A.t.o.

[iceemn360]

lived mine since i got it last month..... ahhhh no more top offss ..... sit back and relax!

[Chanas4]

did it get wet? the unit is not water proof

Hmm could be..hubby was maintaining my tank while I was gone for a week. I shallhave to ask if there was a flood or something. It was working when I left

[odysseysteve]

Thank you for posting your experince with this ATO unit. I have been wondering which one I am going to buy and your story sealed the deal. I am going with the TUNZE Osmolator Universal 3155. It costs a lot, but looking at how much I already have invested, it seems like money well spent. It has an optical sensor that is supposed to be bullet proof, along with a float activated back up.

Sorry to hear about your troubles but thanks again for posting your story!

[jhAWK21]

Good luck bro... Let me know if this rook can help...

[Live Water Aquariums]

Has anyone had any problems with this unit that was not running kalk with it?

[Chanas4]

Has anyone had any problems with this unit that was not running kalk with it?

Im not running kalk with mine

[JAHGYDI]

kalk shoudnt affect anything but the pump

[DaveMorris]

I use a top off switch that I purchased from Spectrapure. It has no floats to get stuck, nothing that needs cleaning, and has been rock solid for a year. It has a tube that goes in the sump and it works on air pressure. As the water level goes down, it changes the air pressure in the tube and that triggers a relay to turn on my MJ900. It is very simple and only cost $50 or so.

[RussM]

My JBJ ATO has been in service for a year and a half, and has worked flawlessly. Cleaning the float switches periodically is a must though! I clean mine every 3-4 months with a white vinegar soak and gentle work with a soft toothbrush. I run it in "B" (min/max) mode, and it reliably maintains the water volume in my sump within about 1/3". Mine controls a QO800 pushing RO/DI water from a 18g resevoir under the tank.

The unit does have a safety time-out feature that needs to be set properly for your setup... I suspect that many people don't bother because it involves opening up the unit and adjusting a potentiometer, and then some experimentation to find the right setting. The time-out setting is adjustable between about 3 minutes and about 14 minutes. So, to effectively use this, use of a pump with a relatively low flow rate is critical. I initially used a AquaLifter when I had it in my 30g reef. In order for the ATO to allow enough time for the pipsqueak Aqualifter to move enough water, I had to set the time-out near max. Now it's on a 120g, and the time-out is set to minimum. So, with that setting and the flow rate of the QO800 pump, even if the high-level float switch fails or sticks, it won't dump more than 7-8 gallons in, which won't overflow my sump or cause a huge change in salinity.

BTW... if the time-out feature kicks in, the ATO unit will not do anything until power is cycled or the mode switch is toggled.

[Chanas4]

Oh Lordy you guys (Russ and Dave) are sounding very high tech and complicated for my poor brain. :-) It is easier forme to just buy another (which I did) because I did like the simplicity of set up of the JBJ. I think I have only had mine for 6 momths though