JBJ ato?!

I bought the JBJ auto too off system for my nano 20 gallon tank I have it on mode A
One sensor in the tank the other in the reserve it has been working fine for two weeks then all of a sudden today I walk into my room just as it turns on (lucky for me) and it didn't stop and over flooded the tank!

There was water everywhere! Lucky I was there before any major damage was done.

I don't know what went wrong and I need this auto top off system to work

I did some tests afterwards and idk what wrong but it was taking 7 seconds from when the sensor went up until the pump turned off!

Help please!!

 

What pump are you using with it. If you have to fast of a pump this might happen. It's why I use a Tom's aqua lifter with mine.it's a show pump and can run dry with no harm. And since it runs slow you can catch it before any major dmg is done

 

I had a JBJ ATO that would not work right from the beginning. Fortunately, my problem was it turning off prematurely rather that sticking on. The auto time out circuit was faulty. I went back to gravity feed that has never failed, but I would never run an ATO that uses float switches again. To me, it's just asking for trouble. I went with a Tunze on my quarantine tank that uses an optical sensor and it's not failed me yet.

 

This is what mine does... I have to unplug it/plug it back in every day to every other day... frustrating for sure.

 

Similar experience. My JBJ got thrown away for its uselessness and I use a Tunze w/optical sensor and it has never failed in 5 years. Well, I did once have the optical sensor go out, so that's a complete lie. I noticed the water getting slightly low so it's the opposite problem you had. Tunze had me send the unit in. They fixed it and sent it back. If I remember right, they only had me pay shipping. That failure was about 4 years in. I'd rather it fail so I have to manually top off for a few days than fail so that I have a mess to clean up.

 

All I can say is.... Ba Ha Ha

That optical sensor will work fine, until you forget to clean the lens, build up, and opps

Gravity is one of our best/least exspensive friends.

An ATO for a 20g? Couldn't you just add a cup or two every day? Maybe your gone for 3+ days at a time, often?

 

this is the issue i am having right now.
what ato optical sensor do you guy use?

 

I suppose. I cleaned it fairly regularly, just a quick wipe w/a tissue about every 3 months or so. When it does fail due to not being cleaned, it will fail thinking the tank is full, not empty. A float can fail from not being cleaned and think the tank is empty (it can fail either way really), which is worse IMO.

 

Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155 - Bulk Reef Supply

 

I also had a JBJ ATO that acted retarded from the start...I was using an Aqua Lifter with it. I tried everything...mode A, mode B, switching the sensors. It was like the Aqua Lifter was possessed and would keep filling my sump even though the pump light was off. I was about to send the stupid thing back, but called customer service first. Shockingly, my call was answered by a real human and not a phone tree!

The guy said they had had problems with the ATO system using the Aqua Lifter, so for the people who have one that works fine with the Aqua Lifter, be happy! He recommended using a small submersible pump with a low flow rate and using option B (two sensors, one as a max setting and one as a minimum setting). I found a cheap little submersible pond pump at 60 GPH and dialed down the flow rate to the lowest setting. So far, it has worked fine. BUT, after I get done spending $$$$$$$$$$ on my upgrade, I'm getting the Tunze!