I bought a Spectrapure ATO and it arrived yesterday. Either I’m doing something wrong or the pump is defective. The device is not very intuitive and the manual isn’t much help. I plug the unit in to dry run it for 20 mins as they suggest and nothing happens. The round tubes in the pump head don’t move. I opened it up and rotated them as suggested in the manual. Still nothing. What am I missing? I contacted their tech support but they don’t appear to be open on weekends. Any suggestions are welcome. I hope I am just missing a step and it isn’t defective. Thanks in advance.
Spectrapure ATO pump
- Thread starter Kevo6708
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DS204
Active Member
Hello - I have the same ATO and just installed it today, too.
When I plugged it in for the first time, the pump ran at full speed (LED #10 was lit up) and it kept running for about 16 mins until it shut off on its own. I made sure the input and output were NOT connected to anything so it could run dry like you said.
If that doesn't work, you could maybe try the part of the manual where it says QUICK SETUP and you hold the down button for 3 seconds while you connect the power cord. I had the primary sensor in the water (sitting where I wanted the level to be at) and that flashed the 6 light sequence and recorded the water level at that point.
So if neither of those work then perhaps the pump is possibly defective (??), or you may need to refer to the part in the manual about servicing the pump....which it sounds like you did already.
Good luck - I hope this helps. I literally set up mine about 4 hours ago so my experience with this unit is very limited as well. I haven't tried servicing the pump or taking that cover off, but I could definitely hear it running and see the rollers spinning through that hole at first power-up.
When I plugged it in for the first time, the pump ran at full speed (LED #10 was lit up) and it kept running for about 16 mins until it shut off on its own. I made sure the input and output were NOT connected to anything so it could run dry like you said.
If that doesn't work, you could maybe try the part of the manual where it says QUICK SETUP and you hold the down button for 3 seconds while you connect the power cord. I had the primary sensor in the water (sitting where I wanted the level to be at) and that flashed the 6 light sequence and recorded the water level at that point.
So if neither of those work then perhaps the pump is possibly defective (??), or you may need to refer to the part in the manual about servicing the pump....which it sounds like you did already.
Good luck - I hope this helps. I literally set up mine about 4 hours ago so my experience with this unit is very limited as well. I haven't tried servicing the pump or taking that cover off, but I could definitely hear it running and see the rollers spinning through that hole at first power-up.
The quick setup did the trick. I am putting this in my 20 gallon nano for the near term until I get my 90 gallon up and going. Does the high level secondary sensor have to be out of the water? If that’s the case I’ll have to significantly lower the water level which isn’t realistic on such a small tank.
DS204
Active Member
Oh, nice! Glad to hear that you got it working!
The high water level sensor should be out of the water a little, so that if the reservoir overfills it will cut off the main pump. Here is how I have mine setup. I suppose the higher you place this sensor, the more water that could potentially over-fill into the reservoir if something went wrong.
The high water level sensor should be out of the water a little, so that if the reservoir overfills it will cut off the main pump. Here is how I have mine setup. I suppose the higher you place this sensor, the more water that could potentially over-fill into the reservoir if something went wrong.
