Tunze 3155 ATO question

[scrappy35]

Just hooked up my ato and it seems to run on And off a lot. Is this normal? I would think that would wear the pump out pretty quick. I guess I was thinking it would have a little more leeway in it.

 

[ATAquariums]

Your evaporation rate is what dictates how often it turns on and off, as well as the chamber where the return pump sits. If your tank for example is a 100G tank and evaporates 3-5G a day, and the return pump chamber holds about 1G, the pump will turn on and off a lot. If you have the same tank with the same evaporation rate, but a huge bin as a sump, the pump will probably turn on 2-3 times a day. That being said, the pump will still have to run for long periods of time in the bin situation, which brings its own issues. Either way, I wouldn't be too concerned about it. Lots of people have a set up like yours and have no issues.

 

[scrappy35]

Thanks, I understand the evap, it was just how many times it was turning on and off in the 10 minutes since I installed it, but I also made a mistake and stuck the return line underwater = back siphon. Seems much better no. The last few days I’ve been loosing a gallon -1.5G a day. slowly getting it all dialed in.

 

[deepseabc]

Is your discharge hose submerged in water. If it is there is a possibility that once your pump shuts off a vacuum is created and water is getting sucked back into your top off container. I made this mistake before and my ATO pump would kick on every 30 seconds.