Considering an auto top-off

anarchy

anarchy

Active member
This is my .02 but um drunk so take it as a grain of salt... haha I sound like my dad. Anyway I digress. Eventually whatever top off you get will fail. My diy ato has failed 3 times in a year but it was cheap. The point is get a good deal on whichever you choose. I get cheaper equipment for this reason. Alot of people won't agree with it but if mine fails I'm not out alot of money for a new one
 
Siebo

Siebo

Premium member
I have been running a jbj ato for the past 2.5 years with a tom's aqua lifter pump. Not a single issue to date. Knock on wood! It also shuts off after about a minute of pumping. So with that pump you have nothing to worry about with volume.
 
Ajmal C

Ajmal C

Member
anarchy said:
This is my .02 but um drunk so take it as a grain of salt... haha I sound like my dad. Anyway I digress. Eventually whatever top off you get will fail. My diy ato has failed 3 times in a year but it was cheap. The point is get a good deal on whichever you choose. I get cheaper equipment for this reason. Alot of people won't agree with it but if mine fails I'm not out alot of money for a new one
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HAHAHAHAH, I believe the Romans called C2H5OH the elixir of truth, so you must be spittn' something real. Appreciated your 2 cents. I have had to go down the cheaper route myself, hence I have HOB equipment. Would have loved to get some of the state of the art equipment out there but my love and greed for this hobby far out weigh the reality of my situation, I'm sure this inflicts a lot of us at CR. Thanks again [MENTION=2612]anarchy[/MENTION].
 
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Ajmal C

Ajmal C

Member
Siebo said:
I have been running a jbj ato for the past 2.5 years with a tom's aqua lifter pump. Not a single issue to date. Knock on wood! It also shuts off after about a minute of pumping. So with that pump you have nothing to worry about with volume.
Click to expand...
Haven't looked at the JBJ's yet. always skeptical about their stuff, don't know why. Will look into it after hearing such a success story. Thanks
 
Ajmal C

Ajmal C

Member
Thanks [MENTION=1185]William Lutman[/MENTION] and [MENTION=189]trackfast[/MENTION]. Went to the autotopoff.com site.

T'was indeed a big 'BAM' for me. Hahahahahah! Prices look awesome!! Seems I would have never happened upon this awesomeness despite all my googling.

Love how they protect the float with PVC.

A couple of questions for you guys.
1)Do you guys have to clean any salt creep from the float?

2)If I am to understand correctly I would need to purchase A)the float mechanism (specific type of mount), B)The pump and C)tubing... is there anything else I am missing from the list?
 
rockhead

rockhead

Well-known member
Been running a Jbj for 3-4 yrs and never had a problem only with the aqualift pump and that wasn't a big deal just needed new diaphragms put in just took forever to fill , it just keep running



Tom
 
trackfast

trackfast

Princess Trainer
Ajmal C said:
Thanks [MENTION=1185]William Lutman[/MENTION] and [MENTION=189]trackfast[/MENTION]. Went to the autotopoff.com site.

T'was indeed a big 'BAM' for me. Hahahahahah! Prices look awesome!! Seems I would have never happened upon this awesomeness despite all my googling.

Love how they protect the float with PVC.

A couple of questions for you guys.
1)Do you guys have to clean any salt creep from the float?

2)If I am to understand correctly I would need to purchase A)the float mechanism (specific type of mount), B)The pump and C)tubing... is there anything else I am missing from the list?
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1) I rinse the sensors with rodi water whenever I do a water change.
2) that's all you need; I'm guessing you have an ATO reservoir already.
 
Ajmal C

Ajmal C

Member
trackfast said:
1) I rinse the sensors with rodi water whenever I do a water change.
2) that's all you need; I'm guessing you have an ATO reservoir already.
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yes already have a couple of options for a reservoir.

either going with a Rubbermaid (27 gallon) tote or an aquarium (10 gallon). I'm leaning more towards the aquarium due to possible leaching of chemicals throughout the life of the Rubbermaid.
 
Ajmal C

Ajmal C

Member
Drdavis said:
If you have a controller the avast ark is the best with a float cutoff to ensure you will not flood your home. http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/Top-off-Kit


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Thanks. Nope don't have a controller, not sure if I want one yet. I am assuming they make life a whole lot easier when it comes to daily aquarium husbandry. Just a little overwhelming with the price and the programming.
 
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fredfish13

fredfish13

Member
have 2 avast ato on my tanks. one is connected to an apex, the other is a stand alone. just set the valve and plug the pump into the outlet. no programming involved with the stand alone. both have worked flawlessly for almost 2 years.
 
anarchy

anarchy

Active member
Ajmal C said:
HAHAHAHAH, I believe the Romans called C2H5OH the elixir of truth, so you must be spittn' something real. Appreciated your .02 cents. I have had to go down the cheaper route myself, hence I have HOB equipment. Would have loved to get some of the state of the art equipment put there but my love and greed for this hobby far out weigh the reality of my situation, I'm sure this inflicts a lot of us at CR. Thanks again [MENTION=2612]anarchy[/MENTION].
Click to expand...
Haha didn't realize I drank that much. Didn't even know I was on CR that night
 
madjoe

madjoe

Premium member
Ajmal C said:
Haven't looked at the JBJ's yet. always skeptical about their stuff, don't know why. Will look into it after hearing such a success story. Thanks
Click to expand...
Ive had my jbj on my reef for 8 yrs or so no issues i dont even clean sensors lol i have same on my fowlr for five yrs now and one sensor went bad very happy with them
 
Ajmal C

Ajmal C

Member
madjoe said:
Ive had my jbj on my reef for 8 yrs or so no issues i dont even clean sensors lol i have same on my fowlr for five yrs now and one sensor went bad very happy with them
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Wow 8 years is definitely a pass for standards of quality. More fire to the fuel for researching and trying to find a good deal for some JBJ's.
Any idea for nano models and what would a good price on them be.
 
Ajmal C

Ajmal C

Member
fredfish13 said:
have 2 avast ato on my tanks. one is connected to an apex, the other is a stand alone. just set the valve and plug the pump into the outlet. no programming involved with the stand alone. both have worked flawlessly for almost 2 years.
Click to expand...
if its dummy proof then it's definitely something I can look into. thanks.
 
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