Aqualifter with hydor ato question

[fishboy15]

Does the toms Aqua lifter pump come with the tubing needed for the ato? Is the tubing long enough? Do I need a ball valve to slow down the pump from pumping water too fast?

 

[Marc.The.Shark]

Nope, you'll have to get some regular airline tubing. You may or may not need the valve. My return area is very small so I put one in just in case, but it depends on how high you are pumping with the aqualifter.
I just used one of these I had laying around. I'd try without it 1st tho, you may not need it.

 

[fishboy15]

How do I know if I need it or not? What does the valve do? It says up to 30 inch high??? What if my tank is 3 feet taller than the pump? Will it not pump water up? And what if my water reservoir is 30 inches lower than the pump?

 

[fishboy15]

Would I need a valve on my 29 gallon?

 

[Marc.The.Shark]

Mine's only pumping up about a foot so I put it in to slow the flow down some. The Hydor has to run for at least 25sec or it faults out & gives you an alarm. So you need something that will pump at least 25seconds & not reach the top up level. If you have a long way to pump, the AquaLifter may not work & you may have to go with a MaxiJet or some other pump with greater head pressure. a lot of people use the MaxiJet pumps as well in the ato container with tubing connected & running to the tank.

Edit: Here's a link to the instructions...
http://www.hydor.com/eng/prodotti-tecnici/controllers/smart-level.php

 

[fishboy15]

I just bought the Aqua lifter on Amazon. If it doesn't work, I can return it right? How do people run the Aqua lifter and hydor then? I guess most people are using a sumo closer to the ground instead the top of my tank. So if my reservoir is under my stand, and I put the pump on top of the stand and then I run the tubing from the pump to the top of the tank, will it work? It's a 29 gallon

 

[fishboy15]

The pump doesn't go into the reservoir does it? Or does the tubing just sit in there? Tubing inside the bucket, to the pump, from the pump the tubing goes up and into the tank. The tank is 30" tall. So I guess if I have the pump on the stand of the tank, it goes up 30" and then all I have to do is put something under the bucket so that the pump is on top of the bucket 30" or below