JBJ Auto Top-off controller

BarbMazz

BarbMazz

Well-Known Member
I hooked up my JBJ ATO controller today. I ordered from Aquarium Supplies - Aquarium Supplies for your Tropical Fish, Saltwater Fish, Reef Aquarium, Marine Fish, Saltwater Aquarium on Wednesday and received it today. I've ordered things from them several times now and their customer service is excellent.

I believe a sponsor invitation should be sent to them!

Anyway, I hooked this puppy up in under ten minutes. The sensor brackets are really nice and you can daisy-chain them together if you need a longer drop into your sump or fw reservoir. The instructions were straightforward... something that is lacking in the hobby, especially for a new person like myself.

I stayed there to see it kick on, and it worked right away. I'll post back in a few days and let you know how it's functioning. It was so simple, though, that I doubt there will be a problem.
 
prow

prow

Well-Known Member
nice good deal. i am just finishing up my top systems. in fact i am debating if i should call in sick or not. i have 1 hour to decide. ok, so where are the pics? are taking them right now?? :D
 
Tonz of fun

Tonz of fun

Member
I hooked mine up about a year ago and I have never had a problem. They are a good product. I dose lime water for my ato.
 
BarbMazz

BarbMazz

Well-Known Member
prow, I didn't take any pictures! I was so excited to get it and set it up I didn't even think about a camera.

And, I'm embarrassed to take pictures of how things are all wired down there... A bunch of cords in a big tangled mess plugged into big extension cord octopi.

Tonz of Fun it's good to hear that it works so well. Simple to set up and reliable; two really important things!
 
GSELLERS

GSELLERS

Has been struck by the ban stick
i sold mine...the wires corroded and the float switches stuck alot
just my .02
 
BarbMazz

BarbMazz

Well-Known Member
Origami2547 said:
Barb, you're going to love having the ATO. I do. It makes another aspect of reef-life so much easier!
Click to expand...

Tom, as soon as I had it set up I had a big feeling of relief! I was worried that my salinity was never adequately controlled because I was adding random amounts of RO/DI water twice per day. Couldn't have been good!

I'll be checking on it often for the first few days, but just knowing it's there, and I could see it working takes a big load off!
 
Almondsaz

Almondsaz

New Member
I have to say the I agree...they are great little units. Easy to hookup and maintain. Just remember that the feeder line of RO back to the tank has to be above the waterlevel so you don't get reverse suction. They are well worth the money (IMO) and provide peace of mind to keep the sump topped off.
 
BarbMazz

BarbMazz

Well-Known Member
Almondsaz said:
I have to say the I agree...they are great little units. Easy to hookup and maintain. Just remember that the feeder line of RO back to the tank has to be above the waterlevel so you don't get reverse suction. They are well worth the money (IMO) and provide peace of mind to keep the sump topped off.
Click to expand...

This happened to me last Monday! I was lucky and found it just as the reservoir was spilling over onto the floor. :goofy:

I had set it up with the feeder out of the water, but it shifted because I didn't have it secured enough. Now I have it zip-tied to another line about a foot above the top of the water. No worries now.

I love this thing! I was so worried my salinity was going up/down up/down up/down because of manually guessing and adding water. I'm sure it was crazy. Now it stays rock solid at 1.0254. It was TOTALLY worth the cost!
 
sasquatch

sasquatch

Brunt of all Jokes~
PREMIUM
BarbMazz said:
This happened to me last Monday! I was lucky and found it just as the reservoir was spilling over onto the floor. :goofy:

I had set it up with the feeder out of the water, but it shifted because I didn't have it secured enough. Now I have it zip-tied to another line about a foot above the top of the water. No worries now.

I love this thing! I was so worried my salinity was going up/down up/down up/down because of manually guessing and adding water. I'm sure it was crazy. Now it stays rock solid at 1.0254. It was TOTALLY worth the cost!
Click to expand...

Im not so convinced about salinity being up and down being a bad thing, when it rains in the tropics, it RAINS so salinity is very variable, some times I think this so called "stability" of parameters is detrimental to a tanks overall health, ato's are great for equipment protection,dosing and vacations :dunno:
 
BarbMazz

BarbMazz

Well-Known Member
sasquatch said:
Im not so convinced about salinity being up and down being a bad thing, when it rains in the tropics, it RAINS so salinity is very variable, some times I think this so called "stability" of parameters is detrimental to a tanks overall health, ato's are great for equipment protection,dosing and vacations :dunno:
Click to expand...

Oh, great, sas, mess with my false feeling of security! Of course you're right, nothing in the seas is stable like this.

So, how does one get around this? The variability has to be a good thing as you've pointed out, but how would this be accomplished in a small system? The swing would be more dramatic with so much less water. Interesting thing to think about!
 
sasquatch

sasquatch

Brunt of all Jokes~
PREMIUM
lord! who knows if its even relevant? just an observation, I manually fill my kalk doser twice a day, the skimmer removes salinity daily and only water changes will bring it back up if evaporation is met, also filter socks start to clog and fill up and that changes the top off level equaling more fresh water and less salt so? is stability really stable lol, once again proving "the more you know, the less you understand"
 
BarbMazz

BarbMazz

Well-Known Member
sasquatch said:
lord! who knows if its even relevant? just an observation, I manually fill my kalk doser twice a day, the skimmer removes salinity daily and only water changes will bring it back up if evaporation is met, also filter socks start to clog and fill up and that changes the top off level equaling more fresh water and less salt so? is stability really stable lol, once again proving "the more you know, the less you understand"[/quote]

lol This seems to be a universal condition for us reefers, no? It's a good observation, though, Sas!
Click to expand...
 
Anselth

Anselth

Well-Known Member
Barb, just check your float sensors when you change water to make sure there's no buildup, etc. I've had a couple of incidents which I think are the result of improper maintenance. If you keep them clean and level you shouldn't have any issues though. I really like mine, I think you will too.
 
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