Hydor smart level.

idan555 · 06/19/2018, 11:06 PM

I'm sure some of you guys using/used it before.
Is it worth the money? Any problem with this system?
If you guys have an alternative system your advice will help.

Seagals · 06/20/2018, 04:34 AM

Works well with the right size pump.ltoo big. It overfills and the alarm goes off. Too small it shuts off after a period of time and the alarm goes off. The alarm is a big pia

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Silly clownfish · 06/20/2018, 08:14 AM

I have 2. One works well in the return section of the sump for my 75g. The area is small enough that I. An use an aqua lifter for the pump and am adding a small amount of top off a few times a day. Note that if the lines for the aqualifter get clogged, it can slow the flow rate enough to set off the alarm, so I try to clean the lines every few months.

For the 75 g, I use 2.5 gallon top off containers and they last about 5 days, so I am topping about a half gallon/day.

The other I tried to use in my sumpless 30g. This really does not work of me. Since I do not have a small sump area to use for the sensor, it needs to be in the main tank, so the water level in the entire tank needs to drop about half an inch to trigger the ATO on. This is more top off water than I really want to add at one time, particularly since I top of with kalk. Also, it took some math and trial and error to get a pump setup that could fill the required amount in under 10minutes, but not so fast that it overfilled.

In the 30g, I only use this ATO when I am on vacation, and only with plain RO. Other times I manually add about a quart/day with a drip container.

When the unit on my 75 dies (it is about 4 years old), I will likely replace with the apex version since I now have an Apex controller, which I did not have when I got the hydor.

Uncle99 · 06/20/2018, 11:31 AM

Using the Coral Box ATO for 5 months, uses an infra red primary sensor and a float backup, includes pump, and has a warning system when ATO is low. can be ordered with extra sensors, $100 bucks in Canadian, Amazon delivered.

Has run flawlessly for about 6 months now. Very Happy...

Scott07 · 06/20/2018, 11:39 AM

I've been using it for about a year and a half on my 65. The sensor is mounted in the return section of my sump, and I'm also using an aqualifter. You'll have to modify the one prong of the plug if using a pump like the aqualifter that has a polarized plug. Not a big deal if you have a dremel tool or something similar.

Zero issues so far. It hasn't done anything other than operate as expected.

06/19/2018, 11:06 PM	#1
idan555 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Posts: 174	Hydor smart level. I'm sure some of you guys using/used it before. Is it worth the money? Any problem with this system? If you guys have an alternative system your advice will help.

06/20/2018, 08:14 AM	#3
Silly clownfish Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Southeast Pennsylvania Posts: 488	I have 2. One works well in the return section of the sump for my 75g. The area is small enough that I. An use an aqua lifter for the pump and am adding a small amount of top off a few times a day. Note that if the lines for the aqualifter get clogged, it can slow the flow rate enough to set off the alarm, so I try to clean the lines every few months. For the 75 g, I use 2.5 gallon top off containers and they last about 5 days, so I am topping about a half gallon/day. The other I tried to use in my sumpless 30g. This really does not work of me. Since I do not have a small sump area to use for the sensor, it needs to be in the main tank, so the water level in the entire tank needs to drop about half an inch to trigger the ATO on. This is more top off water than I really want to add at one time, particularly since I top of with kalk. Also, it took some math and trial and error to get a pump setup that could fill the required amount in under 10minutes, but not so fast that it overfilled. In the 30g, I only use this ATO when I am on vacation, and only with plain RO. Other times I manually add about a quart/day with a drip container. When the unit on my 75 dies (it is about 4 years old), I will likely replace with the apex version since I now have an Apex controller, which I did not have when I got the hydor. __________________ 75g mixed reef, 20g sump, ocelaris clownfish (20+yrs old), flame hawk, one spot foxface rabbitfish, green mandarin, Bicolor Blenny, Coral Beauty;30g sumpless with Spotcinctus pair with RBTA Current Tank Info: 75g mixed reef, 20g sump, ocelaris clownfish (20+yrs old), flame hawk, one spot foxface rabbitfish, green mandarin, Bicolor Blenny, Coral Beauty;30g sumpless with Spotcinctus pair

06/20/2018, 11:39 AM	#5
Scott07 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 384	I've been using it for about a year and a half on my 65. The sensor is mounted in the return section of my sump, and I'm also using an aqualifter. You'll have to modify the one prong of the plug if using a pump like the aqualifter that has a polarized plug. Not a big deal if you have a dremel tool or something similar. Zero issues so far. It hasn't done anything other than operate as expected. __________________ 65 gallon mixed reef Good maintainence and husbandry is a cumulative effect, not a single event.

06/20/2018, 04:34 AM	#2
Seagals Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: USA Posts: 127	Works well with the right size pump.ltoo big. It overfills and the alarm goes off. Too small it shuts off after a period of time and the alarm goes off. The alarm is a big pia Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

06/20/2018, 11:31 AM	#4
Uncle99 Crab Free Zone Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,906	Using the Coral Box ATO for 5 months, uses an infra red primary sensor and a float backup, includes pump, and has a warning system when ATO is low. can be ordered with extra sensors, $100 bucks in Canadian, Amazon delivered. Has run flawlessly for about 6 months now. Very Happy...