I have an off-brand ATO with two float valves that I was talked into buying when I set up my tank. I should have stuck with the tunzi osmolator. Anyhow, I got my salinity up to 1.025 last week and now it's back down to 1.023 again. The only thing I can figure is that my float valves aren't functioning properly and are dumping too much water in. Or is it my mistake because I don't turn off my ATO when I feed my tank? Although it seems like that wouldn't matter because when the return pump kicks on the water level is going to come back down to where it was in the first place. Thoughts?
What ATO do you use?
- Thread starter Dmac
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Tunze 3155 on my big tanks and autoaqua micro ato on small tanks
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Tunze 3152 on 2 smaller tanks. Tangent decided on larger yet. Must likely tunze. Have been very reliable.
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I use a Tunze 3155 on both my systems. However, my filter sponge can also get clogged which drops the level in the return section and causes the ATO to add water prematurely. Any possibility that's happening to you?
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Tunze
What's your total system volume? That's a good amount of salinity change in 1 week. Are you tossing a lot of water from a skimmer cup? If your ATO float switch is in the return section of your sump, turning off the return pump will make the water level rise in the sump rise and shouldn't cause your ATO to trigger.
For our setup we are using a Tunze pump with an in-line solenoid to prevent siphoning, an Arduino controller for the brains, and 2 float switches. The lower switch triggers the ATO to run for 30 seconds when down. If the upper float switch is ever raised, it cuts the power to the ATO circuit in case the lower float switch ever gets stuck in the down position to prevent an overflow.
For our setup we are using a Tunze pump with an in-line solenoid to prevent siphoning, an Arduino controller for the brains, and 2 float switches. The lower switch triggers the ATO to run for 30 seconds when down. If the upper float switch is ever raised, it cuts the power to the ATO circuit in case the lower float switch ever gets stuck in the down position to prevent an overflow.
Sump is 20\30 gallons. I use a refractometer but also used a digital meter as well.
My skimmer isn't even running. Thanks to my chaeto i had to turn it off
If you’ve checked salinity with a good backup & they both agreed, it’s not likely a bad measurement/device.
It sounds like you may have hanging float switch.
I don’t like them around salt water. Too much chance a salt deposit causes them to stick.
It sounds like you may have hanging float switch.
I don’t like them around salt water. Too much chance a salt deposit causes them to stick.
Exactly as @ichthyoid pointed out. The last question I’d ask is what type of float switch? Could you provide a photo (or a link to a similar looking switch online)?
some float switches are more likely to hang than others. Also, on a small tank, it really doesn’t need to hang very much in order to mess up salinity.
However, your average salinity should stay the same unless your water level changes and stays constant at the new level (or the switch is continually on or continually off). It may be as simple as you just need to reassess the ideal water line.
some float switches are more likely to hang than others. Also, on a small tank, it really doesn’t need to hang very much in order to mess up salinity.
However, your average salinity should stay the same unless your water level changes and stays constant at the new level (or the switch is continually on or continually off). It may be as simple as you just need to reassess the ideal water line.
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I use APEX ATO for large system and auto aqua for the smaller systems.
Does the level in your ATO reservoir suddenly drop? If it is pouring in overtime, have you been checking salinity daily? Has the volume in your system gone up? You should always know where your water level in your DT and sump are maintained. And any deviance from these levels should be an automatic visual cue to check for an issue. How is your ATO, reservoir, and RoDI container set up? I use tape to mark levels in various systems so that I have a visual cue for immediately noticing if something is off. It does sound like a hanging float switch to me as well. But if you monitor your levels visually just when checking your system everyday, you will catch those sorts of things earlier. Sometimes float switches get salt buildup on them and can be easily fixed by removing the buildup- something to check as part of routine maintenance. And the lower salt level can be slowly fixed and brought back up if desired.
Does the level in your ATO reservoir suddenly drop? If it is pouring in overtime, have you been checking salinity daily? Has the volume in your system gone up? You should always know where your water level in your DT and sump are maintained. And any deviance from these levels should be an automatic visual cue to check for an issue. How is your ATO, reservoir, and RoDI container set up? I use tape to mark levels in various systems so that I have a visual cue for immediately noticing if something is off. It does sound like a hanging float switch to me as well. But if you monitor your levels visually just when checking your system everyday, you will catch those sorts of things earlier. Sometimes float switches get salt buildup on them and can be easily fixed by removing the buildup- something to check as part of routine maintenance. And the lower salt level can be slowly fixed and brought back up if desired.
Yeah, that type of float switch hanged a lot on two of our old systems. There was never any visible buildup of salt, only than a thin microbial film that forms on everything aquatic.
I’ve seen float switches hang on their own.
Which is why I don’t use them. Once sensors without moving parts came out, I switched. If an optical sensor fails, it’s usually dirty.
A float switch might be appropriate as a fail safe sensor, like on the Apex ATK. Where it’s out of the water, unless something else fails.
Fwiw,
I’ve added extensions to the floats, which usually helps if done right.
At the price point hobbyists pay, the design, quality & reliability just isn’t there. I’ve done a lot of manufacturing process development during my career and the sensors we used were often hundreds to thousands of dollars. Even then, we sometimes had problems with float switches.
Which is why I don’t use them. Once sensors without moving parts came out, I switched. If an optical sensor fails, it’s usually dirty.
A float switch might be appropriate as a fail safe sensor, like on the Apex ATK. Where it’s out of the water, unless something else fails.
Fwiw,
I’ve added extensions to the floats, which usually helps if done right.
At the price point hobbyists pay, the design, quality & reliability just isn’t there. I’ve done a lot of manufacturing process development during my career and the sensors we used were often hundreds to thousands of dollars. Even then, we sometimes had problems with float switches.
If you are only using a couple of gallons of the ATO reservoir a week and this has been unchanged during the time period your salinity dropped, there must be another Explanation for the salinity drop. Did you do a water change during this time period? Or if you use a glass or acrylic cover for evaporation prevention, did you have a large accumulation of salt on or near your lids of significant quantity to drop your salinity in your system? While covered lids are great for evaporation control, the downside is that salt will remain displaced while the water goes back in the system. For larger systems, this is not an huge issue, for smaller systems, this might cause problems. And you have to be consistent and push that salt back in the system.
