Epic ATO/Skimmer FAIL!!!

[steveoutlaw]

I have an Avast ATO on my system.  Not sure if the pressure switch/sensor went bad or what but I ended up with my ATO getting stuck on and overflowing my sump.  Once I noticed this I was able to turn off the ATO pump and start removing the water from my stand and floor.  My salinity has gone down to 1.024 currently but not sure if that's accurate because I just found it and it may go down some more.  Question - Would I be better off just letting it get back to normal over the next couple of days through evaporation or should I mix some higher salinity water and do a water change?

 

Here's the kicker........I'm getting ready to go to New York for a couple of days!  Just my luck.

[OldReefer]

Steve.

 

That is bizarre. Never heard of one of those sensors failing.

 

I think at 1.024 ( or even a bit less), it should be fine to just disconnect the ATO and let it evaporate down. You can always top-off manually with saltwater to bring it back up slow. Is there anybody watching the tank while you are gone?

[sachabballi reef]

Holy cow...if it wasn't for bad luck you wouldn't have any lol...

 

I'm SO glad you were home and not away...so maybe you actually have AWESOME luck now that I think about it..

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Djplus1]

I almost had this happen to me last week with my Avast. What happens is the sensor gets overly submerged ( I was changing my water in my Biocube) and as the water level  went back down, but didn't get air below the sensor, it somehow felt it was open. I couldn't get my pump to stop filling water even though it was over the line. I pulled the sensor out of the water, and as it emptied the sensor was back to normal. It was weird, because I only noticed it because I was changing my water and if I wasn't there it would have definitely over flowed .

[howaboutme]

I almost had this happen to me last week with my Avast. What happens is the sensor gets overly submerged ( I was changing my water in my Biocube) and as the water level  went back down, but didn't get air below the sensor, it somehow felt it was open. I couldn't get my pump to stop filling water even though it was over the line. I pulled the sensor out of the water, and as it emptied the sensor was back to normal. It was weird, because I only noticed it because I was changing my water and if I wasn't there it would have definitely over flowed .

 

I noticed this w/ my avast ato too. What I have to do during wc's is unplug the ato until I finish the water changes so it doesn't run during the process. Once I plug it back in, the pump is always on for some reason even though it normally is not on at the same level. So what I do is just tinker w/ the sensor up and down until it shuts off, then I return it manually to the same (vertical) level I had before (I just remember where it is). My magnet is partially submerged, if that matters. This is super annoying and didn't expect it. I'm going to try to just unplug the pump and not the ato next time and see where that gets me. If anyone has a solution, please post up.

[Rosco's Reefs]

This happens to me regularly, (not because of Avast, but because I'm stupid), and I just let it evaporate down to get back to normal.  Once I let it get too low and as it evaporated I topped-off with fresh, stronger, salt-water.  Everyone in the tank forgave me.

[jimlin]

i use a dj switch to turn the avast ato on and off. i also have a tape onmy sump to indicate the fill line. i fill the sump with water after water change just above this line and switch on the ato. didnt have a issue yet with my ato.

[Origami]

The only time I've had this happen with an Avast ATO was when the air hose came off. Check to see if it's not seated properly or that the small barb fitting on the sensor hasn't bent over and cracked.

 

I once had a level switch ATO fail resulting in a lot of fresh water dump into my tank (the old 90) and depressing the salinity down a further than yours in a short time. My response was not to let the salinity creep back up (because it had gone low pretty fast), but to put some salt into a nylon stocking and hang it with just the toe touching the water in the sump. This way, the salt slowly dissolved over the next couple of hours bringing the salinity back into the normal range. In the end, I tweaked the salinity through evaporation.

 

In your case, your salinity's not that bad. If all looks reasonably well and if this happened slowly, maybe you can just top off with salt water for a few days and let that fix it.

[steveoutlaw]

I'm SO glad you were home and not away...so maybe you actually have AWESOME luck now that I think about it..

I actually WAS out of town.  Came home today to find this. 

 

I think I'm just going to let the water evaporate and get it back down to the level it was.

[Tnias]

If you don't have a controller put your ATO on a timer so if there is a hiccup it only runs for a short period of time. My apex turns on the ATO once a day for 1 minute. Digital timers can get down to that level of control too. If you have a large tank you may need it to come on more than once a day.

[steveoutlaw]

I do have a controller and I will be hooking this thing up to it.  Between having a reservoir with a certain amount of water, having a pressure switch, AND having it on a controller I should be safe.  But with my luck the tank will still find a way to overflow!! 

 

This has really gotten me thinking back to the autotopoff.com redundant design.  One float switch turns it on and if it gets stuck there is another float switch to turn it off. 

 

HEY AVAST GUYS........any plans to come out with a redundant ATO?  We've found the pressure switch kryptonite.

[Djplus1]

I do have a controller and I will be hooking this thing up to it.  Between having a reservoir with a certain amount of water, having a pressure switch, AND having it on a controller I should be safe.  But with my luck the tank will still find a way to overflow!! 

 

This has really gotten me thinking back to the autotopoff.com redundant design.  One float switch turns it on and if it gets stuck there is another float switch to turn it off. 

 

HEY AVAST GUYS........any plans to come out with a redundant ATO?  We've found the pressure switch kryptonite.

they do have one. Its called 2 pressure switches!

[ctenophore]

I do have a controller and I will be hooking this thing up to it.  Between having a reservoir with a certain amount of water, having a pressure switch, AND having it on a controller I should be safe.  But with my luck the tank will still find a way to overflow!! 

 

This has really gotten me thinking back to the autotopoff.com redundant design.  One float switch turns it on and if it gets stuck there is another float switch to turn it off. 

 

HEY AVAST GUYS........any plans to come out with a redundant ATO?  We've found the pressure switch kryptonite.

Hey Steve,

 

Very sorry to hear about the trouble.  It sounds like you somehow have a slow leak in your sensor tube or tubing.  As Tom mentioned above, check the barb fitting on the sensor tube for any possible cracks.  Also you can reseat the black tubing on the switchbox nipple by pulling it off and cutting 1/4" from the end of the tubing to ensure the end is not flared which would result in a weak fit.  FWIW, we do have a redundancy option which is the mechanical float valve, completely separate from the electronics.  Also, we recently improved the switchbox & sensor tube design with a 1/4" ID john guest stem on the switchbox instead of the little 1/8" nipple.  The sensor tube is also a little different, using rigid pex and a reducing barb coupler rather than the threaded 1/8" barb fitting.  The result is a heavier duty fitting at both ends of the air tubing, which can better withstand accidental bumps or pulling on the air tube.

[Mattiejay6]

Hey Steve,

 

Very sorry to hear about the trouble.  It sounds like you somehow have a slow leak in your sensor tube or tubing.  As Tom mentioned above, check the barb fitting on the sensor tube for any possible cracks.  Also you can reseat the black tubing on the switchbox nipple by pulling it off and cutting 1/4" from the end of the tubing to ensure the end is not flared which would result in a weak fit.  FWIW, we do have a redundancy option which is the mechanical float valve, completely separate from the electronics.  Also, we recently improved the switchbox & sensor tube design with a 1/4" ID john guest stem on the switchbox instead of the little 1/8" nipple.  The sensor tube is also a little different, using rigid pex and a reducing barb coupler rather than the threaded 1/8" barb fitting.  The result is a heavier duty fitting at both ends of the air tubing, which can better withstand accidental bumps or pulling on the air tube.

This makes me feel better for when I buy my ATO now.. :-)