Reef Angel Forum

My next project is to set up a ATO for my sump.
I have an Aqua Lifter pump, and the 2 stock floats from the Reef Angel.

How do I go about setting up an ATO for my system?

I know I'll need a storage container, and the aqua lifter will go in that. Will a float go into that container and the sump. When the one in the sump hits a set value, it will automatically turn on the aqua lifter? And the float in the sump will just be to let me know what the level is so I can top it off as needed?

Thanks,

Steve

You can set it up like that,but typically when you are using a 2 float ATO one float will be set and the low point so when that gets low it will turn on the auto lifter and when it comes back up to the correct level it will turn off the Autolifter.

The 2nd one will be used and a fail safe so if the ATO Low gets stuck and doesn't turn off the pump then when the water level reaches the ATO high it will turn it off and not flood your house.

There is a post on here on how to set it up, but I can't find it now.

There's a few ways. The "StandardATO" function is as Steve described above.

So you have the high float switch and a defined timeout before the ATO is disabled. This way if your reservoir runs dry you won't be running the pump with no water.

Then there is the SingleATO function which is what you described. That would leave you to use the extra float switch to monitor your fresh water reserve. The SingleATO only has the timeout set so if the pump for some reason does not change the float switch in the alloted time, the ATO will get disabled and you will have an alert.

The timeouts are to prevent 5 gallons of water being dumped into your sump if a switch fails on you.

I would also recommend taking a look at the water level sensor. Either for your ATO usage or for your RO reservoir usage (or both with the multi-level sensor). The nice thing if you look at my banner, I can see exactly how much water is left in my reservoir and keep track of it a lot easier. I get alarms when it's lower than 10% full. I'm pretty sure I was close. I know I was 17% this morning...

I have two float switches wired in series going into one port.

The bottom one is set to normally open and the top one is set to normally closed (flip the float over). This way, if the bottom switch sticks it will shut down when the top one actuates. If the top one fails as well, the timeout would kick in.

Aqualifters are great for ATO as they can run dry with no problem at all. Mine does often.

--Colin