Auto top off system needed!

Ive been looking on marine depot for an auto top off and was looking to go with the JBJ, but it has a lot of negative reviews, and for $100 it does not seem so pro. Then I found this site AutoTopoff.com i like that its pretty small, seems to be well built, seems a good value, and I think its pro. What do you guys think? Kepp in mine I have barely any room in my sump.

 

shameless bump

 

I used to have that one. It worked pretty well until it failed one night and soaked my carpet! I just bought a JBJ one because I read a lot of positive reviews. So who knows! Lol. Wow, that wasn't helpful at all!

Here's where I bought mine http://www.jbjchillers.com/contents/en-us/d754.html much cheaper and free shipping

 

Thanks KC!!!! I saw that the JBJ has the most reviews of anything out there. I read up on them and it just sounds like they are kinda hit and miss. 1 in 4 doesn't work. My plan is to get 2 ATO's one for my 55 sps and then im upgrading my 46 someday to be all pro and i dont want to break the bank. (i have an overflow and t5 light standing by for the last 2 months im just lazy. Plus with the natural reef contest my 7 year old tank thats never had a water change HAS to win right?)

 

My ATO is a simple gravity feed with a float valve. Gravity fed requires your reservior to be higher than your sump, which is a space consideration. I selected it simply because your can't get much more reliable than a single mechanical float valve. Eventually, I'll put a quarter inch solenoid in series and only open it for 30 minutes a day to give myself single failure tolerance, but it is awfully simple and doesn't cost much.

M

 

Top off

I cant really tell from the photos on autotopoff.com whether they are quality or not. You will be taking a risk. I personally chose the Coralvue 12v Top Off from Aquacave ($60). It required a bit of tinkering to make it perform properly but it is very small and seems to be reliable. In my limited experience (of repeatedly flooding my house), one should never skimp on anything having to to with pumping water or plumbing. <especially skimmers, bulkheads, and flimsy check valves.


"Friends don't let friends own siphon overflow boxes."

 

I had a single switch too and that's what failed me. I've learned to make sure the ATO has two switches in case of a failure. Waking up at 4am to a soaking carpet was not my idea of a good time!

 

I went with TUNZE. been using it for the last 6 moths without a hiccup.
A little expensive, but I like the piece of mind knowing that it is a quality unit.

Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155

 

I have one from Autotopoff.com.

I have the dual switch version. I run it on a timer and have 2 solenoids for super redundancy.

It has ran for almost 2 years now without a single cleaning of any part. It has performed flawlessly.

The switches used are the same switches that you will find most anywhere for this type of application. Nothing special about them. Just a very good kit, overall.

 

This works for me. Perhaps you can adapt it to your system.