Red Sea ATO - Does anyone else have "overfilling" issues?

[Sdoutreefer]

I have the Red Sea ATO+ on my Red Sea system, and I really don't like it. Yesterday it dumped 1.7 gallons of fresh into my tank, making the return compartment waaay too full, eventually flowing out into my skimmer compartment, and raising water levels, giving me an incredibly wet "skim". Really wasn't a skim, rather just water. I have no clue why this happened, as I just got the alert from ReefBeat while I was at work, telling me that the ATO pump timed out.

Another issue I have is when I turn the return back on after feeding. I'm trying to get into the habit of turning off the ATO completely whenever my return is taken offline. The reason is whenever my return shuts off, my gate valve for the inlet into the sump is too closed. It's like the plumbing line gets clogged and needs opened up. I know next to nothing about plumbing, and maybe the way I plumbed it (and the way Red Sea recommended) was incorrect. I know this isn't the ATO's issue but it is incredibly frustrating getting gallon(s) of fresh pumped into my system after I feed, or after a WC.

Does anyone else have any issues with the Red Sea ATO? I'm more so just hopping on to vent....!

 

[edsbeaker]

Is the outlet for your top off water higher than the ATO reservoirs water level? If not, that is your problem. There will be backflow into your sump if that line is lower than the water level in the ATO reservoir. Basically water from the reservoir should be going uphill.

 

[2Sunny]

2 thoughts.

1) I am using the Red Sea ATO and it is working flawlessly for me.
2) I did realize that if I fill my reservoir to the top the water will siphon down until level with the sump so I can not fill my reservoir to the top. Basically the issue described above.

A picture is worth a thousand words or so they say; do you have a picture of your set up?

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Here's what I've got. You can see my reservoir on the left side, in the white can. The ATO line then goes down to the inlet, just follow the red line. That's the best picture I currently have. Ignore the mess of wires.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Is the outlet for your top off water higher than the ATO reservoirs water level? If not, that is your problem. There will be backflow into your sump if that line is lower than the water level in the ATO reservoir. Basically water from the reservoir should be going uphill.

No, the outlet for the top off is lower. There's also a syphon break in the line. Siphoning shouldn't be the issue.

I really am starting to think it's something with my plumbing. Last night, I turned my return off to feed before bed time. I got a notification from my phone AFTER I turned my return back on that my ATO pump had timed out, because it ran too long. I looked, and it had pumped just about 1 gallon of fresh into my system.

It's almost like the return chamber gets emptier much quicker than the surrounding chambers, triggering the ATO sensor.

 

[RoanokeReef]

2 thoughts.

1) I am using the Red Sea ATO and it is working flawlessly for me.
2) I did realize that if I fill my reservoir to the top the water will siphon down until level with the sump so I can not fill my reservoir to the top. Basically the issue described above.

A picture is worth a thousand words or so they say; do you have a picture of your set up?

Are you not using a syphon break?

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Are you not using a syphon break?

Nope, I'm using the syphon break that was included.

 

[RoanokeReef]

Nope, I'm using the syphon break that was included.

I meant 2Sunny because what he was describing is a syphon

For your issue what you posted about the feed cycle is plausible and easy to see if that's the issue, I would trigger the feed and take a look and see if that is happening. Also, I have seen in the Facebook RedSea group a bunch of issues involving the sensor being dirty (not seen with eye) and just flat-out bad sensors that cause all sorts of odd issues.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

I meant 2Sunny because what he was describing is a syphon

For your issue what you posted about the feed cycle is plausible and easy to see if that's the issue, I would trigger the feed and take a look and see if that is happening. Also, I have seen in the Facebook RedSea group a bunch of issues involving the sensor being dirty (not seen with eye) and just flat-out bad sensors that cause all sorts of odd issues.

Are you saying trigger feeding mode on ReefBeat? MAybe that's my issue. I never use the 'feed' option.

 

[BigAl07]

I've been running the RedSea ATO+ nonstop since ~March and it's operated flawlessly.

Have you watched your "siphon break" to make sure it's operating correctly (it drips water if it is)?

 

[RoanokeReef]

I've been running the RedSea ATO+ nonstop since ~March and it's operated flawlessly.

Have you watched your "siphon break" to make sure it's operating correctly (it drips water if it is)?

I can't imagine this is a syphon issue as the ATO is timing out from running to long right @Sdoutreefer ?

 

[Sdoutreefer]

I've been running the RedSea ATO+ nonstop since ~March and it's operated flawlessly.

Have you watched your "siphon break" to make sure it's operating correctly (it drips water if it is)?

Yes, my siphon break is working properly.

It seems like my return pump is pushing way more water than what is getting back into the sump. It may not be an ATO issue at all.

 

[RoanokeReef]

Are you saying trigger feeding mode on ReefBeat? MAybe that's my issue. I never use the 'feed' option.

I meant run the feed mode however you currently do and physically watch it to see if your return chamber is indeed draining to the point the ATO is coming on.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

I can't imagine this is a syphon issue as the ATO is timing out from running to long right @Sdoutreefer ?

Correct. The pump is timing out, due to it running so long. I had 1gallon pumped last night because my return was pushing water into the display too quickly. It's like the inlet into the sump isn't pushing water fast enough.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

I meant run the feed mode however you currently do and physically watch it to see if your return chamber is indeed draining to the point the ATO is coming on.

I'll look at it, but the more I think about it, the more apparent it becomes that the return chamber is the issue.

 

[Peair]

I have the Red Sea ATO+ on my Red Sea system, and I really don't like it. Yesterday it dumped 1.7 gallons of fresh into my tank, making the return compartment waaay too full, eventually flowing out into my skimmer compartment, and raising water levels, giving me an incredibly wet "skim". Really wasn't a skim, rather just water. I have no clue why this happened, as I just got the alert from ReefBeat while I was at work, telling me that the ATO pump timed out.

Another issue I have is when I turn the return back on after feeding. I'm trying to get into the habit of turning off the ATO completely whenever my return is taken offline. The reason is whenever my return shuts off, my gate valve for the inlet into the sump is too closed. It's like the plumbing line gets clogged and needs opened up. I know next to nothing about plumbing, and maybe the way I plumbed it (and the way Red Sea recommended) was incorrect. I know this isn't the ATO's issue but it is incredibly frustrating getting gallon(s) of fresh pumped into my system after I feed, or after a WC.

Does anyone else have any issues with the Red Sea ATO? I'm more so just hopping on to vent....!

You have to oddly break it in, I received for free a Red Sea ATO+ when I bought one of their tanks, and in the beginning it was nothing but trouble, first the water level sensor did not work, so I contacted their tech support and after a few days trying different things, they sent me a water level sensor in the mail, and then it worked, but then the leak sensor was acting up, for I kept getting alerts that there was a leak, but there was No leak, I checked the sensor and it was dry, and then checked all around the sump and everything was dry, but I kept getting leak alerts, I got frustrated with their tech support because the issue could not get fixed, then I just gave up and went back to my Hydros ATO, I kept the Red Sea ATO+ on, and I ignored the alerts because it goes in shut down mode, and then after about one month it surprisingly started working with no alerts, and for two months now it is surprisingly working good, and I use my Hydros ATO as a backup in manual mode, so make sure you have a backup ATO incase the Red Sea ATO+ starts acting wacky.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

You have to oddly break it in, I received for free a Red Sea ATO+ when I bought one of their tanks, and in the beginning it was nothing but trouble, first the water level sensor did not work, so I contacted their tech support and after a few days trying different things, they sent me a water level sensor in the mail, and then it worked, but then the leak sensor was acting up, for I kept getting alerts that there was a leak, but there was No leak, I checked the sensor and it was dry, and then checked all around the sump and everything was dry, but I kept getting leak alerts, I got frustrated with their tech support because the issue could not get fixed, then I just gave up and went back to my Hydros ATO, I kept the Red Sea ATO+ on, and I ignored the alerts because it goes in shut down mode, and then after about one month it surprisingly started working with no alerts, and for two months now it is surprisingly working good, and I use my Hydros ATO as a backup in manual mode, so make sure you have a backup ATO incase the Red Sea ATO+ starts acting wacky.

The more I think about it, the less I think it is actually the ATO. I mentioned it above but it's like the return chamber in my sump just doesn't get filled up quick enough. The return pump is putting out water way faster than the inlet to the sump is letting in. Not sure what to do...

 

[2Sunny]

I meant 2Sunny because what he was describing is a syphon

For your issue what you posted about the feed cycle is plausible and easy to see if that's the issue, I would trigger the feed and take a look and see if that is happening. Also, I have seen in the Facebook RedSea group a bunch of issues involving the sensor being dirty (not seen with eye) and just flat-out bad sensors that cause all sorts of odd issues.

That's what I love about the internet. 25 years in the hobby and that's the first time I've seen a "siphon break" mentioned. Just ordered one on Amazon since I looked but can't find the part in my leftover parts pile.

Thanks.

 

[RoanokeReef]

That's what I love about the internet. 25 years in the hobby and that's the first time I've seen a "siphon break" mentioned. Just ordered one on Amazon since I looked but can't find the part in my leftover parts pile.

Thanks.

At least you'll be able to fill your ATO reservoir more now

 

[Zydan777]

I am using the red sea ATO. In the app there is an option to put a delay start on it so that it does not kick in right away after I turn it back on. If you do not configure it right it will start kicking in before the sump levels back out and will dump water into the tank. Also depending on the red sea system you have you can adjust the ATO sensor. I have the G2 system and it has a built in attachment for the ATO sensor. There are 2 positions. Also in the app you need to configure the ATO hose length and height. I believe that part is sued to determine how strong the pump kicks and and duration before the sensor says it is good