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ATO recommendation

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
With the summer coming and the fact we are taking our honeymoon in October we were thinking about adding an ATO unit to our 30 g tank. The tank has a 250w MH pendant and an open top so evaporation has been a problem. Also, if we add a fan I know this will add to evaporation. I have been looking into ATO units and I would like to buy an all in one system. We are both terrible with any sort of building/engineering and know nothing about pumps, tubing, drilling, or anything of that sort. We are basically the anti-DIY reefers because we know we would come home to a flood/fire. So what is the best all in one system out there?
 
I am not sure if the system I got will work well for your tank. Without looking for your thread if you have a sump I would recommend the Reef Fanatic it works great ... I have the duel sensors setup in the sump one is the "on" float and the other is the "OH CRAP" off float. You can also put one in the tank and one in the water reservoir in case you are worried about running the pump without water. I am using a Toms Aqualifter. Works great for me. I know that the long term life expectancy of the little pump isn't great but works great so far.

Setup took about 20 minutes and the airline tube used by the pump is easy to thread through the walls ect.

For sure you will be happy to have an ATO.

Good luck.
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
I do not have a sump but was going to setup a 10 g as a reserve to pump the water out of. I do like the idea of the OH CRAP turn off valve, none of us are perfect.
 
+1 for the Reef Fanatic, it works great. I've got one of those 55 gallon drums in the basement and pump up to the tank with a Little Giant pond pump. The drum usually lasts about a week.
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
The reef fanatic at this point is the winner for me. Now, my main question is what type of pump would I hook up to it? Basically it is going into a 10 gallon reservoir and will only be moving water up about 4 feet so I don't think I need too much. Any opinions would help.
 
I have two different pumps one Toms Aqualifter...about as cheap as you can get(aware that sometimes they die on ya but the cost at 10 bucks its all good), and one powerhead type pump that I use for water changes. Two buckets one RO and one SW and just unplug the top off plug in the salt water and pump it in. I do drain some water before I plug in the refill pump. No time at all for top off and cut my water change time in half.
 
D

Deleted member 10862

Guest
ive had my jbj ATO for a few months now..and it has been working perfect
 
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