Red Sea ATO+ sensor flaw?

[ErikVR]

Hi all,

I've been using the Red Sea ATO+ system for a year now on two tanks.
When new, they work perfectly. But if I don't maintain them for a month or two, the sensors fail.
If you do clean them as per Red Sea's instructions, the cleaning process breaks them.

I've gone through 5 sensors in a year and now the 6th has died.
Tried cleaning them with a very mild citric acid solution (like RS recommends) and a soft brush: broken!
Tried cleaning them with RO water and a soft brush: broken!
Tried cleaning them with RO water and my fingers only: broken!

I'm getting the suspicion that I can't be the only one.
Is anyone else having these issues?

 

[OctaviusBrine]

Hi all,

I've been using the Red Sea ATO+ system for a year now on two tanks.
When new, they work perfectly. But if I don't maintain them for a month or two, the sensors fail.
If you do clean them as per Red Sea's instructions, the cleaning process breaks them.

I've gone through 5 sensors in a year and now the 6th has died.
Tried cleaning them with a very mild citric acid solution (like RS recommends) and a soft brush: broken!
Tried cleaning them with RO water and a soft brush: broken!
Tried cleaning them with RO water and my fingers only: broken!

I'm getting the suspicion that I can't be the only one.
Is anyone else having these issues?

Nope you’re not I just got my third replacement and it’s bad right out of the bag.

 

[ErikVR]

Nope you’re not I just got my third replacement and it’s bad right out of the bag.

That's what I was afraid of.
They work absolutely great, for a little while...

 

[OctaviusBrine]

I love them when they work. Also being attached to WiFi is awesome. Unfortunately now I don’t trust it anymore. Sad it seems to get harder and harder to get equipment that lasts. It’s not like these prices are going down.

 

[ErikVR]

I love them when they work. Also being attached to WiFi is awesome. Unfortunately now I don’t trust it anymore. Sad it seems to get harder and harder to get equipment that lasts. It’s not like these prices are going down.

Funny that you mention that. I've had that same discussion with my wife last night.
Everything is getting 'smarter', fancier and more expensive but almost everything breaks one or two years in.
Smart vacuums, TVs, security cameras, connected tank equipment, UST projectors... (yep, all those new appliances died in our home over the last years).

 

[StevenL]

I just set one up last week and started having temperature issues 3 days into using it and the sensor failed a few days after. My replacement sensor is on the way but it's a bit annoying having to deal with this especially so soon. Hopefully the replacement is better.

 

[dakoop]

This thing is junk. Had it for a few months and the sensor died a few weeks in. Now the pump isn't working. Regret this purchase

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

Yesterday we just had a run on replacement sensors. We normally sell a few but yesterday it was crazy. Some customers ordered 6 at once. We got wiped out so I ordered more from RedSea. The good news is that the sensors have changed so as to be more reliable. The bad news is that they will be a lot more expensive. The new sensors will sell for about $50.

 

[mjszos]

This is odd, I've been using mine for over a year with no issues (I also haven't cleaned it a single time until I tore down the tank it was in). Good to know it's something worth looking out for though, fingers crossed mine still functions when I install it in the new tank...

 

[X-37B]

I have a rs170 and do not use the ato. You can have the one I have.
Or just buy a Tunze and be done.
I run 3 3154's.
My 9+ year old 3153 just died but it was my fault as It got wet.
The new 3154 does not have the controller as it's in the sensor on the 3154.

 

[dakoop]

Wish I would have bought tunze

 

[ErikVR]

I’m actually going to switch

 

[ErikVR]

Yesterday we just had a run on replacement sensors. We normally sell a few but yesterday it was crazy. Some customers ordered 6 at once. We got wiped out so I ordered more from RedSea. The good news is that the sensors have changed so as to be more reliable. The bad news is that they will be a lot more expensive. The new sensors will sell for about $50.

I wish Red Sea was the kind of company that takes responsibility for design issues. We pay a premium for their products. If they discover a flaw and fix it, they should send out the fix to the customers who are suffering from it.

 

[LGalina]

I thought I was unlucky, but apparently the problem with this sensor has already happened to other people. My Ato is 8 months old, I never cleaned it and took it out of the sump... My ICP detected copper and I didn't know where the source was, until this week the sensor had a problem. He opened it and water was seeping through. Besides, there was a reading error and released almost 10 liters of water into the sump, thankfully the pump turns off when it works for a long time and does not overflow. But Redsea already resolved it and it was quick, even though I imported the Ato from China, they are sending me another sensor through the importer in Brazil