ATO help

I'm looking to get some sort of ATO for my sump. My sump is rather small (10g with 3 compartments), therefore my return section gets a little low faster than I'd like.

I don't have much room to spare in the stand where the sump is. My first idea was to have a 5 gallon bucket next to the tank with RO water with a pump in it that would feed the sump--the problem is I would only need the pump turned on for about 5-10 seconds everyday. Do they make digital timers that only turn on for that amount of time? I'd like to go this route but don't know if it's possible.

I also saw links for a JBL unit which look interesting or the Eshopps float valve. The JBL is quite expensive but does have some save guards I like.

JBJ Automatic Top Off (A.T.O.) System Water Level Controller

Aquarium Maintenance & Plumbing: Eshopps Auto Top Off Float Valve

 

I would buy or make a real auto top off, I wouldn't trust the timer but I'm sure they do make them for those intravels.

 

i have the jbj ato. it works great. but you will need to get a small pump for it. so add 15.00 to that cost.

and the other one you show i believe is just a float valve, not really sure how that works? maybe on water pressure from an ro system? gravity feed?

anyway heres an idea i seen. someone had there ato water in a rattan basket with a lid sitting next to the tank. this way it wasnt an eye sore.

 

The JBL looks nice, but carries a heavy price tag. Does the pump plug into the JBL unit and turns it on when needed? What pump do you use with it?

I believe the Eshopps is just gravity feed. Cheap, but not sure if I could go that route with the limited space I have.

 

The best option is to have an ATO, except have it on a timer. For example, I have a BlueLine Tsunami AT-1, and it's on a timer for 2 minutes every 6 hours. That way, it can never flood the tank if it gets stuck on.

A timer alone is a bad idea; evaporation isn't always going to be a constant rate. If the humidity changes from day to day (guaranteed to happen often), you're going to evaporate a different amount of water each day. Temperature of the air around the tank will have an effect, too.

 

I thought about that because I'm in Wisconsin and we have quite the weather changes. It would need some tweakying for sure. The JBL is a nice unit.

 

i have used 2 types of pumps with the jbj any pump will work. yes the pump plugs into the unit. right now im using the aqua lifter pump 3.5 gph. its a very slow pump. because im dosing kalk with my ato at this time.

i can tell you the jbj has 2 sensors one to place in the sump one for the ato water. also has a feature to turn the pump off after 3 minutes it is i believe. this will stop a flood from happening with a stuck sensor.
its very precise and will keep your salt level spot on. since it turns on several times a day when the water drops slightly in your sump.

the second sensor thats in the ato water turns the pump off if there is no water in the ato reservoir. this will save your pump if you forget to fill the ato reservoir

 

I know the Tunze unit is significantly more money. But it's the one I have had. Its a great unit with optical sensor for low level and a float sensor for over fill sensor. It also have a built in timer that only allows water top off for 5 minutes. Come with a pump

J

 

from what i have read the tunze comes with the pump. i have read good things about the tunze's ato system. only bad thing i read i didnt like was if the pump goes bad you have to buy their replacement pump. and cant use just any pump with it.

 

I also use the Tunze and love it. The pump is a type of dosing pump, making it better than normal pumps. I have my bucket higher than my sump and no siphon is formed. When it turns off, your water flow stops as well. You can use other pumps with the tunze as long as you know how to wire things properly.

As far as other ATO devices, no matter what you choose, you want something that has at least 2 sensors for fail safe set-up. I am not a fan of the JBJ ATOs just because i don't like JBJ.

A good pump for an ATO system is the Tom's Aqualifter.