Hydros ATO will not dispense water

[Pete B]

I just bought this new Hydros ATO system from Aquarium Specialty, and I cannot get it to dispense water, I cannot get the sense port to get the plastic water level that’s in the tank to work on AUTO, I moved the plastic device up and down and nothing, but I can get it to work manually on – ON OVERDRIVE, but that’s not good I need it to work on its own, on AUTO, I tried many different settings in Advance Settings by making the maximum on time to 2 seconds, but then all I get is an email warning saying “MAX Off Time has been exceeded” over and over again, I need help to get this thing to work, I have spent many hours, Pete.

 

[thom_smith]

I just bought this new Hydros ATO system from Aquarium Specialty, and I cannot get it to dispense water, I cannot get the sense port to get the plastic water level that’s in the tank to work on AUTO, I moved the plastic device up and down and nothing, but I can get it to work manually on – ON OVERDRIVE, but that’s not good I need it to work on its own, on AUTO, I tried many different settings in Advance Settings by making the maximum on time to 2 seconds, but then all I get is an email warning saying “MAX Off Time has been exceeded” over and over again, I need help to get this thing to work, I have spent many hours, Pete.

Is the water level sensor attached to a Sense port on the same control as the pump? Tend to believe you haven't configured a collective yet and have the input and output on different controls. Or maybe you just selected the wrong Sense port in the level sensor dropdown. Suppose it is also possible sensor is defective out of box but unlikely. Post screenshots of your level sensor input config, ATO output config and a photo pointing to the your sensor is plugged into.

 

[Pete B]

Is the water level sensor attached to a Sense port on the same control as the pump? Tend to believe you haven't configured a collective yet and have the input and output on different controls. Or maybe you just selected the wrong Sense port in the level sensor dropdown. Suppose it is also possible sensor is defective out of box but unlikely. Post screenshots of your level sensor input config, ATO output config and a photo pointing to the your sensor is plugged into.

Hi Yes, the water level sensor is attached to a Sense port on the same control as the pump, I am on the Collective using X4 Controller, the AUTO just will Not work, no problems doing it manually, but that is No good, I need it to do it on its own. Pete

 

[Pete B]

Here is some more attachments, try real hard to help me with this, thanks Pete.

 

[oorob00]

If you remove the sensor from the water does the state change from wet to dry? In the drop down "Active in Modes" do you have Normal checked? I think it is defaulted to check normal but wanted to check. Everything looks good. Which sensor came with ATO kit, the Tripple Level sensor (square sensor) or the Blue round water level sensor? If the square one then you have to change your input to Tripple Level instead of standard optical level sensor.

 

[Danny]

For one you do not want to set the maximum off time to 5 seconds unless you want it to alway be sending alerts. That setting is used to only send an alert if there is no top off done within the time it is set. I have mine set to 6 hours. Dose your input for the ATO show dry when it is removed from the tank and show wet when submerged. If it does not do that the there is an issue with the input. If it is an input issue then let us know what other inputs do you have connected to the sense port inputs. Also make sure you have the sensor plugged into the correct sense port, Your settings show port 4. That would be the one in the lower right of the sense ports.

 

[thom_smith]

You just purchased your ATO kit? Like JUST received it? Does it look like this?



Specifically the sensor? Because that is not the sensor you have selected in your configuration. However the sensor you did select defaults to wet. Change your sense mode to Triple Water Level.

 

[Danny]

If you remove the sensor from the water does the state change from wet to dry? In the drop down "Active in Modes" do you have Normal checked? I think it is defaulted to check normal but wanted to check. Everything looks good. Which sensor came with ATO kit, the Tripple Level sensor (square sensor) or the Blue round water level sensor? If the square one then you have to change your input to Tripple Level instead of standard optical level sensor.

I was not aware that the kit had the triple level sensor in it now. The last regular water level sensor I got was a square sensor and was not a triple level sensor.

 

[Pete B]

Hi Danny, it did not change from Wet to Dry when taking out of water, But I changed the setting from Optcial Water Level to Triple Water Level and it CAME ON, I am glad you guys told me there is different ATO kits, I am relying on videos from the store I bought from and the help section, and they are unreliable, I wish these devices came with step by step instructions in the box, do you think it is ok to keep the setting: Enable Advance Settings OFF? I don't want any other setting problems. thanks Pete.

 

[Pete B]

You just purchased your ATO kit? Like JUST received it? Does it look like this?

View attachment 4314

Specifically the sensor? Because that is not the sensor you have selected in your configuration. However the sensor you did select defaults to wet. Change your sense mode to Triple Water Level.

Hi Thom, that is it!
I changed the setting from Optical Water Level to Triple Water Level and it CAME ON, I am glad you guys told me there is different ATO kits, I am relying on videos from the store I bought from and the help section, and they are unreliable, I wish these devices came with step by step instructions in the box, do you think it is ok to keep the setting: Enable Advance Settings OFF? I don't want any other setting problems with this Triple ATO. thanks Pete.

 

[Pete B]

If you remove the sensor from the water does the state change from wet to dry? In the drop down "Active in Modes" do you have Normal checked? I think it is defaulted to check normal but wanted to check. Everything looks good. Which sensor came with ATO kit, the Tripple Level sensor (square sensor) or the Blue round water level sensor? If the square one then you have to change your input to Tripple Level instead of standard optical level sensor.

Hi Rob, it did not change from Wet to Dry when taking out of water, But I changed the setting from Optcial Water Level to Triple Water Level and it CAME ON, I am glad you guys told me there is different ATO kits, I am relying on videos from the store I bought from and the help section, and they are unreliable, I wish these devices came with step by step instructions in the box, do you think it is ok to keep the setting: Enable Advance Settings OFF? I don't want any other setting problems. thanks Pete.

 

[thom_smith]

Hi Thom, that is it!
I changed the setting from Optical Water Level to Triple Water Level and it CAME ON, I am glad you guys told me there is different ATO kits, I am relying on videos from the store I bought from and the help section, and they are unreliable, I wish these devices came with step by step instructions in the box, do you think it is ok to keep the setting: Enable Advance Settings OFF? I don't want any other setting problems with this Triple ATO. thanks Pete

Check out this video. It has the older sensor but all the same Advanced Settings principles apply. I would suggest figuring out how long your ATO typically runs and at least setting the Maximum On Time to prevent a flood if you do experience a bad sensor. Other settings may be optional.

As for a user manual, most everything you need is here.

HYDROS Control - HYDROS

www.coralvuehydros.com

 

[Danny]

Hi Danny, it did not change from Wet to Dry when taking out of water, But I changed the setting from Optcial Water Level to Triple Water Level and it CAME ON, I am glad you guys told me there is different ATO kits, I am relying on videos from the store I bought from and the help section, and they are unreliable, I wish these devices came with step by step instructions in the box, do you think it is ok to keep the setting: Enable Advance Settings OFF? I don't want any other setting problems. thanks Pete.

The advanced settings are a backup for the sensor in a way. If you set a maximum on time and set run past max on time to off it will only run the maximum on time and then turn off until the sensor reads wet again or you intervene and override the output and then set it back to auto. You can also set an alert level and if it does run the maximum on time it will send you a push notification if that is setup in the app. You can also set one for maximum off time and that would alert you if the ATO does not run before the amount of time you set expires. It is also a good idea to at least set the minimum off time for 5 minutes that will keep it from cycling on and off at a rapid rate. That with the maximum on time will limit how much top off can be dispensed in a given amount of time without running to the maximum on time. These are save guards to hopefully alert you to an issue before it become a critical issue.You may need to tweak these values some as time goes on since tanks don't alway have a consistent evaporation amount and it will vary depending on the tanks surroundings. Mostly air temp and humidity will affect the amount of top off needed in a given period.