DIY ATO Dual Sensors?

[thegasman2000]

So I decided to make an ATO as I couldn't justify the price we pay for them in the UK. Only the TMC one is affordable at £40 and I know from experience as a retailer that the suction cup bit is rubbish and falls in every week and the pump has a head height of about an inch.

My question is how to avoid my ATO coming on and off really fast. I have a float switch connected to a 12V supply that powers a Relay. All safe But when in my initial testing the ato comes on and off really fast when the water is at the correct level. I am thinking I need another float switch but when I think about it I cant decide where to wire it.

If I wire it in series with the other float switch it will never be tripped. If I wire it in parallel then both need to be underwater and I get the same issue with the top one... How do I wire this in HELP!

[2smokes]

Ammong otther options you can do it with an optic sensor thats much more reliable than the float one.They used to be expensive but lately you can find them for cheap(if you are willing to wait a month until they arive from china).https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Newe...608.0.0.p1OWdT .

[perkint]

Use an arduino and the floats as just sensors that trigger events in the program. You can use what you have and a £2 arduino nano and if you feel like it, easily add additional floats and time limits as to how long the pump will run, etc.

Or you can add a second float and set it up so one float triggers the pump start and the second turns it off. There is a recent post with a suggested diagram for this (I'll see if I can find it in a mo), but this now has two floats, the failure of either causes a problem

Tim

[insomniac2k2]

Also consider this if you dont want to mix and match:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Liqu...405370af&tpp=1

[insomniac2k2]

Oops. Disregard that one. I just saw the shipping cost. Anyway, there are plenty of options like that one. Shop around the site.

Originally Posted by insomniac2k2

Also consider this if you dont want to mix and match:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Liqu...405370af&tpp=1

[dartier]

There are a ton of those same sensors available on ebay. Both with the sensor board and without. Just mind the cord length, as that seems to be the difference between the low cost ones ($3~) and the more expensive ones ($9~).

Dennis

[BigDave]

I used a bigger top-off pump and put the output from it on the opposite side of the sump from the float switch. The hose goes straight up and then angles down to the sump so that most of the run is downhill towards the sump.

The switch comes on, the pump turns on and pumps a lot of water really fast. When the switch triggers off, the water line finishes draining down to the sump and keeps the float from switching back on.

If you have the top off going into the same part of the sump that the float switch is in, then part of your problem is the water splashing into the sump causing waves causing the float switch to bounce. Having the water enter the sump on the opposite side keeps this from happening.

[thegasman2000]

Isn't it always by design (with one sensor) going to bounce on and off lots? Am I overthinking this? Perhaps its turbulence as its right after my sump baffle.

I have ordered an Arduino Nano of amazon for $4 ish so going to play with that. I also have some temp probes I wanted to play with. Probably going to build a Raspberry Pi based controller anyway.

Thanks for the input.

[BigDave]

I think you're over thinking it. I use just one float and I don't get a bounce. If you use an arduino, then you can program a simple denounce with a half second delay or so.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

[thegasman2000]

Yeah I am going to go with 2 sensors and start fill on 1 and stop fill on 2... Then I can run the pump for say a minute giving it a chance to chill a while longer.

Now I am looking at the Rpi ATO on here... So many options

[BigDave]

There are a lot of options when it comes to aquarium control now.

I'm not a huge fan of using Rpi for time sensitive controls. It just always seems to be too much overhead for something that simple.

With that being said, I'm using both a Rpi and an arduino in my setup. The Rpi is for user IO and data collection. The Arduino does all of the actual control of the aquarium. In the event my python or Rpi locks up, the arduino will continue to control the tank by itself. I use a watchdog timer that can reset the arduino in the event it locks up.

[perkint]

Originally Posted by BigDave

There are a lot of options when it comes to aquarium control now.

I'm not a huge fan of using Rpi for time sensitive controls. It just always seems to be too much overhead for something that simple.

With that being said, I'm using both a Rpi and an arduino in my setup. The Rpi is for user IO and data collection. The Arduino does all of the actual control of the aquarium. In the event my python or Rpi locks up, the arduino will continue to control the tank by itself. I use a watchdog timer that can reset the arduino in the event it locks up.

IMO by far the best way to do it

Tim

[dartier]

Originally Posted by BigDave

There are a lot of options when it comes to aquarium control now.

I'm not a huge fan of using Rpi for time sensitive controls. It just always seems to be too much overhead for something that simple.

With that being said, I'm using both a Rpi and an arduino in my setup. The Rpi is for user IO and data collection. The Arduino does all of the actual control of the aquarium. In the event my python or Rpi locks up, the arduino will continue to control the tank by itself. I use a watchdog timer that can reset the arduino in the event it locks up.

I second this style of operation. Though the RPI (and BBB) are great, they have many more points of failure than an Arduino. For my DyMiCo style of filter, I will be implementing the low level process control inside a Reef Angel (amounting to a specialized Arduino), with an RPI for high level control and data logging. If the RPI should go down, the Reef Angel will continue on its merry way keeping the filter running with the current version of the control inputs.

Some things are a PITA to do on an Arduino (UX, Web interface, Ethernet, etc.) and it is these things that should be offloaded to a SBC.

Dennis

[mwblanto]

I have had great success with Auto-Top Off -http://www.autotopoff.com/
Good price and very good customer service for me.
I use their equipment for my ATO in my sump and the same 2 sensor set up wired differently for my RO/DI storage tank which turns off my supply at one level but will not turn back on until the water drops below a different level.
Have used for about a year, no problems so far. Good luck

[Spiffy]

Originally Posted by mwblanto

I have had great success with Auto-Top Off -http://www.autotopoff.com/
Good price and very good customer service for me.
I use their equipment for my ATO in my sump and the same 2 sensor set up wired differently for my RO/DI storage tank which turns off my supply at one level but will not turn back on until the water drops below a different level.
Have used for about a year, no problems so far. Good luck

+1
I have been using the same thing for years now with no problems. Automatic shut-off if it has been filling for too long, dirty sensor, and low reservoir sensor, too. Worth every penny that I paid.

[d0ughb0y]

Originally Posted by dartier

There are a ton of those same sensors available on ebay. Both with the sensor board and without. Just mind the cord length, as that seems to be the difference between the low cost ones ($3~) and the more expensive ones ($9~).

Dennis

good call on the cable length. There is one ebay listing for $6.58 with 1.8m cable. I don't think the extra cable is worth $3, just as I don't think the circuit board is worth an extra $10. I think these are still way overpriced. I think they will be more popular and widely used if the price comes down to $5 or less with the circuit board and 1.8m cable. The circuit board is not essential, but would make it easier to treat this just like a normal float switch, as the digital output will go high (or low, I can't remember which one) if water touches the sensor.