Neptune Systems ATK - Automatic Top-Off Kit (V2)

The ATK (Automatic Top-off Kit) is a simple, standalone, and complete solution for replacing water lost to evaporation.

The new aquarium hobbyist has many challenges, but none is more annoying than the chore of adding water, every day, to make up for that lost to evaporation (a.k.a. topping off/up).  This alone usually makes the automatic top-off (ATO) device the first piece of automation equipment purchased.

The ironic flip side of this decision is that a faulty ATO device is one of the leading reasons for catastrophic aquarium failure, or even worse, flooding of the house or business.

Not all ATO devices are created equal. Sadly, many ATO on the market are made with cheap components, have very little protection against these catastrophes, and are just a nightmare to assemble and install correctly.

An ATO does not have to be both a blessing and a curse! We designed our ATK – Automatic Top-Off Kit to not only be super-simple to install and use, but it is unique in the market as an ATO device with three layers of redundant monitoring and water-level control. The ATK does the work for you, while at the same time protecting your tank and your home.


New Improvements for V2

New PMUP with improved longevity and reliability
Improved optical sensors

THREE LEVELS OF SAFETY PREVENT OVER-RUNS

Should the main water level sensor fail, this second optical sensor is the backup. If water continues past the primary sensor, and then covers this one, the pump will be shut off and an alarm will sound.


2. IQ-Fill – Water run-time intelligence

If both the primary water sensor AND the backup optical sensor fail, the algorithm used in the ATK will not add more than double the learned water amount. It will shut itself off and sound an alarm.

3. Physical float valve – the final backstop

If for some reason all the electronic failsafes do not work, and water is continuing to be sent to the aquarium, the mechanical float valve is the safety device that will stop the water and prevent death to your aquarium and water on your floor.

If you already have an Apex of ANY kind, setting up the ATK is still super-simple. Just plug in all the components, attach it to your Apex via the AquaBus cable, and then run the set up task inside Apex Fusion. With the ATK connected to an Apex, you get the added benefit of having email/text/iOS alerts if there is an emergency and you can integrate its operation into other functions.

IQ-Fill is an intelligent and learning algorithm that, ongoing, monitors and records how much water your aquarium needs for each fill, and then calculates a maximum time your pump should run. By doing this, it dramatically reduces the chance that your pump would continue to add large volumes of water to the tank before you could realize it and fix the situation

While a float valve mechanism itself is certainly no high-tech solution, it is exactly what you want to have in place should all this high-tech gear decide to fail. The float valve on the ATK will never see any action unless for some reason the electronics continued to add water to the tank despite the optical sensors being submerged and the IQ-Fill algorithm limiting run times. For those small systems (usually small all-in-one aquariums) where the float valve will not fit, you can remove the float valve from the bracket and you still will have two levels of safety backup.

The PMUP is a 24V utility pump that is perfect for moving water from your RODI reservoir to the aquarium. This pump has a vertical design that easily drops into most water jugs or ATO reservoirs. The best part about the PMUP is that it has the the power to deliver water to your tank even from remotely located water reservoirs. Most other pumps that come with an ATO will barely pump six feet, the PMUP though has the ability to pump over 14’ vertically so it can even pump water up from a lower-floor or basement water storage location! 

The FMM module included with the ATK has four ports for sensors and probes. The two installed optical sensors for the ATK only use port-1 and port-2. This means there are two free ports that can be used for these optional purposes:

Optical Sensors with Magnetic Mounts
Whether for your ATO reservoir, to use as a sump-high alert, or for your long term water storage such as a brute container, these optical sensors plugin into the FMM.  In standalone use when used in your ATO reservoir (plugged into port-4), the FMM will stop your PMUP and sound an alarm when the sensor is above the water level. If you plug it into port-3, and mount it high in your sump, if your water level ever goes that high, an alarm will sound and your PMUP will stop operating.

Insert one of our leak detection probes into port-3 on the FMM and then place it near your sump. Now, if for some reason your sump should ever overflow, your ATK will stop operating and an alarm will sound.

Optional sensors are available that will monitor the flow through plumbing on your aquarium. This is perfect for monitoring the health of your return pump, keeping an eye on your emergency drain, setting the levels on your various reactors and filters, or watching the flow to your RODI.