Overflow failure + diy ato = flood?

[Mrmole]

Dear fellow reefers, i have been having this problem and completely have no idea how to solve so i write here to ask you all as my last hope to solve this problem once and for all.

I have a 60g with a 40g sump and my overflow i bought from petsmart with 2 valves outflow and a suction pump aqualifter has failed on me 3 times already. Together with that i am using a 10L bucket placed on a higher ground level than my sump connected to a float valve (not switch) that would drip to my sump when sump level drops below designated level.

You might already see the problem i am facing. Once the overflow fails Ato will flood my display tank because water from sump will keep going up the display tank with ato water. And it flooded me everytime overflow fails, twice because something got stuck in the suction airline and once because my wife unplugged the suction pump...

I was thinking of getting a tunze osmolator but am afraid that i dont fully understand it and might waste money on something that wont solve my problem.

Please help me on solving this! What equipment should i acquire or what should i change? Thanks ahead guys!

 

[chadfarmer]

u need to throw that overflow out and just bite the bullet and drill the tank and add a overflow box

its not the ATO fault it is the


if not than you need a float switch on the top that once it overflows would turn your return pump off (but you need to clean it often because of algea)

 

[Steved13]

+1 drill the tank or get a more reliable overflow box. There are some that are very reliable. I had a LifeReef for about 6 months that never failed.

 

[flyin2jz]

With 100 gallons of water there is no way I would use a ato. What do u have to add 2 gallons a day? Just add it by hand.

 

[arentspowell]

That style over overflow is notorious for failing. Go with a U-tube style one like eshopps or lifereef. But as others said when you do decide to get a new tank (because all of us do) get one thats drilled. I have had both drilled and non-drilled, and I would never go back to a non-drilled tank.

 

[flyin2jz]

If it fails the sump will empty to the tank then ur done. The u style ones seem to work good.

 

[Mrmole]

Guys this is what i have http://www.aquacave.com/detail.aspx?ID=79
I thought this was the ultimate overflow... I bought it for 170$, now it goes to trash? That's sad...

Concerning ato. I used to connect the float valve to my RO unit which permanently pressures. If you say i should manually add water then there is no point of any ato at all? I was looking more for a solution rather than "just do it manually" thanks anyway.

 

[Arthur1]

As said, there are overflow boxes out there that are more reliable than others, I personally would not ever recommend any hang ons. Concerning your overflow set up, an ro unit connected directly to a sump as a top off is just asking for trouble to put it shortly. If it isn't the best and most dependable top off, spectra pures ato is easily one of the best out there. I've used a few and will only be using theirs from now on. HTH

 

[flyin2jz]

I killed my entire sps tank with a ato. Here is the aftermath. Lost every coral.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/flyin2jz/IMG_0310.jpg

 

[Mrmole]

Damn how did that happen?

 

[flyin2jz]

Ato stuck open and put 5hrs worth of ro water into the sump and it kept feeding the tank fresh water and lowered the salinity. It can happen with the best top off kit. Had to replace all my carpet in the living room also. My wife wasn't happy. Now I have a 220 and just use the ro and bucket method a couple days a week.

 

[shifty51008]

are you using the aqualifter pump along with the overflow? i never use HOB overflows anymore but if I remember those types need the aqualifter pump to keep air bubbles from forming.

but I will agree with the others, that the prob. is the overflow not the ATO.

 

[flyin2jz]

Yep for now the overflow is the problem. Lol

 

[allsps40]

HOB overflows suck. When I had one years ago I was always worried about an overflow. It needed to be checked daily, hated it. Just drill the tank.

 

[Mrmole]

drill is ultimate but before drilling the actual tank with corals and fish, how do i drill "live" without resetting the tank aquascape and water parameters?

And i was thinking about the tunze osmolator which comes in with 2 level sensors. One i will leave in the sump and the emergency one ill set in the display tank.
Would this be safe? I have about 3 inches from edge of the tank to water level. Enough to install float swith as emergency in display tank?

 

[Gorgok]

As long as you can lower the water level under the spot where you plan to drill, it should be fine. I would make sure to put a good covering (more than one layer) of duct tape over the spot where the hole goes on the inside of the tank. This first will help keep if from getting pushed through and possibly chipping the inside edge, but also with multiple layers hopefully keep any glass particles from getting in the tank even if you cut the first few layers with the drill.

I would keep powerheads in the water, turn off the lights and stop the main pump then drain enough to expose the hole to be. If you need to, move some higher up corals or rocks down lower until done. I would work fast, but not rush, trying to make sure you can complete the job from draining to refilling in one go. Make sure you have all the parts, sealants etc. Plan ahead, cut any pipes or hose you can before hand, so once its drilled its just to hook stuff up. But even if you run into issues, and cannot complete everything in one go, do not rush and make it worse. The tank will survive a while without most of its equipment, you could feed a little less than normal and give the tank a little less light on the next few days until you do get whatever you need to complete the job. Water changes couldn't hurt either if its really starting to take a while.

 

[Mrmole]

Thanks gorgoc. How about the tunze osmolator. Do you have any experience?