Tom's Aqua Lifter question

[MKLKT]

Originally Posted by mike31154

Bingo to this. With raised reservoir you won't need any electrical gizmos, just a simple mechanical float valve. Simple & much less to go wrong.

I had originally thought this but also through researching it all it seems that any type of ATO is quite prone to errors whether gravity feed or electrically controlled. I'm thinking I'm just going to build a higher shelf and have it gravity only.

[mike31154]

Like I said, simpler is better for ATO and gravity feed is about as simple as it gets. The only real failure scenario is the mechanical float valve. With any kind of electrical set up you're adding more failure modes. Every pump, electric float switch, controller etc. can each fail and even a power outage will put it out of commission. The trick is to size your reservoir reasonably so that it will keep your system topped up for about a week (or however long you need when on vacation) so in the event of float valve failure (open) you won't have a major flood or change in water paramaters. The other failure mode of course is that the float valve gets plugged & doesn't top up. I run a variation of the gravity feed with an air pump on a timer pressurizing a glass container to push the water through a mechanical float to my display since I don't have a sump and not feasible to have elevated reservoir. If I could I would. My improvised system has worked trouble free for well over two years.

[syncro]

Just wanted to give credit to mike31154 for the gravity ato - i heard it from him first.

[MKLKT]

Got the gear for a gravity ATO, although I have to DIY the reservoir with a connector so I'll post the results once I've got it up and running. Thanks for the input guy/gals.

[MKLKT]

Made my ATO with an Eshopps float valve and quick connect nozzle from J&L and a trash basket + garden hose "bulkhead" from Walmart. Sealed the bulkhead with RTV sealant and after letting it cure I had a grand total of a day to set it to the right level and test for leaks before I left for a week to Fort St. John.

The water level in the final baffle drops about a gallon when the skimmer turns on during the night cycle and if I put the float at the standard "good" level it causes it to over-fill during the night so I put the float about 1" lower than what the optimal amount is. Had the neighbours feed the fish and top up the ATO bucket while I was gone. I can happily say that it worked perfectly! I think it cost $30-$40 to make and holds 20Gal of top-up if necessary. All the critters are alive and well including a handful of new additions from the day before I left.

[Lampshade]

Nice setup, seems to have worked out well.

Sounds close to what i have, walmart buckets and a couple kent float valve's. I have mine being filled with an RODI, so I added mine at a height pretty close to the sump, enough that if my tank float valve fails open (which may happen one day with salt buildup, etc.) The resivior bucket will only fill until the sump is at near max, the height of the float in the Resivior. Only issue with this is that my RO unit has to stay on(or be turned on once a day) since the resivior level's only a few inches above the fill level in the tank.

[MKLKT]

Here's what the ATO setup looks like, I wrote 20 gal above but I meant quarts:

[mike31154]

Very fine job, simple, functional. Did you DIY the acrylic bracket for the float? If so, that's amazing & a detailed description/photos of that process would be greatly appreciated. It's much more elegant & adjustable than my own effort.

[Coleus]

I am using the Tom Aqua lifter for my ATO with check valve to prevent back syphon. It is still going strong for 2 years

[MKLKT]

Originally Posted by mike31154

Very fine job, simple, functional. Did you DIY the acrylic bracket for the float? If so, that's amazing & a detailed description/photos of that process would be greatly appreciated. It's much more elegant & adjustable than my own effort.

The bracket comes with the Eshopps float valve, the only issue I had with it is that the bracket U isn't wide enough for even a stock Allglass edge, I had to use a box cutter to cut a tab out of the lip. Other than that the bracket is awesome, easy to adjust and holds really solid with nylon bolts.