Dec 20, 2017
Brandon Johnson
wrote
Hello,
I recently purchased the smart micro ATO and have had lots of issues with it. First it ended up overflowing my tank upon first setup. I was sent a new sensor for the unit and got it set up last night. I keep getting flashing red lights with overfilling. I really need help troubleshooting this!
I recently purchased the smart micro ATO and have had lots of issues with it. First it ended up overflowing my tank upon first setup. I was sent a new sensor for the unit and got it set up last night. I keep getting flashing red lights with overfilling. I really need help troubleshooting this!
Reply
10 Answers
Dec 20, 2017
Michael S.
agent
wrote
Brandon Johnson.
This is most unfortunate and the hardest part of our job is trying to diagnose a problem across a computer with limited knowledge of what is going on with the product or what the issue could be either defect or improper set up.
Having said this I do apologize you are having trouble with your ATO, the only other thing in the system would be the power supply and other wires included.
I understand your frustration as a hobbiest myself and I want to help you in a timely manner. So please bare with me as I use this pump and have made some errors with it that I can cover with you to check for me.
The new sensor installed and your pump overfills the sump then the sensor sees this and goes red blinking and alarm Right ??
Please check to make sure the small plastic tube is installed / this is the siphon break and there is an arrow on it to show direction of water flow. It should be well above the water line of the ATO fresh water holding tank water level. If not the sensor will kick the pump off but the water will continue to overflow the sump even with the sensor seeing this the siphon is not broken if the siphon tube is not installed above water level and or arrow pointing the wrong direction.
Lets please for the sake of time and effort eliminate these possibilities as the sensor is the brains of the operation. It may be possible you received a defective unit twice which is unlikely but I can not rule that out at this point. Also ensure that the small pin hole in the siphon break tube is not obstructed with build up or a small bit of plastic possibly from the manufacturing process
You can clear it out with a small pick or paper clip.
Please let me know soon so we can take care of this issue for you.
Again I do appreciate your patients and understanding with this process and thank you for using our product lines.
Sincerely Michael
This is most unfortunate and the hardest part of our job is trying to diagnose a problem across a computer with limited knowledge of what is going on with the product or what the issue could be either defect or improper set up.
Having said this I do apologize you are having trouble with your ATO, the only other thing in the system would be the power supply and other wires included.
I understand your frustration as a hobbiest myself and I want to help you in a timely manner. So please bare with me as I use this pump and have made some errors with it that I can cover with you to check for me.
The new sensor installed and your pump overfills the sump then the sensor sees this and goes red blinking and alarm Right ??
Please check to make sure the small plastic tube is installed / this is the siphon break and there is an arrow on it to show direction of water flow. It should be well above the water line of the ATO fresh water holding tank water level. If not the sensor will kick the pump off but the water will continue to overflow the sump even with the sensor seeing this the siphon is not broken if the siphon tube is not installed above water level and or arrow pointing the wrong direction.
Lets please for the sake of time and effort eliminate these possibilities as the sensor is the brains of the operation. It may be possible you received a defective unit twice which is unlikely but I can not rule that out at this point. Also ensure that the small pin hole in the siphon break tube is not obstructed with build up or a small bit of plastic possibly from the manufacturing process
You can clear it out with a small pick or paper clip.
Please let me know soon so we can take care of this issue for you.
Again I do appreciate your patients and understanding with this process and thank you for using our product lines.
Sincerely Michael
Dec 20, 2017
Brandon Johnson
wrote
Hello Michael,
I will give some more detailed info on how I set it up. It is on an open top 32 Biocube, the sensor and fill tube are both in the last chamber with the fill tube well above the water line. I have the pump under in the stand that has the siphon break installed above the water line but below the lid of the 5 gal bucket (as the siphon break squirts out water). Upon initial set up the system worked fine as it filled the last chamber to where i desired the water line then shut off. It seems to be tripping up on its first refill a few hours after initial setup. I get the flashing red lights along with the beeping alarm. I hope this helps!
I will give some more detailed info on how I set it up. It is on an open top 32 Biocube, the sensor and fill tube are both in the last chamber with the fill tube well above the water line. I have the pump under in the stand that has the siphon break installed above the water line but below the lid of the 5 gal bucket (as the siphon break squirts out water). Upon initial set up the system worked fine as it filled the last chamber to where i desired the water line then shut off. It seems to be tripping up on its first refill a few hours after initial setup. I get the flashing red lights along with the beeping alarm. I hope this helps!
Dec 21, 2017
Michael S.
agent
wrote
Brandon Johnson,
This is most unfortunate and I do apologize about this as its frustrating for you to deal with this new product having issues.
The power supply is working via powering the pump and sensor
The wires are working properly relaying power and the pump is doing its job moving water.
The only thing left is the tiny brain in this operation being the sensor that seems to be malfunctioning.
I am going to send you another one being it seems you have been bit twice by a faulty sensor.
As this is most unfortunate I am going to put in a request To look into this issue in attempt to find out if the product is experiencing an issue with a bad batch of sensors.
Again I apologize for your troubles and appreciate your patience and understanding in this situation.
Please verify your shipping / Mailing address for us so that we can ship out a new one to your location.
I will pull a unit and test it before I ship it out to ensure it is working properly.
This is most unfortunate and I do apologize about this as its frustrating for you to deal with this new product having issues.
The power supply is working via powering the pump and sensor
The wires are working properly relaying power and the pump is doing its job moving water.
The only thing left is the tiny brain in this operation being the sensor that seems to be malfunctioning.
I am going to send you another one being it seems you have been bit twice by a faulty sensor.
As this is most unfortunate I am going to put in a request To look into this issue in attempt to find out if the product is experiencing an issue with a bad batch of sensors.
Again I apologize for your troubles and appreciate your patience and understanding in this situation.
Please verify your shipping / Mailing address for us so that we can ship out a new one to your location.
I will pull a unit and test it before I ship it out to ensure it is working properly.
Dec 21, 2017
Michael S.
agent
wrote
Brandon Johnson,
Other than your shipping / Mailing address being confirmed by you for us to ensure the replacement gets shipped correctly I need you to confirm the operation of the unit you have.
The replacement sensor has been taken out of the package and tested for several instances and forced to go through some situations where it would cause a proper alarm.
The sensor is functioning normally and triggering alarms when it is suppose to give them.
The first time you install the sensor and supply power to the unit, the very first fill performed will be recorded in memory. So say that the first fill the pump runs for 3 seconds.
This system will only allow the pump to remain running for 3X's the initial amount so 9 seconds will be the limit, any run time longer than this will trigger a red flashing light with audible alarm.
Same alarm will sound when the pump starts to run dry and senses no top off water in the container. The only way to get it to stop beeping is to shut off power to the unit as this will reset the initial memory so the process will start over again.
You may have an issue with fluctuations in the water level due to filter socks or other influences that can and will cause an issue in some cases with this system.
I am trying to ensure that the issue you are experiencing is not due to another factor or misunderstanding of how the system operates as this is a common mishap with new users of this and like products that operate in similar manner. As a user of this ATO system I admit it was a bit of a learning curve as I had some issues at first due to not understanding a few aspects of the system and outside factors that can cause seemingly faults / defects.
Still I am requesting that you verify your address so that a new sensor can be sent to you, I have tested this one and ensured personally that it operated normally under many scenarios. This replacement will not come with the back side magnet as the other two you have should be ample for your needs.
I will await your response/ verification.
Other than your shipping / Mailing address being confirmed by you for us to ensure the replacement gets shipped correctly I need you to confirm the operation of the unit you have.
The replacement sensor has been taken out of the package and tested for several instances and forced to go through some situations where it would cause a proper alarm.
The sensor is functioning normally and triggering alarms when it is suppose to give them.
The first time you install the sensor and supply power to the unit, the very first fill performed will be recorded in memory. So say that the first fill the pump runs for 3 seconds.
This system will only allow the pump to remain running for 3X's the initial amount so 9 seconds will be the limit, any run time longer than this will trigger a red flashing light with audible alarm.
Same alarm will sound when the pump starts to run dry and senses no top off water in the container. The only way to get it to stop beeping is to shut off power to the unit as this will reset the initial memory so the process will start over again.
You may have an issue with fluctuations in the water level due to filter socks or other influences that can and will cause an issue in some cases with this system.
I am trying to ensure that the issue you are experiencing is not due to another factor or misunderstanding of how the system operates as this is a common mishap with new users of this and like products that operate in similar manner. As a user of this ATO system I admit it was a bit of a learning curve as I had some issues at first due to not understanding a few aspects of the system and outside factors that can cause seemingly faults / defects.
Still I am requesting that you verify your address so that a new sensor can be sent to you, I have tested this one and ensured personally that it operated normally under many scenarios. This replacement will not come with the back side magnet as the other two you have should be ample for your needs.
I will await your response/ verification.
Dec 21, 2017
Brandon Johnson
wrote
Thanks for your help Michael! the only thing i can possible think of that would be affecting the sensor is possibly my lighting as the sensor is exposed to my AI Hydra light that is over the tank. I have no idea if this would be causing the sensor to malfunction or not. Please email me at Bostonbull04@gmail.com to verify my address.
Dec 21, 2017
Michael S.
agent
wrote
Brandon Johnson,
Yes the sensor will be affected buy other strong illumination so you could be having these issues due to that fact.
Try making a small cover for this area out of black acrylic or other suitable material to block out the light from the main tank display lights.
I have also made this ticket private so that our responses can only be seen by the two of us and any other tech here that may get assigned this ticket so you can post the info here so that it is easily accessed by the shipping department.
Sincerely Michael
Yes the sensor will be affected buy other strong illumination so you could be having these issues due to that fact.
Try making a small cover for this area out of black acrylic or other suitable material to block out the light from the main tank display lights.
I have also made this ticket private so that our responses can only be seen by the two of us and any other tech here that may get assigned this ticket so you can post the info here so that it is easily accessed by the shipping department.
Sincerely Michael
Dec 21, 2017
Brandon Johnson
wrote
Thanks!
I will try making a cover for the back and see if that resolves the issue. I will report back after that and we can go further if needed. Don't want you to send me another sensor if there is another fix.
I will try making a cover for the back and see if that resolves the issue. I will report back after that and we can go further if needed. Don't want you to send me another sensor if there is another fix.
Dec 21, 2017
Michael S.
agent
wrote
Brandon Johnson
That sounds good to me, let me know when you get it covered and run a little test to see if this helps resolve your issues.
I will await your response.
Thank you
sincerely Michael
That sounds good to me, let me know when you get it covered and run a little test to see if this helps resolve your issues.
I will await your response.
Thank you
sincerely Michael
Jan 03, 2018
Brandon Johnson
wrote
Hello,
Reporting back after i made a black acrylic cover for the back of my Biocube. Seems to have solved the problem! thanks for your great customer service. I might recommend adding this information to the product description as it would be helpful to people running an AIO tank that is open.
Thanks again!
Brandon
Reporting back after i made a black acrylic cover for the back of my Biocube. Seems to have solved the problem! thanks for your great customer service. I might recommend adding this information to the product description as it would be helpful to people running an AIO tank that is open.
Thanks again!
Brandon
Jan 03, 2018
Michael S.
agent
wrote
Brandon
Thank you for getting back to me with your results and I am glad that this resolved your issue with the auto top off unit.
Yes sir I agree this needs to be information added to the literature on our site / social media and other outlets so that others know as well.
You are most welcome for the support, glad to have helped.
Please let us know if there is anything else I / we can help you resolving.
Thank you for being a customer of products Coral Vue distributes.
Thank you for getting back to me with your results and I am glad that this resolved your issue with the auto top off unit.
Yes sir I agree this needs to be information added to the literature on our site / social media and other outlets so that others know as well.
You are most welcome for the support, glad to have helped.
Please let us know if there is anything else I / we can help you resolving.
Thank you for being a customer of products Coral Vue distributes.