Tunze ato

1000rrstunna

1000rrstunna

Member
Ok so I got this thing from BRS and it fills to the sensor stops for 3 minutes then keeps overfilling till the stop safety is tripped then throws that annoying overfill alarm sensors are setup per manual even though its not in English I followed pics and it looks correct anyone else have this issue ? it's brand new I've unplugged it moved sensor and checked for bubbles and contaminants on it no dice what gives lol any info appreciated
 
Herbie

Herbie

Banned
I am not a fan of mine for the same reason. Every time you cycle the power it fills for several seconds. (maybe 5?) Not an issue at all on a larger tank, but on a nano it's really annowing when you're doing some like programing a RKE. You basically just need to further separate the sensors so that time won't overfill it. again, this is lame if you have a small level window. I put the sensors on two different magnets so they could be further apart.
 
Herbie

Herbie

Banned
dear tunze you bastardos. how about telling me there are adjustments inside the box instead of telling me how to set it up on the tank in 38 languages? Mmmmkay? that'd be great.


That being said, low and behold:
View attachment 18153
but i ddn't understand the jumper. what is the alternate position to that which I currently employ? (I understand "no alarm")
 
Herbie

Herbie

Banned
are we saying to just turn down the dosing power? I don't see a three position switch other than the jumper
 
gomery12

gomery12

New member
avast ato, works like a charm, can buy the float valve also to shut it down! I've never had an overflow with it. Running 4 months.
 
1000rrstunna

1000rrstunna

Member
This thread just got interesting ! I'm gonna set to max since I have a large tank I'd assume and the point on the optic is facing waterline maybe the sensors are to close but there's like an inch between the shutoff float and the bottom of the optic sensor point
 
DAS212

DAS212

Member
Sorry, didnt have time to read all of the responses so I apologize if I someone already posted the answer. These things come with a protective coating over the optical eye, you need to rinse it and rub it off in salt water otherwise it will give false readings.
 
DAS212

DAS212

Member
In addition the dial on the inside of the controller is used to determine how much water is pumped into the tank each time the optical eye is triggered. If you top off to little, the machine with continuously turn on, and if you top off to much you will dilute the saltwater. There should be just enough top off so that the ATO will only go off every several hours.

It took me multiple calls to tunze to get these things straightened out, they also told me that you need to shake the pump when putting it into new fresh water because if air bubbles get caught under the pump it wont work right. Even though this process to get it working was a pain, I still believe this is the BEST ATO on the market. Good luck guys.

- Dave
 
Herbie

Herbie

Banned
DAS212 said:
In addition the dial on the inside of the controller is used to determine how much water is pumped into the tank each time the optical eye is triggered. If you top off to little, the machine with continuously turn on, and if you top off to much you will dilute the saltwater. There should be just enough top off so that the ATO will only go off every several hours.

It took me multiple calls to tunze to get these things straightened out, they also told me that you need to shake the pump when putting it into new fresh water because if air bubbles get caught under the pump it wont work right. Even though this process to get it working was a pain, I still believe this is the BEST ATO on the market. Good luck guys.

- Dave
Click to expand...
I have to agree on the overall design being solid. I have a JBJ ATO, a spectrapure pressure switch and this one and the design seems, to me, to be the best of those three for sure. The way that the emergency float stays out of the water unless there is a problem is a great way to prevent anything from ever fouling it up. I do; however, think it's lame that the pump runs for 20 seconds every time you cycle the power though (I timed it last night). I'm sure it's a diagnostic check on the board at startup, but it's not ideal for a small tank. The discovery of this magical secret dial has fixed the issue, but it's still not great to pump 20 seconds of fw into my 10g while I'm tinkering with my RKE. LOL, they would probably say i need a bigger tank (in a judgemental german accent, (with one eyebrow raised over their monical).
 
DAS212

DAS212

Member
Your right. It is a pain to have to cycle every time you disconnect power, that can get annoying especially with smaller tanks. My dad had to keep a plastic solo cup in his stand to fill up on a power restart to prevent all that unwanted fresh from filling his tank. I'm sure it's probably some test feature to make sure it's working. From what I understand there are 3 ways the system kills the top off pump 1) when the optical eye reads full, 2.) if the emergency float is activated, 3.) if the pump runs for over 2 min straight. In cases 2 & 3 I believe it will stop all top off procedures until you restart the control. I have my dial set to top off the appropriate amount of water relative to my tank and also I have tested to make sure that in 2 min of constant pumping I will not overflow my tank. I have it on the second floor and I appreciate all of these checks, I can imagine how awful it would be for an ATO to fail in the on position and ruin your floor and kill your tank.
 
KeishaKornbread

KeishaKornbread

Banned
I am opening up my Tunze tonight. I never knew about this adjustment!

Thanks fellas and especially to Herb for opening it up and snapping a pic! :dancing:
 
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