ATO automation issues.

[AdamK1]

So I'm about to leave my tank for a couple of weeks. Like, literally leave. No-one to check it, house locked up. My only real worry is the ato.

My rodi filter is installed with direct line to the tank. I've an ato reservoir with a float valve, which theoretically means it's hands off. What i usually do though is only turn the feed to the reservoir on when it's getting low, and turn it off when full. Basically it keeps me in touch with my tds as I check it every time I fill the reservoir.

For this trip though I have to leave it on, and rely on the float valve.

There's 2 points of failure here. If the float valve kicks it while I'm away, the rodi unit will produce water for 2 weeks and that'll be a heck of a flood! Also if my ato fails on, the reservoir will empty into the sump and keep getting filled up by the rodi filter. Although now I think about that, the only issue here is that the ato pump will run dry and stop, as the rodi filter won't keep up with it, meaning I'll essentially loose the ato and the pump will run dry.

Any solutions here? What have you guys done when leaving the tank for a while? I'm equally worried about the tank itself as the chance of flooding the house with rodi!

 

[Bruttall]

Turn on your automated system BEFORE you leave and monitor for it a couple days to make sure it is hands free.

Only advice I can give, sorry.

 

[AdamK1]

Turn on your automated system BEFORE you leave and monitor for it a couple days to make sure it is hands free.

Only advice I can give, sorry.

Cheers, yeah it's all good fun! It's been running a good while, I've just never left it before. Course the 1 time I really need it not to fail would be when I'm away.

Kinda decided a webcam is my best option. If it looks like it's going wrong I can get a neighbour to check it and go from there.

Hmm, as I write I've had another idea... An emergency drain type bulkhead in the ATO reservoir above the usual level. At least that way I'd be pumping water down the drain, not into the house. If the ATO fails then at least it would only be the tank that's trashed, not the whole house.

Never going on holiday again!!

 

[Bruttall]

Cheers, yeah it's all good fun! It's been running a good while, I've just never left it before. Course the 1 time I really need it not to fail would be when I'm away.

Kinda decided a webcam is my best option. If it looks like it's going wrong I can get a neighbour to check it and go from there.

Hmm, as I write I've had another idea... An emergency drain type bulkhead in the ATO reservoir above the usual level. At least that way I'd be pumping water down the drain, not into the house. If the ATO fails then at least it would only be the tank that's trashed, not the whole house.

Never going on holiday again!!

Do you have a Apex, or Hydros? Monitoring system? Sounds to me like you are a prime candidate to invest in software to monitor your system. I use the Apex Pro A3 with 2 Energy Blocks and 2 Quiet Drive doser pumps. Mine Base Unit is about 4 days old, I just up-graded from the A2. Pic of my fish room.



Partial Pic of my Apex Screen from PC. Has phone app as well.

 

[AdamK1]

I don't at the moment. It's a thought for the future. Not really sure how much I trust computerised solutions over mechanical though. Bugs, power cuts, Internet failure. Suddenly you're in the dark without a backup. I'd love all the monitoring bits. Maybe one day.

 

[Solo McReefer]

One could easily use a barrel as one's ATO reservoir?

Or a Brute

Removes the greatest point of failure from the system

 

[Bruttall]

I don't at the moment. It's a thought for the future. Not really sure how much I trust computerised solutions over mechanical though. Bugs, power cuts, Internet failure. Suddenly you're in the dark without a backup. I'd love all the monitoring bits. Maybe one day.

I love the monitoring part myself. I sat on the fence for a year because the initial cost is daunting. But once I bought an Apex and started using it I realized I'll never do another tank without some type. It makes keeping everything Stable so much easier. I do a 3g per day water change, well I don't The Apex does, it also controls my water level which I can monitor remotely, This shows me how many inches of water is in my return pump chamber. 125g 6ft tank for a sump. I should rename this to Water Level or WatLev, only allowed 6 characters in Apex for a name.

Now if for some reason this gets low and my ATO isn't working, I can toggle it on to Force it with this Switch which controls the power to the top off pump.

.

If that level still does not rise, I know I got a problem.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I'll chime in and say I run a TUNZE ATO for my tank, which works fantastic. I never had an issue one time with it, and it has been a lifesaver for when I'm out of town.

 

[AdamK1]

Yeah my ATO is so far reliable. I've a 200gallon tank, and for a 2 week trip I'd need a huge reservoir. The issue is that I need my plumbed in rodi unit to top up the top off reservoir while I'm away.

I think I've a solution that I'm happy with.

Takes my rodi filter about an hour to half fill my reservoir, and my tank evaps about quarter of the reservoir in a day. My rodi filter is pumped, and produces nothing without the pump running. I've put a timer on the rodi pump plug, and set it to an hour a day. That way, worst case scenario I'll have a few hours worth of water on the floor, not a few days! Still would be a mess, but not house destroyingly bad! All up and running for a couple of days now and seems to be great. As long as I keep an eye on my tds from time to time I've a fully hands off auto top off. One less thing to think about.

 

[TX_REEF]

Easy solution for ATO getting stuck on is to set it on a timer to only run for a minute or 2 every hour, this will prevent overflowing your sump/tank. I recommend Kasa devices, they have a free app that's super easy to use and can be adjusted and monitored from anywhere on your mobile device: https://amzn.to/3zE0RBq

The auto-refilling res is a different story. I have the same concern as you, and for that reason, I just use a massive ATO res. Your tank size will dictate how large, of course, but for each of my 90 gallon systems (sump+display) I use a 23-gallon slim jim trashcan which has easily lasted me 2 weeks while on vacation: https://amzn.to/3N7Z7na

 

[exnisstech]

Yeah my ATO is so far reliable. I've a 200gallon tank, and for a 2 week trip I'd need a huge reservoir. The issue is that I need my plumbed in rodi unit to top up the top off reservoir while I'm away.

I think I've a solution that I'm happy with.

Takes my rodi filter about an hour to half fill my reservoir, and my tank evaps about quarter of the reservoir in a day. My rodi filter is pumped, and produces nothing without the pump running. I've put a timer on the rodi pump plug, and set it to an hour a day. That way, worst case scenario I'll have a few hours worth of water on the floor, not a few days! Still would be a mess, but not house destroyingly bad! All up and running for a couple of days now and seems to be great. As long as I keep an eye on my tds from time to time I've a fully hands off auto top off. One less thing to think about.

I use float valves on two brute for rodi and salt mix. While I've not had none fail yet I have noticed over time they tend to get a bit sticky for lack of a better word. I take them apart and clean them every few months. Mite be worth just moving yours up and down by hand to make sure they are moving nvw and free. Just a suggestion

 

[Solo McReefer]

I recommend Kasa devices, t

Are the Kasa devices like the Geeni devices

That power to off

If after a power outage restoration?

The model I was using, that came back in the position prior to the outage, are out of stock

 

[TX_REEF]

Are the Kasa devices like the Geeni devices

That power to off

If after a power outage restoration?

The model I was using, that came back in the position prior to the outage, are out of stock

in my experience they will return to whatever position they were in when the power went off, and resume the schedule set in the app. so if the device is off when the power goes out, itll return to off when power is restored, and if it's on when the power goes off, it will come back in the on setting.

 

[AdamK1]

If anyone happens to still be following this thread, the tank survived! All automation worked like a dream. Literally apart from my camera setup, not a single person so much as looked at the tank for 2 weeks, and it's perfect. Glass needs cleaning, and I've not tackled the huge coraline growth yet! But apart from that it's spot on.