ATO. I need help picking one.

[Fat Tony]

Complicated... 2 relays, 4 float switches and a solenoid valve... really fairly simple... BTW, mine is much more complex that than... I drew this particular schematic and layout for EC

Here's mine... the schematic is actually incorrect, I need to redo it as the wiring changes a bit after i started building it

[chrisd]

i have to agree with tom for $185 for the tunze its a good price for your sanity. but you can not hook it up to your tank or rodi not if you add any supplement ( kalk or reef builder) has to be mixed.

[Elegance Coral]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

It won't put ammonia in the tank, it will however put higher TDS water into your tank.

How does that work? The water right out of my DI has zero TDS. The longer it sits, the higher the TDS gets.

[Elegance Coral]

Thanks for all the help everyone.

I have a 5gl DIY ATO right now. It's safe, but I have to mix the kalk and fill the tank manually. Not my idea of a good time.

The Tunze will not work for me. I don't want a holding tank, and the water must pass through a kalk reactor before going to the sump. There can't be any float switches or valves in the water line after the kalk reactor.

What do you think about this..... I get the double float switches and a solenoid from autotopoff. com. I install the switches in the sump and the solenoid before the RO/DI. Then I get a single float switch, and one of the solenoids that remain open when there is no power and closes when it is energized. I mount the single float switch above the water line in the sump, and the second solenoid before the first one. This way if something fails with the first set up, the second one will shut the system down. Any thoughts?

Tony, you have an awesome ATO, but for that price, I could hire someone to sit next to the tank with a bucket of water and a teaspoon.

[Fat Tony]

usually as the RODI sits it will have TDS creep and the TDS (due to the ion exchange of the resin back to the semi corrosive RODI water) will climb slightly. Either way, you will want to have a reservoir for the RODI unit to fill instead of plumbing it directly into your system. That way you have a safety mechanism and if the RODI sticks on for some reason, it doesn't flood your tank and drop you salinity, it just floods the reservoir. Also, RODI units are meant to run for batches of water and do not like continuous on off cycling.

[Fat Tony]

Originally Posted by Elegance Coral

Thanks for all the help everyone.

I have a 5gl DIY ATO right now. It's safe, but I have to mix the kalk and fill the tank manually. Not my idea of a good time.

The Tunze will not work for me. I don't want a holding tank, and the water must pass through a kalk reactor before going to the sump. There can't be any float switches or valves in the water line after the kalk reactor.

What do you think about this..... I get the double float switches and a solenoid from autotopoff. com. I install the switches in the sump and the solenoid before the RO/DI. Then I get a single float switch, and one of the solenoids that remain open when there is no power and closes when it is energized. I mount the single float switch above the water line in the sump, and the second solenoid before the first one. This way if something fails with the first set up, the second one will shut the system down. Any thoughts?

Tony, you have an awesome ATO, but for that price, I could hire someone to sit next to the tank with a bucket of water and a teaspoon.

That's the beauty of the system I drew up for you on the previous page, no valves or switches that the kalk mix will run through. You really need a reservoir for your RODI to fill to and then pump from there through the kalk reactor. It is better on the RODI and it is a safety feature so you don't wipe out your tank from a fluke electrical failure or something. You need 4 float switches to turn on/off the RODI and ATO and 1 solenoid and a small pump like a maxijet to feed into the kalk reactor.

My system is not just an ATO, its also a waterchange loop to where I can do waterchanges without any pumps or buckets

[trishy711]

Hey Tony, Thats one heck of an ATO you got going on there $$$.

I want to build an ATO as well, but is it possible for me to just fill up 5-10 gallon buckets with pre mixed RO/Di water with Kalkwasser (Fill them up as i need it) and have some kind of a float switch mechanism that just pumps it in my sump as i need it , Or does it have to go through a Kalk Reactor to dose Kalk for ATO water ? I don't want to pump it in too fast so what kind of pump would i need ?

Thanks

[Fat Tony]

Thanks.. it's still a work in progress. I wouldn't suggest pumping it, I would still continue to drip it, Kalk when added too fast can have some really negative side effects.

[Elegance Coral]

Thanks again for all the help. I've been working 12 to 16 hours a day and haven't had time to respond. Sorry about that.

I have another question. Once I install the ATO, how do I get water for water changes? The RO/DI won't come on unless the reservoir is low.

[Fat Tony]

Put a tee in the line feeding the RODI reservoir (make sure that it between the RO unit and the solenoid that controls the flow of water to the reservoir) with a JG ball valve to be able to turn the RODI on seperate from the rest of the system.

[Elegance Coral]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

Put a tee in the line feeding the RODI reservoir (make sure that it between the RO unit and the solenoid that controls the flow of water to the reservoir) with a JG ball valve to be able to turn the RODI on seperate from the rest of the system.

In other words, I need a pressure switch that turns the RO/DI off when I close the discharge valve from the RO/DI, correct? Right now I have to turn the feed water on and off to control my RO/DI.

[Fat Tony]

I still recommend it closing it manually. You will know when you need water

Do you have an auto shutoff on your RODI unit?

[Elegance Coral]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

I still recommend it closing it manually. You will know when you need water

Do you have an auto shutoff on your RODI unit?

No. That's why I have to control it by turning the feed water on and off. I was going to install the solenoid for the ATO before the RO/DI, but to hook it up like you describe, I will need a pressure switch/auto shutoff hooked to the RO/DI, correct?

[Fat Tony]

yes, get an auto shutoff for the RODI and use the solenoid after the RODI. I still turn mine off manually.

[Elegance Coral]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

yes, get an auto shutoff for the RODI and use the solenoid after the RODI. I still turn mine off manually.

You turn what off manually? Are you talking about the feed to your salt mix tank, or something else?