Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I made an A.T.O. with a float valve, maxi jet 1200, light timer and a 5 gallon bucket. Woody at Seahorse was nice enough to take the time to walk me through how to set it up If you ever have plumbing questions Woody is your man!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Looks good, I had the same one on my 180 from Woody also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Looks good' date=' I had the same one on my 180 from Woody also.[/quote'] LOL I can't imagine you having one now ;-) Do you remember how much time you had the pump turn on for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Lets see if i understand this one.... The hose is hooked up to a float valve. The light timer powers up the maxijet sometime during the day. The water is topped off and the valve shuts off and pump turns off after the timer shuts off. That correct? Seems really simple. Thanks for the DIY post love them!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titus'reef Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 If you have the room why not just use gravity with the float valve instead of the pump. What if something goes wrong with the pump? All you have to do is put the bucket something higher than the water lever in your sump and you're done. Your way might work but it's risky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 LOL I can't imagine you having one now ;-) Do you remember how much time you had the pump turn on for? I think I just had like one prong on the timer flipped four times a day, I have a gravity feed now. I ran the one with the maxi for years and never had a problem Thats also when I hooked up the solenoid to keep the bucket full, mine was outside so I wasn't to precise on filling the bucket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 If you have the room why not just use gravity with the float valve instead of the pump. What if something goes wrong with the pump? All you have to do is put the bucket something higher than the water lever in your sump and you're done. Your way might work but it's risky. I was originally planning on a gravity fed system, but the only space in the stand for one wouldn't hold much water. My only real worry is that if I have my skimmer running to wet it is going to overflow out of the 2 litter that holds my skimmate. I guess I need a 5 gallon bucket to hold my skimmate now LOL. I was thinking I could even set it up to do auto water changes if I put salt mix in the bucket instead of fresh and then made my skimmer run wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Lets see if i understand this one.... The hose is hooked up to a float valve. The light timer powers up the maxijet sometime during the day. The water is topped off and the valve shuts off and pump turns off after the timer shuts off. That correct? Seems really simple. Thanks for the DIY post love them!! Yep you got it. Hopefully it's simple enough not to fail. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 I think I just had like one prong on the timer flipped four times a day, I have a gravity feed now. I ran the one with the maxi for years and never had a problem Thats also when I hooked up the solenoid to keep the bucket full, mine was outside so I wasn't to precise on filling the bucket! I hadn't thought about putting it outside, I do have a windo behind the tank I could run the tube out. (plotting) I wonder if I could keep the bucket filled with rain water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I hadn't thought about putting it outside' date=' I do have a windo behind the tank I could run the tube out. (plotting) I wonder if I could keep the bucket filled with rain water?[/quote'] Just a note, the solenoid turned on the water that ran thru the RoDi unit then into the bucket!! I have the same inside now just also have a float valve in the bucket to shut off the RoDi when it full Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 I only use tap water, not sure if tap is better or worse than rain water? I do want to add buffer to the ATO so I guess I should stick with tap so I can control it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Gill, Tap water can be dangerous. You never know what chemical your city adds to the water (bleach being one of them) and you can get algae blooms from using tap water. IMO, tap water should be a very last resort and a RO unit is worth the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Gill, Tap water can be dangerous. You never know what chemical your city adds to the water (bleach being one of them) and you can get algae blooms from using tap water. IMO, tap water should be a very last resort and a RO unit is worth the price. I know some water can cause problems, but my water (West Linn) is pretty good. I never have had algae bloom problems and I have used tap for four years. I think that if you are trying to keep the more challenging corals like acro then RODI is probably more of a necessity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteRock Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I guess I'm confused what the float valve is for... Mine is gravity fed and when the float valve goes down it opens and refills. Unless the float valve actuates the motor, I'm missing the purpose of the float valve. Will it block the pumps power if it closes and the pump is running? As far as how often to run it, the maxi jet 1200 is rated @300 gph, so if you have it on for even 15 minutes on a timer, it could in theory pump out 75 gallons. I'm curios how this is going to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 pete, it is simple. the float valve will stop water from coming in once it is at a satisfactory level. then the pump will stay on a little long until it is shut off from a timer. and how did you install your float valve blake? that is my question... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteRock Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 well just a heads up Gill, I've had my float valve fail before. Not often, maybe once a year or so. Was it the long skinny white one from Woody? Thats the one I have. Works great 99% of the time. Not sure what the pressure difference from the maxi jet1200 to an elevated full 5 gallon bucket is (and thay may just be my issue). But like all devices you rely on in this hobby, I'd stress test it and if possible, I'd make sure your sump can hold another 5 gallons if it drains completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 If you have the room why not just use gravity with the float valve instead of the pump. What if something goes wrong with the pump? All you have to do is put the bucket something higher than the water lever in your sump and you're done. Your way might work but it's risky. I agree, I always work under the presumption that it will fail and then work from there. Gravity feed is very simple making it less likely to fail and mine is set up so that the sump can hold the entire amaount even if it does fail. (My greatest danger is having the power fail and the float valve stick open at the same time which would overflow the sump) BTW, Tap water is NOT consistent. It changes through the year when water sources change and can also get somewhat contaminated if any construction is occurring in the area which will also change it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 My tank is pretty large (125 gallons) so if it were to take on 5 gallons of fresh I wouldn't be too concerned. Actually I am worried that if the level in the sumP were to rise then I would produce to much skimmate, I thInk I will have to upgrade my skimmate collector now. Here is a pic of the float valve in the sump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Here is another pic (I really need to clean up the inside of my stand) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 I guess I'm confused what the float valve is for... Mine is gravity fed and when the float valve goes down it opens and refills. Unless the float valve actuates the motor, I'm missing the purpose of the float valve. Will it block the pumps power if it closes and the pump is running? As far as how often to run it, the maxi jet 1200 is rated @300 gph, so if you have it on for even 15 minutes on a timer, it could in theory pump out 75 gallons. I'm curios how this is going to work. Ya, when the valve closes the pump will push against it but the water will stay in the bucket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 I agree, I always work under the presumption that it will fail and then work from there. Gravity feed is very simple making it less likely to fail and mine is set up so that the sump can hold the entire amaount even if it does fail. (My greatest danger is having the power fail and the float valve stick open at the same time which would overflow the sump) BTW, Tap water is NOT consistent. It changes through the year when water sources change and can also get somewhat contaminated if any construction is occurring in the area which will also change it. With the pump powering the ATO, the power going out would kill the ATO even if the valve was open. Maybe this is one benefit of a power driven ATO? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 well just a heads up Gill' date=' I've had my float valve fail before. Not often, maybe once a year or so. Was it the long skinny white one from Woody? Thats the one I have. Works great 99% of the time. Not sure what the pressure difference from the maxi jet1200 to an elevated full 5 gallon bucket is (and thay may just be my issue). But like all devices you rely on in this hobby, I'd stress test it and if possible, I'd make sure your sump can hold another 5 gallons if it drains completely.[/quote'] I agree that technology can fail in this hobby. I have seen beautiful tanks crash from kalk overdoses ext. My setup is relatively low tech and if this does fail my system will be able to absorb it, one benefit of having a large system ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 and how did you install your float valve blake? that is my question... I put uP a couple pics, believe it or not the hole was already drilled in the sump so it was easy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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