Sumpless ATO ideas?

[tycoakley]

So just as it states. Im doing a sumpless reef tank build and need to have a ATO to keep things stable. Any ideas or has anyone done this? The tank is a 29 gallon with a CPR bak pak skimmer. The skimmer pump is going to sit inside a overflow thats glued to the back of the glass. Plan to use a aqualifter and galolon jug for top off. I want something that looks good and isnt a big white bulky unit n the tank.


Thanks Ty

 

[BuffaloReef]

Is the sump overflow going to run on a U-tube? Personally I wouldn't feel safe with a U-tube but they've been used for years. If there's room in the skimmer pump section for a float switch that could work. The best choice is almost always a sump with a safe overflow.

Any reason you don't want to do a sump? It clears up a lot of room in your display.

 

[Capt_Cully]

I just use a controller. It doesn't rely on float valve shut offs, but with a much smaller volume, it might be tough to manage. If you used a peristaltic pump on a timer and just did a level check daily ehen you fed, you could adjust up or down with seasonal evaporation rate changes. I eliminated float switches a while back. Too concerned with failure.

 

[tycoakley]

Thanks capt. BuffaloReef- its a sumpless nano tank. Im just using a Surface skimmer box to hide the CPR Skimmer pump and to draw water in from the surface.

 

[Spartan]

not sure what youre looking for but would a Tunze osmolator work for you?

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I would do capt's suggestion. If you don't have a controller available, use an appliance timer and a valve inline to help you dial the flow rate.

Or go bigtime and DIY a capacitive sensor to trigger the ATO. There really isn't any way to get a mechanical float switch small enough to "not look bulky" on a nano IMO.

 

[Willistein]

It might help if we understand what your overflow area will look like. Inside the overflow where your skimmer pump is going to sit seems like a good place to put float switches. If it were me, I'd use dual float switches controlling a small pump in a bucket of RO water hidden somewhere. Or is that the issue - that you don't want a reservoir?