10 gallons of freshwater is much less stressful for the fish then a 50 gallon rodi reservoir filling up the tank.

 

[crumbletop]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9490753#post9490753 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by baja_hammer2003
Hello crumble your home is hooked to a unlimited water supply with alot less protecting you.

I disagree. There are drains (my tank doesn't have one of those), nothing dies if things get diluted if my faucet leaks, etc.

as you have some redundancy and saftys set up

Are you saying there is more redundancy or less redundancy if you have a limited reservoir? Are you saying it's safer to hook up directly to an RO/DI? I think you are saying that you choose to hook it up directly to the RO/DI because you feel the benefit outweighs the risk.

 

[manderx]

i agree with crumble 100%. hooking straight to an RO is bad news. it might not have ever bit you, but if 100 people read this thread and hook their RO straight up, several to many will get bit.

i have my RO on a timer that comes on once a day just long enough to fill a ~2-3g rubbermaid bin up to a float valve. my topoff (litermeter) then pulls from this bin. 100% automated and is about as safe as it gets. if you have the RO line running all the way to your tank anyway for the oceanus, then you can run it to a small container under your stand with a float valve.