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DIY ATO Auto Top Off for 40 bucks. Siphon method. Electronic free. :P

Discussion in 'I made this!' started by brew0688, Jul 26, 2011.

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NanaReefer Fu Manchu Lion Fish

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Jul 26, 2011

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Wish there was one that has some sort of lift capability. I have a HOB fuge

NanaReefer, Jan 9, 2012

NanaReefer, Jan 9, 2012

#31

Seano Hermano Giant Squid

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Northwest Ohio
What did you use to drill the hole for your ball valve/bulkhead?

Seano Hermano, Jan 14, 2012

Seano Hermano, Jan 14, 2012

#32
reefmonkey Giant Squid

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SE South Dakota
coylee_17 said: ↑

Moxtrain said: ↑

Mine also drew water up the air line. As a result I had to abandon the ATO as it was too unreliable. When water got sucked up the line it would presevent air from getting into the bucket and that means no topping off. I made sure there were no low spots in the line (thinking water would drain back out into sump, but it didn't), I played with the height of the bucket thinking less head would create less draw and maybe not suck the water or at least as much, up the line. No luck. If anyone has an ideas I'd be more than happy to try it out.
Click to expand...

Of course it's going to draw water from the sump up the airline. It's a vaccum. That's why the level of the air line determines the water level in the sump.
When the water level is dropped below the end of the air line the vaccum is broke, the water in the line drains back to the sump, air pressure inside the container is equalized and fresh water flows out filling the sump. When the water covers the airline, sump water is drawn up the line until a vaccum occurs and flow from container to sump is stopped.

Once the end of the airline is exposed it's physically impossible for the water inside the line to remain trapped.

I built one of these for my 90 because the return section is to small a space and float switches get burned quick by the magnetic field from the return pump.
Click to expand...

reefmonkey, Jan 14, 2012

reefmonkey, Jan 14, 2012

#33
coylee_17 Fire Goby

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Peterborough, Ontario, Can
reefmonkey said: ↑

coylee_17 said: ↑

Once the end of the airline is exposed it's physically impossible for the water inside the line to remain trapped.

I built one of these for my 90 because the return section is to small a space and float switches get burned quick by the magnetic field from the return pump.
Click to expand...

I know that the vacuum will draw the water up. I don't know what to tell ya but the water does stay in the line when the end is exposed. I would have to disconnect the air line from the top of the container to get it to drain out. And of course if I have to do this every morning it defeats the purpose of having an ato. I was thinking maybe a larger diameter hose would help. I was thinking the surface tension on the water in the 1/4" airline was holding the water in the line. So maybe say a 1/2" for the top line would allow the water to drain out better. But for now I just stick to manual top offs in the morning and afternoon.
Click to expand...

coylee_17, Jan 15, 2012

coylee_17, Jan 15, 2012

#34
skurious Sailfin Tang

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Cedar Rapids, IA
coylee_17 said: ↑

reefmonkey said: ↑

I know that the vacuum will draw the water up. I don't know what to tell ya but the water does stay in the line when the end is exposed. I would have to disconnect the air line from the top of the container to get it to drain out. And of course if I have to do this every morning it defeats the purpose of having an ato. I was thinking maybe a larger diameter hose would help. I was thinking the surface tension on the water in the 1/4" airline was holding the water in the line. So maybe say a 1/2" for the top line would allow the water to drain out better. But for now I just stick to manual top offs in the morning and afternoon.
Click to expand...

I am having this same issue at the moment. Top air line becomes exposed to air and the water stays in the line and doesnt break the vaccum. Im thinking that a larger tube should do the trick. if i figure something out i will post back.
Click to expand...

skurious, Jan 16, 2012

skurious, Jan 16, 2012

#35

sticksmith23 Giant Squid

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Greenville, SC
skurious said: ↑

coylee_17 said: ↑

I am having this same issue at the moment. Top air line becomes exposed to air and the water stays in the line and doesnt break the vaccum. Im thinking that a larger tube should do the trick. if i figure something out i will post back.
Click to expand...

I'm really curious to see if a larger tube works for you. I am thinking about doing something like this as well. ;D
Click to expand...

sticksmith23, Jan 16, 2012

sticksmith23, Jan 16, 2012

#36

Seano Hermano Giant Squid

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Skurious, are you just using the 1/4" airline tubing like Brew did?

Seano Hermano, Jan 16, 2012

Seano Hermano, Jan 16, 2012

#37
skurious Sailfin Tang

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Cedar Rapids, IA
Seano Hermano said: ↑

Skurious, are you just using the 1/4" airline tubing like Brew did?
Click to expand...

Yes, it works great for the water line, but the air line just gets water that wont come out without force. I think i will stop at the store on the way home and see what i can do.

skurious, Jan 16, 2012

skurious, Jan 16, 2012

#38
Moxtrain Peppermint Shrimp

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Sep 15, 2011

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Boise, Id
ok so a bunch of fooling around and I finally made my own. Took me a bit to make it work but I might be able to help a bit with some of the problems. It took me a bit of testing in my garage basin to make this work but I finally did. The keys I found to making this work (btw i'm using 1/4" ID tubing on both breather and drain line) were to make sure that your breather tube is all downhill between your reservoir and fuge. The downhill made a difference in the ease of the water travelling back out of the breather tube when the siphon breaks. The other thing that helped me was shortening the drain line a bit so that the tube was feeding the fuge from about 3" above the opening for the breather line. That prevented most of the uncontrolled back siphoning problem. Anytime my feeder line was below the opening for the breather line it was easier for the siphon to work backwards than forwards, so it started pulling fuge water up into reservoir from the breather (not that cool).

Moxtrain, Feb 26, 2012

Moxtrain, Feb 26, 2012

#39
drywall_guy87 Astrea Snail

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Feb 10, 2012

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Tampa,FL
nice hows everyones ATOS working not that its been awhile? did moxtrain save the day and figured out how to fix the kinks

drywall_guy87, Feb 28, 2012

drywall_guy87, Feb 28, 2012

#40

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