Tell me about your ATO Reservoir

[vtecintegra]

I built my own ATO (left) and sump (right). 3/8" acrylic. Last about a month at a time before needing a refill.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

I have a 5 gallon food grade white bucket from Lowes.

 

[doubleshot00]

I originally started with a 5 gallon bucket. Then switch to a square 5 gal jug.
Now i use a huge dog food container that holds about 8 gal of water. I hate filling up ato. Now only do it every 2weeks. On my nano i use a 2 gal bucket from lowes and only fill every 2-3 weeks.

Gamma2 Vittles Vault Pet Food Storage Container, 35 Pounds,Off-white https://a.co/d/1REPTUC

 

[c_healy]

I’ve got three ten gallon reservoirs from bashsea. One for water, one for new saltwater and one for waste water. The only thing I would change is the size. I wouldn’t mind having twenty gallon reservoirs.

 

[Simplicity Aquatics]

I’ve got three ten gallon reservoirs from bashsea. One for water, one for new saltwater and one for waste water. The only thing I would change is the size. I wouldn’t mind having twenty gallon reservoirs.

How do you fill/empty these? Do you carry them while full to empty or to fill?

 

[afrokobe]

How do you fill/empty these? Do you carry them while full to empty or to fill?

I think there is a lid for them, the circular thing

 

[Reefer Matt]

Large sizes. Like 20-30 gallons for multiple tanks.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

 

[Dburr1014]

32 gallon brute.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

I need to get an ato. I get worried it will reverse on me though.... scared.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I need to get an ato. I get worried it will reverse on me though.... scared.

Reverse? Like siphon water out of your tank??

 

[c_healy]

How do you fill/empty these? Do you carry them while full to empty or to fill?

They have lids and I bring over a bucket and pour the contents in. To empty the waste reservoir, I have a small pump and hose.

 

[Not woodyarmadillo]

I have a small tank (14gallons) and this cheap little 2.5 gallon jug has been perfect. It fits my Tunze ATO pump perfectly through the hole and even has a smaller plastic piece that comes out of the center of the cap to run wires through. I am able to secure the lid still and keep evaporation and spilling to a minimum. The small container sits perfectly in the corner under my desk.

 

[Not woodyarmadillo]

Reverse? Like siphon water out of your tank??

This happened to me twice. Just keep your ato water line above your tanks water line.

 

[workhz]

Can you build us something that costs $300 out of $10 worth of acrylic? That's what most people seem to want. j/k.

I use a similar headpak to what a previous poster linked to. I like it as is. Would be nice if they came in more sizes both in capacity and shape but for $18 can't really beat it.

I do wish there was a better way to tell water level. I currently have a camera pointed at my ATOs so it relies on me to tell when they're low.

 

[Not woodyarmadillo]

Honestly, I think there’s a huge opportunity in the market here if someone could fill it. What I want in an ATO reservoir: Easy to fill, some kind of float or easy way to see water level, pretty good closure but able to fit any ATO pump and wires, look presentable in the open, and the big one… Be less than $100. I found some nice looking ATOs around $125 but I can’t justify spending $125-$300 on a water holder. If someone could hit the $75 price point or so for a 5-10 gallon while providing most of the above, I think they would sell a ton.

 

[Subliminal]

A really lovely Reef Crystal's bucket. Stylish and functional

Mine is a Home Depot bucket. ;-)

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Reverse? Like siphon water out of your tank??

yes exactly

 

[Not woodyarmadillo]

yes exactly

So both times this happened to me, it was when I turned the return pump off, so the water level was up in the rear chamber and the line was sitting in the water. 99% of the time this never happens but for some reason my pump did this but haven’t really heard about others having this issue. If you keep the ATO water line higher than where your water level is when the return pump is off, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Luckily, this only happened to me while I was working on the tank so I caught it pretty quickly. Having an ATO is a must long term in my opinion. I would do some research and buy a good quality one so you can feel confident that it won’t fail.

 

[Dom]

Hello Friends of Reef2Reef! I would like to hear about your ATO reservoir. What do you like? What do you dislike? What would be "ideal"? What do you look for in a reservoir and what type of reservoir would make your life easier? Help us help you the user with a product that will suit your needs!

The frequency in which I refill my ATO is most important to me.

My RODI storage is a 40 gallon Brute. I've tapped directly into the Brute and use a gravity feed with float valve. I can top off for over a month on one fill. Of course, I use it for water changes too, so it doesn't last that long.