scrappy35
Active Member
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.
Tunze 3155 ATO question
- Thread starter scrappy35
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ATAquariums
Active Member
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
Active Member
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
Community Member
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.
