ATO Reservoir too high - Here is what I Did

[al&burke]

I set up a 36 gallon tank for an ATO resevoir. The sump is 15 inches high and the resevoir is 17. This goes against the rules of an ATO - essentially if the reservoir is higher than the sump the ATO will continue to add water by natural siphon once the ATO pump is off. So i wanted a larger ATO that would last for more than 3 weeks (approximately) I added a 7 inch tall stub of 1" pvc pipe open top/bottom. Secured it very well to the sump and inserted the ATO supply line to the top of the 1" diamter pipe. So when the ATO pump shuts off the siphon is stopped because it is a lot higher than the height of the resevoir. Just thought I would share.

 

[cipher43]

Nice setup. May use this too if it works really nice

 

[al&burke]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cipher43 http:///forum/thread/385749/ato-reservoir-too-high-here-is-what-i-did#post_3384611
Nice setup. May use this too if it works really nice
So far so good, pump comes on fills sump then it shuts off, just remember the key is using a pipe that allows air to go in at the top with the hose in it.

 

[2quills]

It's genius in its simplicity. Good thinking. How much evap are you losing per day?

 

[al&burke]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/385749/ato-reservoir-too-high-here-is-what-i-did#post_3384763
It's genius in it's simplicity. Good thinking. How much evap are you losing per day?
Thanks Corey, I am monitoring it now i want to give it a few days - I am thinking about 1 to 1.5 gallons per day. i am hoping 37 gallons is enough for two to thre weeks. I keep the house about 68 or 70 - a lot cooler up here and the tank is at 78 all the time. HEre is a picture of how i attached the tube to the sump. Basically I took a 1" pvc pipe about 7 inches long, I jointed a flat on one side so I could crazy glue a 1 inch wide piece vertically to the pipe. Then I glued a flat piece on the bottom of the vertical piece so I could crazy glue it to the sump.

 

[2quills]

Hey Al, just currious but do you remember what count of mesh screen you are using on the scrubber? Is it 7 or 10 count?

 

[al&burke]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/385749/ato-reservoir-too-high-here-is-what-i-did#post_3384772
Hey Al, just currious but do you remember what count of mesh screen you are using on the scrubber? Is it 7 or 10 count?
It was the finest stuff Michael's Craft shop had. I just looked for a scrap piece but can't find it.

 

[2quills]

Cool, I'll take a look over there and see what they have. However many squares are in a square inch I believe is how they guage the screen count. Guessing you may have like a 12 count there possibly..

 

[tangs rule]

That's a nice setup Al&Burke! I may have to do somthing similar to my 475 project. . . how do you like your turf scrubber? am thinking of doing one of those too.....Won't we one day just be able to sit back and watch these things without some "to do" list lingering somehwere??/ lol

 

[al&burke]

Quote:
Originally Posted by tangs rule http:///forum/thread/385749/ato-reservoir-too-high-here-is-what-i-did#post_3384794
That's a nice setup Al&Burke! I may have to do somthing similar to my 475 project. . . how do you like your turf scrubber? am thinking of doing one of those too.....Won't we one day just be able to sit back and watch these things without some "to do" list lingering somehwere??/ lol
Thanks tangs rule, so far it is working great. I really like the turf scrubber - so far so good, really easy to make and run, just do yourself a favor and make the removal of it easy, so far mine has been good. I did a water test last night, seachem nitrites and nitrates, bearly turning pink so I have to say almost zero, however phosphates were a bit up at 0.2, didn't like that much. You are probably like me and many others on this site once everything is done you have to start something new. Thanks for looking my friend.