Diy ato

I know this isn't a new idea, but I don't think I've seen much written up about this. I finally finished my DIY siphon ATO today. For awhile now I've been running it with a small valve on airline running from a bucket. I got tired of regulating the drip rate almost daily and decided today that I would make it automated. I absolutely hate the idea of a float sticking, so I didn't want to go that way. After some research I found a design based completely on siphon and air pressure that, so far, seems pretty fool proof.

Here is how the basics of it work:

First you need a reservoir container that can be completely sealed. In this you will need to drill two holes in the top or the side near the top.

Through one of these hole you will put the siphon line. One end should be fastened to the bottom inside of the container, so it can maintain siphon even when the water level gets low. The other end of this hose will siphon water into the sump, so plan it's length accordingly.

Through the other hole in the reservoir put a piece of airline through about an inch inside. This end inside the reservoir should not be below the water line. The other end of this airline needs to be secured inside your return chamber with opening pointing strait down. Water level will be close to where you position the end of this tubing. I used silicon to attach mine.

Both holes in the reservoir should be sealed around the tubing. This container must remain airtight.

After all that's done all that's left to do is place the reservoir above your sump, fill it up, close the lid and start a siphon on the tubing going to the sump. If you container is airtight and everything is installed right it will now self regulate and keep your water level constant.

How it works:

At first I couldn't figure out why such a simple design would work, but after a little thinking on it, it became obvious why it works. Because the reservoir is sealed, air must come in before water can be siphoned out. This is why the other piece of airline is so important. As the siphon line pulls water from the reservoir it fills the return chamber up to the bottom of the second airline. This airline is the only way for air to get into the reservoir, so as soon as it is submerged no air can go in and thus no water can go out. As soon as the water level drops air seeps in allowing water to come out and refill the sump.

When I first set mine up it took awhile to get enough negative pressure in the reservoir for siphon to stop. I ended up with the water level about 1" about the end of the regulation airline. I also used a very long piece for this which may have contributed some to this. I hope this helps someone get their tank just a little bit easier to deal with.

 

Cool Idea....Mine is similar, except I use a kent float valve to regulate.

 

Elegant and inexpensive design. So to make sure I have this right the fill line ends above the water line? Or can it be below the water line?

 

I would keep it above the water line. I don't think it's possible for either line to siphon water up into the reservoir, but why risk it?

 

Have heard of anything like that except in the UFO areas.;D:

 

i came across similar designs a while ago. If you search for DIY gravity fed ATO on google you will find some.

Anyway, i started building myself one yesterday out of acrylic (to make the most of my space).
just watch out that the regulation airline does not move at all, other wise you could be looking for accidents

 

Excellent design my friend – good job.

I am rushed this morning so I did not read your post (sorry) – I looked that picture and the design is solid, provided you have a good seal on the reservoir. I’ll need to go back and read the post to see what you used in order to create the seal, I assume a threaded 6” cap or so from the plumbing isle at homedepot?

Did you install a ball valve on the water feed? I think that might come in handy when you want to fill the reservoir and not break the siphon and also not fill the tank too much when you are adding the new RO/DI to the reservoir.

 

what did you use for your reservoir container ?

 

I found this one a while back. It is the same concept, but kind of like making your own reliable float valve, very simple.

Ping ping ato. I think a piece of thin pvc piping or something similar to hold the ping pong ball in the tube would work.


This is just a simple float valve topoff. I have this same setup for my RODI. I plan on doing the same thing with my display. connecting a 5gal container to the a float valve and placing the float valve into the return chamber.

 

i saw the ping pong ball design in a forum some time ago. The guy who made it used it for a few months but decided to replace it. It seems that the rubber ring used to make a seal with the ball would not retain a 100% seal by that time

i do like the float valve version though. Is the opening big enough to let both air enter the container and the water that flows out?