Ato
 

Ok. I need some ideas for a cheap ATO system. I've got a small powerhead to be the pump and a canister to put the top off water in. I just need to work out the mechanics of the water level detector thingy. I know there are float switches and all that. I'm just not sure about how to incorporate them into my setup. Its only the level in the sump that fluctuates not in the display. I have a 10 gal sump/fuge/skimmer all in one with minima dividers....

I know I'm going to fix the sump setup soon too but that is easy.

I got my ATO float switches from autotopoff.com

Thanks mang! You always have the info!!! I'll check them out. Do you have any pix of your ATO setup. Mainly how you have those switches wired and afixed to the tank/sump/wherever?

You can see the two float valves underneath the fans in this picture. I don't have a sump, so they sit in the display tank. If you look in those full tank shots I posted yesterday, you can see them in the upper right corner of the tank.
[IMG]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t133/baronpsjosh/IMG_1000.jpg[/IMG]

The float switches are connected to a peristaltic pump that I bought from Marine Depot. The peristaltic pump is fed by a 5 gallon container of limewater underneath my tank. You could use any pump, it doesn't need to by anything special. I use a peristaltic pump b/c I don't want to dump too much limewater into the display too quickly.

Go with the tunze osmolator Best Money ever spent- So SO EASY!!! and reliable

Yeah $200 for an ATO is definately not an option. I think I'm gonna go with the autotopoff.com switches. For $39 I think it should solve the problem nicely. Plus since its in the fuge I can rig it with one of the powerheads as a pump. Will 1 switch do the trick or should I get the dual setup?

I would say get the dual just as a fail safe. Better safe than sorry.

i really like aqualifters for cheap&easy topoff pumps. they are only 12 bucks and give you a nice slow drip so you can dose kalk with it. plus it can use 1/4" poly for the intake and outlet hoses so it's really easy to route and mount. make sure you wire in a relay rather than pushing full 120v current through the float switches (even though they say they are rated for it). we tried that on reefdad's tank and bad things happened after a few months.

a nice step up if you can get lucky is a cheap lab-grade peristaltic off ebay. i've gotten a couple masterflexes for 35 bucks each.