Help, ATO for a BASIC setup?

[AwildcatsZ]

I have a very basic aquarium set up. It is a 29 gallon Aqueon glass tank, HOB protein skimmer, HOB refugium, HOB filter, couple of cheap power heads, and an AI Hydra 26 HD. I do all of my dosing and topping off manually. I know its a very simple system, but everything is very happy and it works! But it could work better...

My girlfriend and I like to take weekend trips, which means we are away from our tank 4-5 days at a time. We have an automatic feeder, and usually have a friend stop by the apartment every other day, to top off the tank. This method works, but I am starting to think about the future and how we will continue to do this, especially if we cannot get someone to stop by.

Is there an ATO system that is built for our situation? Something that we can set up before we leave, and take down when we get back, WITHOUT the use of a full system controller. We have an RO/DI unit, so the water source is not a problem.

Any advice and experience would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mcarroll]

My BASIC ato when I stared was a piece of tape on the side of the sump.

I walked to the sump daily with a cup of water and topped it up to the tape line.

Later I got fancy and used the skimmer's air-intake to "pump" the water in for me. (...cleaning the air-intake of the skimmer in the process.)

It wasn't until much later (a year or two) that I retired that tape line and got an Ultralife Float Switch .....a basic reed-float-type ATO where you add a pump of your choosing.

I still like this ATO, but I think if I were replacing it I'd go with a Tunze Osmolator® or Osmolator® nano.

 

[mcarroll]

(No need to take it down when you get back, BTW. Everything will appreciate a stable salinity 100% of the time.)

 

[AwildcatsZ]

My BASIC ato when I stared was a piece of tape on the side of the sump.

I walked to the sump daily with a cup of water and topped it up to the tape line.

Later I got fancy and used the skimmer's air-intake to "pump" the water in for me. (...cleaning the air-intake of the skimmer in the process.)

It wasn't until much later (a year or two) that I retired that tape line and got an Ultralife ATO.....a basic reed-float-type ATO where you add a pump of your choosing.

I still like this ATO, but I think if I were replacing it I'd go with a Tunze these days....Either the full size or nano-model of their Osmolator.

I guess my worry, and real problem is, that I would have the ATO going directly into the display tank. There is no sump connected to this system.

I'm also unfamiliar with ATOs. Can I run an ATO without a controller? In my head im thinking of having a 5 gallon bucket of water next to the tank, a pump in the bucket, and a hose leading up to the tank. Can I purchase an ATO and do something like this?

 

[AwildcatsZ]

(No need to take it down when you get back, BTW. Everything will appreciate a stable salinity 100% of the time.)

I'd love to keep it up, but I do not have the space for all of the equipment... The dream is to one day have a "fish room" with a sump and all of the works, but for now thats just a dream.

 

[dragon99]

The Tunze ATO is 100% standalone. You can use anything you want to hold the water, a bucket is fine. Works fine going straight into a DT, assuming the water level is fairly steady, if you have strong waves at the surface it mighty get wonky.

 

[AwildcatsZ]

The Tunze ATO is 100% standalone. You can use anything you want to hold the water, a bucket is fine. Works fine going straight into a DT, assuming the water level is fairly steady, if you have strong waves at the surface it mighty get wonky.

Oh man, this is exactly what I'm thinking of! Ok, this gives me some hope! Thank you.

Now I can start to think about a way to always have a water reservoir near by, so I can have it set up 100% of the time...

 

[mcarroll]

I'd love to keep it up, but I do not have the space for all of the equipment... The dream is to one day have a "fish room" with a sump and all of the works, but for now thats just a dream.

An ATO doesn't really take up much space. Can you be specific about the limits you're referring to?

Like @dragon99 said, literally anything can be used to hold water – they make "bookshelf" jugs and every other oddball shape you could imagine.

So don't feel too limited, even if you don't have a lot of space!

(And honestly, whatever ATO your local dealer carries would probably be fine too.)