Grant Beyleveld
Community Member
Hi all,
I'm in the planning stage of of a build and I designed an ATO system that I think would work well for me, but I wanted to get some more experienced reefers' opinions along the way. First and foremost, the entire system is designed around a couple of core tenets, and the ATO must obey these too:
The tank will be near enough to the wash closet, so the RODI will live there with a ~30ish gallon reservoir. For refilling the reservoir, there will be a Neptune FMM with two OS-1-M magnetic optical sensors (low and high mark), as well as a BRS float valve above the highest optical sensor for redundancy (the BRS RODI units have auto shut off valves pre-installed, which work in concert with the float valve). An aquabus cable will run from the Apex on my DT to this FMM module, and the ACC port on the FMM module will control a Neptune SV-1 solenoid for refilling the 30gal reservoir (this requires the FMM module to be powered by a 24V 36W PSU, supplied in the Neptune ATK kit which I'll also have, see next paragraph). Thus, when the reservoir gets low, the optical sensor at the bottom will trigger and the normally-closed (NC) solenoid will open and begin filling the reservoir. When the reservoir is full, the high optical sensor will shut off the solenoid, and if that fails the float valve will catch it. I can also set a maximum on time for the solenoid in Apex Fusion as a final layer of redundancy. Finally, there will be a Neptune LD-2 leak detection probe near the reservoir as a last resort. I've even considered a standalone battery powered leak detection system in case the Apex fails in some way. Maybe that's overkill.
Now that the reservoir is automatically kept full, I'll get a Neptune ATK kit for the DT. It has a float value and two optical sensors on a magnetic mount which will monitor the water level in the sump. Running parallel with that aquabus cable to the wash closet will be a 1/4" pipe connected to the Neptune PMUPv2 in the reservoir, and a 1 Link extension cable to power the pump. I'll also have LD-2 probes in the sump in case of leaks, which would cut power to the return pump and the ATK pump.
I would have preferred to not run the aquabus cable to the site of the reservoir/RODI but the FMM can't be used in this manner in standalone mode because it's designed to be used with the pump for adding RODI water to the tank, not with a solenoid for filling a reservoir. As such, in standalone mode the ACC port will only supply power (i.e. to run the pump or, in my case, open the solenoid) for 5 minutes once per hour. That won't do for filling the reservoir. This limitation is unfortunate, but it is what it is. In any case, that FMM in the wash closet only has one ACC port and so even if standalone mode would work, it'd still only be able to power either the solenoid or the pump, not both. So I'd be running the 1 Link extension anyway.
In summary: I have a reservoir that is automatically kept full of RODI water and an ATO that automatically keeps my tank water levels in place (Automated; check #1) and the ATO reservoir is out of the way (aesthetically pleasing; check #2).
If anyone can find any major design flaws, gotchas, considerations, warnings, improvements or praise, please lay it on me. As I said, I'm in the design phase and so I'd love feedback before I spend money and time setting myself up for failure.
I'm in the planning stage of of a build and I designed an ATO system that I think would work well for me, but I wanted to get some more experienced reefers' opinions along the way. First and foremost, the entire system is designed around a couple of core tenets, and the ATO must obey these too:
- Low maintenance
I'm a busy person, and if something can be automated in any way, then it's more likely to be done and done properly. - Aesthetically pleasing
Like many of you, I have a partner and he won't enjoy our apartment being cluttered up. So everything must go inside the stand or out of the way. Also, we live in an apartment so there really isn't space for things to go just anywhere, like next to the tank or in the non-existent basement.
The tank will be near enough to the wash closet, so the RODI will live there with a ~30ish gallon reservoir. For refilling the reservoir, there will be a Neptune FMM with two OS-1-M magnetic optical sensors (low and high mark), as well as a BRS float valve above the highest optical sensor for redundancy (the BRS RODI units have auto shut off valves pre-installed, which work in concert with the float valve). An aquabus cable will run from the Apex on my DT to this FMM module, and the ACC port on the FMM module will control a Neptune SV-1 solenoid for refilling the 30gal reservoir (this requires the FMM module to be powered by a 24V 36W PSU, supplied in the Neptune ATK kit which I'll also have, see next paragraph). Thus, when the reservoir gets low, the optical sensor at the bottom will trigger and the normally-closed (NC) solenoid will open and begin filling the reservoir. When the reservoir is full, the high optical sensor will shut off the solenoid, and if that fails the float valve will catch it. I can also set a maximum on time for the solenoid in Apex Fusion as a final layer of redundancy. Finally, there will be a Neptune LD-2 leak detection probe near the reservoir as a last resort. I've even considered a standalone battery powered leak detection system in case the Apex fails in some way. Maybe that's overkill.
Now that the reservoir is automatically kept full, I'll get a Neptune ATK kit for the DT. It has a float value and two optical sensors on a magnetic mount which will monitor the water level in the sump. Running parallel with that aquabus cable to the wash closet will be a 1/4" pipe connected to the Neptune PMUPv2 in the reservoir, and a 1 Link extension cable to power the pump. I'll also have LD-2 probes in the sump in case of leaks, which would cut power to the return pump and the ATK pump.
I would have preferred to not run the aquabus cable to the site of the reservoir/RODI but the FMM can't be used in this manner in standalone mode because it's designed to be used with the pump for adding RODI water to the tank, not with a solenoid for filling a reservoir. As such, in standalone mode the ACC port will only supply power (i.e. to run the pump or, in my case, open the solenoid) for 5 minutes once per hour. That won't do for filling the reservoir. This limitation is unfortunate, but it is what it is. In any case, that FMM in the wash closet only has one ACC port and so even if standalone mode would work, it'd still only be able to power either the solenoid or the pump, not both. So I'd be running the 1 Link extension anyway.
In summary: I have a reservoir that is automatically kept full of RODI water and an ATO that automatically keeps my tank water levels in place (Automated; check #1) and the ATO reservoir is out of the way (aesthetically pleasing; check #2).
If anyone can find any major design flaws, gotchas, considerations, warnings, improvements or praise, please lay it on me. As I said, I'm in the design phase and so I'd love feedback before I spend money and time setting myself up for failure.
