miggs76 June 21, 2013 Share June 21, 2013 Just a tip about these if you have one. The float valve can get stuck. I came home the other day and noticed that all my freshwater was gone in my 5 gallon reservoir. I saw a small puddle on my floor because my sump just barely overflowed when I turned the skimmer off for feeding. Since I only use a 5 gallon reservoir if all of the fresh water is put in my tank it wouldn't change the salinity by more than 1 or 2 ppt but even that can be dangerous. The reason mine got stuck is there was some built up salt/silt/sand around it. It had been in the tank for a year. I promptly took it out and gave it a nice vinegar bath and it works fine. I know some of you have huge ato reservoirs so just be careful. It has been a rock solid piece of equipment for a year and I don't think you can beat the price I paid for it brand new (75 bucks) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimlin June 21, 2013 Share June 21, 2013 i heard many stories of jbj ato failing which is why i went with avast. i also use a small reservoire (3 gallon) for my 75 gallon and only have to fill it up about once every 5 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami June 21, 2013 Share June 21, 2013 Consider adding a second float switch a little higher than the first (one that's always out of the water) and wiring it in series. The redundancy adds some protection should the first switch stick like yours did. I ran such a three-switch setup years ago before switching to Avast. Ultimately I switched because of float switch failure (not sticking, but electrically failing) and replacement just made it a pain to maintain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc June 21, 2013 Share June 21, 2013 Fyi, there is a safe fail dial timer inside the unit that let you set the time for the ato. If ato runs over the set time then it automatically shut off. Thus prevent from draining out your reservoir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc June 21, 2013 Share June 21, 2013 Here is the link: http://www.jbjlighting.com/pdfs/ATO_ht_adjust_float.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dholmblad June 21, 2013 Share June 21, 2013 Avast ato> other atos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k June 21, 2013 Share June 21, 2013 I use both and have had numerous issues with JBJ. When the JBJ's break, we replace them with AVASTs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 June 22, 2013 Share June 22, 2013 My jbj has been working fine, although I do often test the float switch and clean it off. I also use a small reservoir just in case it all gets pumped in = no big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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