Autoaqua smart nano ato lift?

[Johnd651]

So, just ordered the autoaqua smart nano aro at 1/2 off. Reading through it, says

• Diaphragm Pump :
  - Suction Head : 6.5 feet (200 cm)
  - Flow Rate : 7.9 gph (30 lph)
• Max. Mounting Thickness :
  - Sensor : 1/2 inch (12.7 mm)
  - Holder : 0.12-0.39 inch (3-10 mm)
• Anti-Siphon Valve :
  - Anti-Siphon Pressure : 2 feet (60 cm) of water. The height from water level of reservoir to tube outlet must be smaller than 2 feet (60 cm).

Does that mean the reservoir cannot be below the tank? I only want to go up about 3ft?

 

[tbrown]

You won't need the anti-siphon if you don't put the tube end in the water. It will drain the tubing. I pump up out of the reservoir and then down into the sump. For you, I assume the reservoir is going to be under the stand?

 

[tbrown]

The thing that gets me is the 6.5' of "suction" head I would assume should be "lift" head or pumping head. Suction head almost makes it sound like the pump is wired backwards and it sucks from the reservoir through the tubing instead of through the pump...

 

[tbrown]

Ohhhh... That's a different style than what I'm used to. It makes sense now. Not sure how that would work without the anti-siphon. So the suction can be 6.5' (you only need 3), and the anti-siphon can only be 2' or less below the pump at tank level. The anti-siphon valve is just a fancy way of saying check valve. It's basically the same as an airline check valve on this unit. When you install the ATO pump, run the tubing from the pump to the bottom of the reservoir, cut the tubing less than 2' below the pump somewhere above the reservoir and install the check valve with the arrow pointing to the tank, not the reservoir.

 

[Johnd651]

Ohhhh... That's a different style than what I'm used to. It makes sense now. Not sure how that would work without the anti-siphon. So the suction can be 6.5' (you only need 3), and the anti-siphon can only be 2' or less below the pump at tank level. The anti-siphon valve is just a fancy way of saying check valve. It's basically the same as an airline check valve on this unit. When you install the ATO pump, run the tubing from the pump to the bottom of the reservoir, cut the tubing less than 2' below the pump somewhere above the reservoir and install the check valve with the arrow pointing to the tank, not the reservoir.

It was the 2' part for the anti siphon that confused me. I figured between gravity and pump pressure it would open even if it's greater then 2 feet which had me overthinking it.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I have this ATO, my reservoir is under my tank, the pump is in the reservoir, and pushes the water up about 3' to my tank. I've had this ATO for almost 3 years now, never had an issue.

 

[Johnd651]

I have this ATO, my reservoir is under my tank, the pump is in the reservoir, and pushes the water up about 3' to my tank. I've had this ATO for almost 3 years now, never had an issue.

Glad to hear it's reliable. I have a 23 day stretch in worried about. Do you have a pic? It sounds like you're pumping up under pressure vs sucking the water up?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I don't have an anti syphon 'valve' with mine, I posted a pic of my ATO below. The syphon break is just a little plastic piece

If you zoom in on the second pic, you can see the pump at the bottom of the container, and the hose goes all the way up, approx 3' to the tank.

The syphon break is right at the mouth of the container, just cut the hose to install the syphon break, so any back flow goes back into the container.

 

[tbrown]

I have this ATO, my reservoir is under my tank, the pump is in the reservoir, and pushes the water up about 3' to my tank. I've had this ATO for almost 3 years now, never had an issue.

You have the Nano? I looked yesterday and it's different than the typical pump-in-the-reservoir ATOs that I'm used to.

 

[tbrown]

I don't have an anti syphon 'valve' with mine, I posted a pic of my ATO below. The syphon break is just a little plastic piece

If you zoom in on the second pic, you can see the pump at the bottom of the container, and the hose goes all the way up, approx 3' to the tank.

The syphon break is right at the mouth of the container, just cut the hose to install the syphon break, so any back flow goes back into the container.

That's a different ATO. That's the same one I thought he had purchased as well.

 

[tbrown]

Smart ATO Nano - Auto Top Off Kit

The perfect All-In-One, Plug-and-Play Auto Top-Off solution for aquariums under 50 gallons As fresh water evaporates from your saltwater aquarium, the salt that is left behind begins to build in concentration. Auto top off systems help to restore osmotic balance in your aquarium by refilling...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[RoanokeReef]

I have this one on my IM15 tank / stand and the reservoir is below the stand. The only trouble I had is with that filter thing, it would float all the time, so I removed it.

 

[Vinaka_vakalevu]

I have had the lift pump version on my 20L for 6months or so. My worry would be how much evaporation you’re going to have over 23dasy….. I go through 5 gallons or so a week of rodi in my 20. Do you have a storage tank that will hold 20 gallons of rodi while you’re gone for 23 days. The filter will float sometime so I attached a shell to the end of it and now it sinks to the bottom.

 

[Johnd651]

I have had the lift pump version on my 20L for 6months or so. My worry would be how much evaporation you’re going to have over 23dasy….. I go through 5 gallons or so a week of rodi in my 20. Do you have a storage tank that will hold 20 gallons of rodi while you’re gone for 23 days. The filter will float sometime so I attached a shell to the end of it and now it sinks to the bottom.

I have someone that will check all the farm animals. I was going to setup some prefilled buckets to just swap.

 

[JoJosReef]

Glad to hear it's reliable. I have a 23 day stretch in worried about. Do you have a pic? It sounds like you're pumping up under pressure vs sucking the water up?

That's a long stretch. The major issue I have with this ATO is that there is some kind of overfilling safety feature, where when it runs for too long it errors out (optical sensor blinks red). Then it stops filling until it is reset (unplugged and replugged). In my nano, this is caused when a snail decides to park itself on the overflow.

Best thing you could do to prevent that is to have something like an IM fishguard over the overflow weirs to prevent a snail from blocking the flow.

 

[Johnd651]

That's a long stretch. The major issue I have with this ATO is that there is some kind of overfilling safety feature, where when it runs for too long it errors out (optical sensor blinks red). Then it stops filling until it is reset (unplugged and replugged). In my nano, this is caused when a snail decides to park itself on the overflow.

Best thing you could do to prevent that is to have something like an IM fishguard over the overflow weirs to prevent a snail from blocking the flow.

Interesting... never thought a snail could block all the holes?

 

[JoJosReef]

Interesting... never thought a snail could block all the holes?

Always been a problem in my IM Nuvo 10g AIO. There are 7 overflow slits where water flows through. A large trochus can block at least half of them. Then the water level drops a bit in the back chambers and activates the ATO, which continues to add water, which just raises the level in the display--with the automatic shutoff safety feature on the AutoAqua ATOs, you don't overflow the tank, but then it's shut off until you get back and restart it. That or I haven't read the instructions and am missing something

 

[Vinaka_vakalevu]

Always been a problem in my IM Nuvo 10g AIO. There are 7 overflow slits where water flows through. A large trochus can block at least half of them. Then the water level drops a bit in the back chambers and activates the ATO, which continues to add water, which just raises the level in the display--with the automatic shutoff safety feature on the AutoAqua ATOs, you don't overflow the tank, but then it's shut off until you get back and restart it. That or I haven't read the instructions and am missing something

plug it into a kasa smart plug and have it cycle on and off a couple times a day. should solve your problem

 

[Johnd651]

plug it into a kasa smart plug and have it cycle on and off a couple times a day. should solve your problem

I was going to get a Kasa power strip since I already use it, that's a good idea.

 

[Johnd651]

Always been a problem in my IM Nuvo 10g AIO. There are 7 overflow slits where water flows through. A large trochus can block at least half of them. Then the water level drops a bit in the back chambers and activates the ATO, which continues to add water, which just raises the level in the display--with the automatic shutoff safety feature on the AutoAqua ATOs, you don't overflow the tank, but then it's shut off until you get back and restart it. That or I haven't read the instructions and am missing something

The one thing I saw is the time out is 6 x the initial fill time... so if initial fill is 10 seconds, it would time out after 60