ATO question

[EMUreef]

Alright my current ATO set up is well right now the poor mans way.
I have my RKL just have a pump turn on and off at a specific time for a certain amount of time, it sorta does the job.

i know i know...get the RKL float switch kit.. im working on it.

I have a 5.5g tank sitting next to my sump where i hold my ATO water.
Now i wanna streamline this more, so i dont have to fill the tank up, i wanna cut that out all together.

whats my best option? use something like this
http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/SP-PA-8600-005.html

with my RO Unit? With something like that do i have to drill the side of the glass for that? Anyone got some input in how i can set this up.

[spartyblaze]

To the best of my understanding - if you want to run an auto cut off from your RO directly to the ATO reservoir, you need a solenoid and then an ATO float switch in your sump to signal the need for the water to move from the 5.5g to your tank.

Are you using gravity or a pump to move the water?

You can get an mechanical float switch if you're using gravity. If you are going to use a pump - you can get any type of ATO that uses a float switch to power an outlet. I'd suggest one that uses a snail guard and has a backup float... because wet floors are not very fun.

I bought all the pieces to try to make this happen, just haven't had time to do it and test my theory out yet.

[EMUreef]

To the best of my understanding - if you want to run an auto cut off from your RO directly to the ATO reservoir, you need a solenoid and then an ATO float switch in your sump to signal the need for the water to move from the 5.5g to your tank.

Are you using gravity or a pump to move the water?

You can get an mechanical float switch if you're using gravity. If you are going to use a pump - you can get any type of ATO that uses a float switch to power an outlet. I'd suggest one that uses a snail guard and has a backup float... because wet floors are not very fun.

I bought all the pieces to try to make this happen, just haven't had time to do it and test my theory out yet.


Hm good idea about the solenoid and float switch, didn't think about that.
As far as pumping water from the ATO tank to the sump, i just use a pump, to pump to it. Digital aquatics makes a dual float switch kit that hooks up to the RKL so ill be using that once i get money.

any idea where i get this solenoid to do what i want?

[EMUreef]

doing some research i found a guy using a sprinkler solenoid valve.
which seems to be the safer route than using just the floater thing.

[henry hill]

Your asking for trouble, sooner or later something is going to fail on you and your either going to loose l/s or have one big mess on your hands. Its happen to all of us, some more than once!! Im going to be buying Reeferrobs top off next week. Water goes down an inch and it fills it backup an inch, pump shuts off. Im going to program my R/K to only power the pump 1-2 minutes, just incase there is some sort of problem when Im not around. Just an extra safety precaution.

[spartyblaze]

I bought one similar to this on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/AUTO-SHUTOFF-KIT-FLOAT-VALVE-REVERSE-OSMOSIS-RO-DI_W0QQitemZ270436765455QQcategoryZ46308QQcmdZView ItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26i ts%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%25 2BUFI%26otn%3D15%26pmod%3D140495091827%26ps%3D63%2 6clkid%3D6066899195983536137

Seems pretty simple to put together. Make sure the one you get doesn't have any metal in it, I noticed some of them do.

The Autotopoff.com ATO is pretty solid and affordable too. I've been running one for about 8 months without problems.

[EMUreef]

Your asking for trouble, sooner or later something is going to fail on you and your either going to loose l/s or have one big mess on your hands. Its happen to all of us, some more than once!! Im going to be buying Reeferrobs top off next week. Water goes down an inch and it fills it backup an inch, pump shuts off. Im going to program my R/K to only power the pump 1-2 minutes, just incase there is some sort of problem when Im not around. Just an extra safety precaution.

where am i asking for trouble? What part is wrong to you?

my plan hopefully soon is going to be.

Use DA's Float switch kit that attatches to RKL.
Also the built in timmer function to control ATO pump to only have power for a certain amount of time.

Get a sprinkler solenoid ( i saw someone use one) inline with my ATO to control open and close of the drain into the ATO tank.
Use float switch to control solenoid.
Put Solenoid on a timer to control when the solenoid has power.

how's that sound?

[henry hill]

If you have a large water volume I would say that doing it the way you are right now is one of the safest methods there is. If you worried about the hassle of filling your resevoir, put a brute in the basment and pump up to the sump. This way when your topping of the res and the float sticks it will go into the floor drain till u catch it if there is a problem.

[Rabidgoose]

I don't know the particulars of your RO unit...but why not Tee off your product line and run it to the 5 gal. with a float switch.