ATO for a big lift? help!

[Subw00er]

I need a new ATO pump for water top offs (55g reef). I'm looking for something around 50ml/min. I have used the BRS 50ml/min peristaltic pump but now I am on my 4th one and they are made like crap. The gears strip.

My main issue is that I need to pump up from the basement to my tank, and I have to push up about 15'.

I read there is the Stenner and Cole palmer, but I dont want to pay $300-1000 for an ato pump. Is there something else in the $50-200 range that is quality and will pull up about 11' and push up another 4' to my tank? I have the pump at my tank on the first floor because that is where I control the outlet (reefkeeper).

Thoughts?

[Uncle Luke]

Try the Spectrapure pump thats what i use. Its about $130.

[sfdan]

I haven't been in the market for a cole parmer pump in a while, IME but the ones that were super expensive are the brushless ones that operate at variable speeds. The brushed versions (which are louder) or the constant speed versions (perfectly fine for ATO) are much cheaper.

I just poked around on ebay and I saw a couple of completed listing for fixed RPM pumps, with heads, for around $150 shipped.

[zaireguy]

I use the advast marine ato.its good for up to 130 ft .i pump mine from my basement where my trash is up to my main tank on second floor
Easy to install and works great...best thing is i can store 32 gallons of top off water and its not in the wifes way

[slief]

A spectrapure ATO pump would work just fine or if you want something a bit more industrial grade, a Stenner peristaltic pump is a great choice too. The Spectrapure is much more quiet thant the stenner but the Stenners are beasts that can pump water around the block and back.

I’ve used this Spectrapure pump on a number of installs and is my first choice for smaller systems. You can use this with it’s included pressure switch or ditch the switch and controller it via your aquarium controller and standard float switches.
http://spectrapure.com/DOSING-TOP-OF...-Top-Off-Sytem

This is the Stenner I use on my system. They have cheaper ones as well. This is rated at 85gpd which is more than most need for a peristaltic ATO pump.
https://www.poolweb.com/stenner-adju...iABEgJ2WPD_BwE

Something like this in the Stenner line would be well suited as well.
https://www.poolweb.com/stenner-fixe...ch-120v-family

Either the Spectrapure or the Stenner will outlast by a long shot any cheap peristaltic pump from Avast, BRS etc and do so with much less frequent tubing changes and maintenance. You can’t kill the Stenner meaning it will outlast your tank and the Spectrapure pumps are proven to last several years or more so I’d spend the money and buy the Spectrapure or find a Stenner.

[Subw00er]

Wow thanks for the replies guys. This is super helpful. I saw a couple stenner on ebay, but they are still pretty expensive $200+, and the history and what they pumped is unknown. Looks like a lot of them are used for pools, which means they pumped chemicals, which means I'd need to buy new tubes too $20-30.

The avast seems too slow to me at 25ml/min. I cant seem to find a rate for the spectrapure, but I think its 200, which seems optimistic.

The pump will be in my main living space too, so noise is a concern. I guess I will give the spectrapure a try. It looks like the $140 LM3-RPM is actually the best choice for me since I dont need the control:

http://spectrapure.com/Basic-LiterMe...r_name=LM3-MPM

[Subw00er]

got the spectrapure, and although it pumps fast, strong, the water hammer affect post pump is obnoxious. How have you guys dealt with the flapping around 1/4" tube.

[slief]

Originally Posted by Subw00er

Wow thanks for the replies guys. This is super helpful. I saw a couple stenner on ebay, but they are still pretty expensive $200+, and the history and what they pumped is unknown. Looks like a lot of them are used for pools, which means they pumped chemicals, which means I'd need to buy new tubes too $20-30.

The avast seems too slow to me at 25ml/min. I cant seem to find a rate for the spectrapure, but I think its 200, which seems optimistic.

The pump will be in my main living space too, so noise is a concern. I guess I will give the spectrapure a try. It looks like the $140 LM3-RPM is actually the best choice for me since I dont need the control:

http://spectrapure.com/Basic-LiterMe...r_name=LM3-MPM

This is a late reply but the Stenners are usually used for chlorine when used in pools and that happens to be a common use for them since they are built for indoor and outdoor use. They are bullet proof and you can buy new tubing cheap and not worry about what was run through them. I’ve been using the same tubing for a couple years now despite running upwards of 5 gallons a day through mine. I keep spare tubing on hand. I bought mine used a number of years back and have no worries about it lasting many many more years. You can’t kill a Stenner. There are a number of different Stenners and some single head models like the one I use go as high as 85 gpd. That works out to 223ml/min if I am not mistaken. In contrast, the Litermeter ATO is around half that. While you may think that is slow, having ATO top offs done slowly isn’t a bad thing if something like a float switch or sensor fails. Bad things happen fast where as a slow problem is often a correctable problem before it becomes catastrophic. My 85 GPD Stenner pump can top off my 700 gallon system in a matter of minutes and I evap 5 gallons a day. In contrast, the Litermeter 3 top off pump can do 26 GPD or 170ml/min which is just fine for most systems.

That said, the LM3 ATO pump is a GREAT choice! They are built to last. You do need to clean the rollers every few months and should change the tubing every handful of months but the pumps will last many years and have a great warranty. As I said above, I have used them on many installs and swear by those pumps. For a larger system where noise isn’t an issue, the Stenners are a great choice and are built like tanks but that comes at a cost in terms or price and noise.

[slief]

Originally Posted by Subw00er

got the spectrapure, and although it pumps fast, strong, the water hammer affect post pump is obnoxious. How have you guys dealt with the flapping around 1/4" tube.

The hammer effect is just the nature of a peristaltic pump that moves a decent about of water. I never worried about it since I always used the RODI type tubing and mount the pump to a wall or shelf. You could zip tie the tubing to a wall or position the pump such that the tubing isn’t touching anything. You can also try wrapping a towel around the tubing.

[Subw00er]

Thanks for the info., Great stuff guys. I changed the setup out today from a rodi 1/4" tube to a 3/8" tygon flexible tubing and the hammer effect is gone. I think the fact that it goes to a larger diameter, and the tube itself is flexible is what cured the issue. It was really obnoxious before!

As for failure modes, I bought the pump version with the pressure switch, but I also have a backup float kill switch that is above the water line on my reefkeeper. I guess the only way I'm leaking is at the pump head itself if the tubing breaks. Do you really need to replace these every few months? Is there a cheap source for the tubing?

The only thing that sort of irks me is how spectrapure relys on fitting the output of the tube to a rodi line with no sort of mechanical secure (ie barbed adapter etc).

[Vinny Kreyling]

A simple cable tie will suffice if you feel it necessary.
However there is no pressure in that line so no worries,
mine has been the same way for 5 years.
Tubing lasts a lot longer than a few months.
Yearly for me & it still looks good.

[slief]

Originally Posted by Subw00er

Thanks for the info., Great stuff guys. I changed the setup out today from a rodi 1/4" tube to a 3/8" tygon flexible tubing and the hammer effect is gone. I think the fact that it goes to a larger diameter, and the tube itself is flexible is what cured the issue. It was really obnoxious before!

As for failure modes, I bought the pump version with the pressure switch, but I also have a backup float kill switch that is above the water line on my reefkeeper. I guess the only way I'm leaking is at the pump head itself if the tubing breaks. Do you really need to replace these every few months? Is there a cheap source for the tubing?

The only thing that sort of irks me is how spectrapure relys on fitting the output of the tube to a rodi line with no sort of mechanical secure (ie barbed adapter etc).

Originally Posted by Vinny Kreyling

A simple cable tie will suffice if you feel it necessary.
However there is no pressure in that line so no worries,
mine has been the same way for 5 years.
Tubing lasts a lot longer than a few months.
Yearly for me & it still looks good.

As Vinny noted, it could last much longer. It just depends on how much you are pumping through it a day. Their tubing is high quality though. I ran 5 gallons a day through mine before I switched to the Stenner and swapped that tubing every 6 months (a handful plus a finger) I did however clean the rollers every few months.

[tkeracer619]

I know you already picked up a pump but I use Masterflex standard drives and standard heads for these. They have set speeds and use tubing specific heads. Great little pumps for ATO. Reliable as all get out.

Also have a LM3. Great pump.