Say hello to my $20 ato

[ddc0715]

made this ato at a cost of 20 all i bought was the relay and new pump. I had all the other stuff laying around. Had to make another one more water friendly cause I was using two short extension cords for power and spilled water on the plug...not this time I used one 8' extension cord. Got a 12v buzzer on order and I'm going to wire it to another floatswitch and use as a sump waterlevel OH SH!% come quick alarm. Lol

 

[Redfoxtang]

Nice ingenuity!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[deividas]

tried to make this exact thing, got a different relay with too many ports, didn't know where to wire in what, so i went with... no relay. just wired the plug,float switch, and a pump all in together working like a champ

 

[Scubasteve11]

Your title has a nice little ring to it.

 

[ludnix]

tried to make this exact thing, got a different relay with too many ports, didn't know where to wire in what, so i went with... no relay. just wired the plug,float switch, and a pump all in together working like a champ

So you have 120v running through your float switch? Is it rated for that?

 

[ludnix]

made this ato at a cost of 20 all i bought was the relay and new pump. I had all the other stuff laying around. Had to make another one more water friendly cause I was using two short extension cords for power and spilled water on the plug...not this time I used one 8' extension cord. Got a 12v buzzer on order and I'm going to wire it to another floatswitch and use as a sump waterlevel OH SH!% come quick alarm. Lol

Nice work! The alarm buzzer on a float switch is a great idea!

 

[dan3949]

The addition of a mechanical float valve at the fresh water input to your sump is an easy, low cost back-up to a DIY ATO to prevent tank overflow if the relay fails closed or the float switch fails (and the pump runs without stopping). I have been running DIY ATOs for almost 10 years and never had a tank overflow. But you always need to have a backup. Float switches and relays will (for certain) fail over time (I am talking a few years) in the harsh environment of a reef tank.

 

[ddc0715]

Ok I heres my float switch with advance velcro back technology. Lol. I wondered what i would do if the float switch every failed.
so I made it easy to remove the switch. I also drilled a few holes in the switch plate bracket. Made from scrap plex, to serve as a pvc bolt hole for adjustments,, and it doubles as the waterline tube holder. At the pump, i had to use a piece of rodi tubing cause the air tubing was a hair to small for the pumps output.....I still am using things that I'm sure we all have laying around.... I also used spare air tubing to wrap the float wires. Why not, it looks cleaner. I will look into adding a float in the top of water. I have several spare floats hanging around as well.

 

[revhtree]

made this ato at a cost of 20 all i bought was the relay and new pump. I had all the other stuff laying around. Had to make another one more water friendly cause I was using two short extension cords for power and spilled water on the plug...not this time I used one 8' extension cord. Got a 12v buzzer on order and I'm going to wire it to another floatswitch and use as a sump waterlevel OH SH!% come quick alarm. Lol

HAHA awesome!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Very cool!

 

[Buckster]

I think you need to go on Shark Tank!

 

[ErehwoN]

What are the specific component(s) of the relay/switch?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[ddc0715]

What are the specific component(s) of the relay/switch?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[shwareefer]

Not to hijack just to reiterate how cheaply and reliably these can be done. My ghetto version has been running for 15 yrs.

Normal look. AC power comes in bottom left using computer cord and socket from dead PSU. Connector on right goes from float switch to 9v battery to relay. Ac plug gets power from relay and runs aquaclear 201 in Bucket of kalk.

Inside. Battery wrapped in tape sitting on relay. Standard weather proof box. Relay is hotglued in so I can't show the wiring, sorry.

Float switch with pvc mount bent with heatgun in return pump area.

Relay I used. $3 on fleabay.

 

[foshizzle]

Great ideas in this thread

 

[ddc0715]

Great ideas in this thread

Thanks. I sure would have entered it into a diy contest if there was one. Oh well. As promised here is a snap shot of my diy sump alarm. Im going to post a separate thread about it with a video so you can hear it. Im pondering attaching a small cup to house another float switch and attaching it to my skimmer cup. Cause I hate being caught of guard by a cup pukking all the waste back into the tank. Anyway, the video is to large to upload here, so heres a link to my YouTube page. Not fishing for subscribers so just enough the video.

 

[ddc0715]

Ok the sump alarm is now in play.

 

[ErehwoN]

David,

I got the relay for the ATO as described above. The wiring scheme isn't clear to me. It looks like you have the sensor attached to poles 7 & 8. The extension cord appears to have one side spliced into the block with one on each end, poles 4 & 6? Is that correct? Anything else I can't see in there??

Thanks for your help!

Jim

 

[ErehwoN]

Never mind... YouTube FTW!

 

[G Santana]

Thanks. I sure would have entered it into a diy contest if there was one. Oh well. As promised here is a snap shot of my diy sump alarm. Im going to post a separate thread about it with a video so you can hear it. Im pondering attaching a small cup to house another float switch and attaching it to my skimmer cup. Cause I hate being caught of guard by a cup pukking all the waste back into the tank. Anyway, the video is to large to upload here, so heres a link to my YouTube page. Not fishing for subscribers so just enough the video.

Very cool idea.