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[sgt_slaughter]

I have a 125 and am getting a little tired of the amount of time i am spending on adding water.
Frustration leads to innovation and I want to build an ATO but i have more research to do. Does anyone have any good links or info where i can study up?
My current plan is to have a 30 gal in the basement with a pipe up to the tank. The tank will have a float switch, or something, and presto. But it's the "or something" that has me confused.
How does a float switch work?
I assume I'll need a pump to get water up to the tank, (1 floor = 15 - 20 feet). But how does the float switch get the pump to turn on, or more importantly to turn off so that the pressure doesn't build up in the line, or the pump goes bad, etc.

 

[dvara78]

I just went the JBJ ATO route...bout $100 and it's a life saver.

 

[cjsparky]

Lazy, lazy, lazy...

Hey Sgt. At least you don't have to carry the buckets up 2 flights of stairs!!!



CJ

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Normally what happens, in basic terms is this....inside the float switch is a piece of metal. Inside the shaft that the float switch sits on is a magnet. When the two come together, they complete a circuit which allows power to flow to your pump. Most good ATOs have two float swithes....one that closes the circuit so that power flows then a second that disconnects power at a certain level so that no power can flow as long as water is that high.

The JBJ's are good units. You can also go to autotopoff.com. I'm sure there are videos out there that explains this in more detail.

 

[sgt_slaughter]

Awesome, thanks guys!! Cjsparky, yeah I thought of you when I wrote this... is that weird? ;-)

 

[cr500_af]

+1 on the JBJ. There are a lot of DIY ones out there, but the problem I see with them is that you are routing all of the 120v current through the float switch (which has TINY wires). I used one for a while, but eventually it started throwing voltage. The JBJ is doing a good job. I also considered the Reef Fanatic one (that Keen Reef sells) but didn't find a lot of feedback on them. I was still probably going to buy that one, until a used JBJ came along.
My original plan was a "high end" unit, between the Tunze Osmolator or the Elos unit. Finally I decided that I didn't have tons of excess money in my tank fund and that a simpler one would serve well.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Just to clarify.....120v does not go to the float switch. Most ATOs that I am aware of only use 12v applications.

 

[cr500_af]

porpoiseaquatics;503184 wrote: Just to clarify.....120v does not go to the float switch. Most ATOs that I am aware of only use 12v applications.

Not in the DIY plans that are floating around. They use the float switch to make/break the hot lead to the pump... which is precisely why I got rid of the DIY one and bought a "real" one.

 

[dan3949]

Aquahub.com is another excellent source for DIY ATO parts and info. For DIY, you should use a relay to prevent 120V going through the float switch (good discussion of this at the aquahub.com site).

ATO is an easy, fun DIY project. Go DIY, save $75, and get a nice coral instead.

 

[rolo65]

I got a ATO from autotopoff.com......bout 55$ for the double float switch one.....easy to install and works great.....gonna need one hell of a pump to run water that high just for a ATO......

 

[cr500_af]

dan3949;503440 wrote: Aquahub.com is another excellent source for DIY ATO parts and info. For DIY, you should use a relay to prevent 120V going through the float switch (good discussion of this at the aquahub.com site).

ATO is an easy, fun DIY project. Go DIY, save $75, and get a nice coral instead.

At the risk of threadjacking, I did mine with a relay (8-pin industrial type) out of concern for safety. It ended up throwing voltage anyway (quite a lot, actually) so I ditched it. The relay was far from the water (so no salt creep problems), so I don't really know what the problem was.

 

[sgt_slaughter]

rolo65;503441 wrote: I got a ATO from autotopoff.com......bout 55$ for the double float switch one.....easy to install and works great.....gonna need one hell of a pump to run water that high just for a ATO......

Yeah, i figured this could easily be the most expensive part of my ATO. Just trying to figure out which pump will actually work.
Heck, maybe I'll have some left over to sell? ;-)

 

[brianjfinn]

I use one of the smaller MJ's hooked up to my JBJ ATO unit. It only takes about 10 seconds to fill it. If you're filling into a sump that's on the same level as your top off water, you should be able to use an aqualifter. Cheap and will do the job. If you're filling into the DT (like I am) you'll need something with more power, like the MJ's

 

[vince1357]

+1 on Aquahub.com, got my kit from them work great.