Atmos AIO Assembly & Start Guide

These instructions will help you to get your Atmos AIO quickly assembled, installed, and treating your water.

Identify The Boxes:

Your Atmos AIO system ships in three boxes:

1. Treatment Tank: 10x54 media tank that is loaded with most of the treatment media, and capped
2. Supplemental Media + Funnel: This is the heavier of the two smaller boxes
3. Clack AIO Control Valve + Parts: The control valve (aka "head") and other important components

Open the Boxes:

To open the boxes, we recommend using a box cutter with a blade no longer than 1/4"

Box 1 - Media Tank:

• Cut the tape at the top of the box and open it up
• With the box flaps open, find a corner of the box and run your box cutter down the corner. Since the media tank is round and the box is square, at the corners there is little chance that you can accidentally damage the tank with the blade of the box cutter.
• Never cut the box open down the flat side as it is likely to damage the tank

Box 2 - Supplemental Media + Funnel:

• Open the top of the box with your box cutter and remove the funnel and supplemental media bag
• Remove the tape from the supplemental media bag or cut the top portion of the bag in preparation for adding the supplemental media to the media tank

Box 3 - Control Valve + Installation Parts:

• Open the top of the box and remove the control valve and bag of installation parts

All The Pieces:

In addition to the capped media tank, you should be able to find all of these parts and pieces:

1. Clack Air Blocker
2. Silicone Lubricant 1g Packs
3. Tube Stay
4. Bypass Valve
5. Plumbing Connector Kit
6. Riser Tube Plug

Control Valve:

Supplemental Media:

Funnel:

Putting the Parts Together

Put the riser plug into the open end of the exposed riser tube:

Place the funnel on the top of the tank:

Pour the supplemental media into the tank (and brush off the tank lip and threads when you're done):

Prep the Air Blocker by putting silicone lubricant on the o-ring at the riser tube end (1) and the control valve end (2):

Attach the Air Blocker to the underside of the control valve. The control valve end of the air blocker (#2 above) inserts into a groove in the underside of the control valve. Line up the tabs in the control valve slot with the slots in the air blocker. Once inserted, the Air Blocker is twisted slightly to lock it into place. Give it a tug to make sure it's secure.

Remove the funnel and the riser plug from the tank. Apply silicone lubricant to the flat surface of the tank lip:

Lower the control valve onto the tank. Guide the riser tube into the opening of Air Blocker and push the control valve down until the threads of the control valve can engage with the threads of the tank. Spin the control valve on until it stops, then give it an extra 1/8th turn. Because the control valve is o-ring sealed to the tank, it does not need to be tightened excessively:

Install the retainer rings (1) and o-rings (2) onto the plumbing connectors. Make sure the retainer rings are fully seated in the groove. Put some silicone lubricant on the o-rings.

Install the plumbing connectors onto the bypass valve by inserting them, and then tightening the nuts:

Attach the bypass valve (with attached plumbing connectors) to the control valve. The plumbing connectors can spin 360°. Turn them in whatever direction will make the installation easiest.

Remove the red clip that holds the drain line connector in place:

Pull out the drain line fitting. This photo shows how to connect your drain line tubing. The best material is 1/2" rigid plastic (like PEX). Make sure the pipe is fully inserted into the fitting as you tighten the nut on:

Soft drain line material can also be used. The most common is 5/8" (Outside Diameter) clear vinyl tubing. You'll need to insert the Tube Stay (see below) into the end of any soft tube before inserting the end into the drain line fitting. The photo shows the tube stay half-inserted. Make sure you push it in fully before installing it in the drain line fitting.

Once your drain line has been connected to the drain line fitting, insert this into the drain line port on the control valve, and re-insert the red clip. Make sure the clip is fully seated. The weight of the drain line must be supported properly by tacking it to a wall or other structure. If the full weight of the drain line is hanging from the control valve fitting, this can cause a leak. When the Atmos system backwashes, it will discharge both air and water so the receiving location must be able to manage both. The flow of water is substantial so the drain line should be secured so it will not move. The drain line should be no longer than 20 feet. Common drain locations are laundry tubs, floor drains, or sump pits. Make sure you abide by local plumbing bylaws.

Installation Location

• The Atmos AIO is installed immediately after the pressure tank and before any other water treatment devices or filters (even cartridge-based sediment filters should go after the Atmos)
• Never install the Atmos AIO between the pump and the pressure tank
• The Atmos AIO must be protected from weather including rain and freezing temperatures

Plumbing

Make sure the bypass valve is in the "bypass position" where both red handles are pointed towards each other:

Connect your household plumbing to the plumbing connectors that shipped with your Atmos unit. When viewing the control valve from the front, untreated water enters from the right and treated water exits to the left. Arrows on the Clack control valve show the flow direction also.

For threaded connectors, it's advisable to use a small amount of Teflon tape to ensure a good seal to your plumbing material

For any of the Clack push-to-connect fittings, it's important that you cut your plumbing straight across and that you de-burr the cut end with emery cloth or light sand-paper. Lubricate the cut and de-burred end with a small amount of silicone lubricant. The plumbing is then pushed into the push-to-connect fitting. There is an internal o-ring so there will be some resistance. Make sure the plumbing fully seats into the fitting.

For Clack plastic push-to-connect fittings (such as those shown in the photo below) there is a collar that needs to be locked into place by turning it 1/4 turn once the pipe has been inserted:

Other Plumbing Considerations:

• make sure the weight of the plumbing is supported or leaks may develop (for inlet/outlet plumbing and drain line)
• if you use elbows or other hardware in the drain line, make sure they do not reduce the inside diameter of the drain line. PEX fittings that expand the tube diameter (such as those made by Wirsbo) or Push-Connect-Fittings (like Sharkbite) are ideal as they do not reduce the inner diameter and allow full flow
• if you use soft material for the drain line be sure to avoid making tight turns that could collapse and block water flow
• the flow to the drain is substantial so make sure the end of the drain line is well-secured
• during backwash, the Atmos will discharge both air and water so it's important that the receiving drain can receive both - in other words the drainage location must be "open to atmosphere"

Power On & Setting the Clock

• The Clack control valve A/C adapter sits just behind the control panel. Remove it from this position and plug it into a standard 110V outlet. The display will come to life and the valve may make some mechanical noises.
• Press and hold the DOWN / SET CLOCK button for two seconds, then release:

• Set the hour (scrolling past 12:00 will change from AM to PM) then press NEXT
• Set the minutes, then press NEXT
• The control valve comes pre-programmed so there is no other programming to do

Turning On The Water

• Ensure that no water-using outlets are running in your home
• Open the inlet side of the bypass valve halfway - you will hear water flowing into the tank
• When water stops flowing, open up the bypass inlet all the way, and do the same for the outlet
• Immediately force the system into a backwash by pressing and holding the REGEN button until you hear the motor engage, then release:

• the backwash is comprised of two steps and takes 45 minutes in total:
  • 15-minute backwash where water will be sent to drain
  • 30-minute air-draw where air is slowly drawn into the tank
• Once the tank has been filled with water, the first backwash must be done within 3 hours. Failure to backwash the system within this time frame can cause the media to clump together and may reduce system effectiveness
• During the first backwash check all of your plumbing connections:
  • check the control valve/tank seal
  • check the drain line connection on the control valve
  • check the inlet/outlet plumbing connections
• During the first stage of the backwash (15-minute stage) check your drainage location to make sure the drain can manage the volume of water

The system is now fully ready to treat your water and will backwash every other day on its own!

Common Questions & Issues:

• If your household water shows discolouration after the installation, force a second backwash to further rinse the media. Do this by pressing and holding the REGEN button
• The media may release tiny air bubbles to your household water supply for several days. This can make your water look cloudy or "milky". This will resolve on its own, but you can accelerate the process by forcing a backwash by pressing and holding the REGEN button
• During a backwash, you can still use your household water but it will not be treated
• After a backwash has been completed, if you find you have air in your plumbing lines (large air bubbles, not tiny cloudy air bubbles) this is typically caused by one of the following:
  • Backpressure in the drain line either because the drain line is too long, or the drain line travels too high vertically, or the drain line is kinked, blocked, for frozen (if it discharges outdoors)
  • Inability to maintain line pressure over 30 psi for the full duration of the 15-minute 1st stage of the backwash
• During periods of very high contaminant load (especially sulphur), you may find that your system works better if it backwashes every night. To change the backwash frequency of your Atmos system please see this article. To make the system backwash every night, set the Regen Day value to "1".
• If you have other pieces of water treatment equipment that backwash automatically (softener, carbon filter, etc), it is advisable to change the Atmos time of backwash so that it does not overlap with the other pieces of equipment. This ensures the Atmos system has enough water flow to properly backwash. The Atmos is set to backwash at 2:00am by default. When changing the time of backwash please pay attention to AM/PM and note that the Atmos system takes 45 minutes to complete a backwash cycle.
• If you find that the media tank isn't perfectly vertical, it is usually because the tank base has shifted in shipping. The tank base is a friction fit and you can lie the tank on its side (with the tank cap still one) and tap the base with a rubber mallet to reposition it