ATO frequency - hydros

[Coach v]

I recently picked up a used hydros x4 with a bunch of accessories. I am using the x4, a water sensor, and a micro dc pump for my ato. I go through about 2 gallons a day.

My question is how frequently should the ato come on? Mine comes on every 4-25 minutes and stays on for 3 - 10 seconds.

Is this a good way to run my ato or should I have it turn off for a fixed amount of time after it comes on?

 

[wculver]

I recently picked up a used hydros x4 with a bunch of accessories. I am using the x4, a water sensor, and a micro dc pump for my ato. I go through about 2 gallons a day.

My question is how frequently should the ato come on? Mine comes on every 4-25 minutes and stays on for 3 - 10 seconds.

Is this a good way to run my ato or should I have it turn off for a fixed amount of time after it comes on?

I have mine similarly setup with a switched plug instead. I have set it to have a 45 second max on time and a 20 second pause in between. I do this because every now and then the sensor gets confused and I don't want to bail multiple gallons of water before it finds itself.

 

[JeffB418]

Enable advanced settings and use the min-max off/on time settings to add some time to the process to reduce this cycling. I use the"Min On Time" to make sure my ATO runs for a minimum of like 30 seconds so that it fills past the sensor every time, but this time varies from setup to setup. Also if you use the "Min off time" setting, this will help turn down cycling as well. Something like 30 mins is what I use.

In the future there's a new "triple level sensor" coming out that actually has 2 separate sensors for turning off/on your ato and provides a physical hysteresis. But theres no ETA on these new sensors.