ATO after power failure

EagleFF · 05/30/2016, 09:37 PM

something I have not taken into account is how to stop the Tunze 3155 ATO from pumping after a power failure, right now I have the pump disconnected as we are experiencing a storm and power may go out a few times, how are you guys fixing this problem?

OCReeferr · 05/30/2016, 10:22 PM

Do you have pictures of how it is set up?
Usually an ATO is set up in the sump and in the event of a power outage water in the display tank would siphon down and raise the level of the sump which wouldn't turn on the ato.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

EagleFF · 05/30/2016, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OCReeferr

Do you have pictures of how it is set up?
Usually an ATO is set up in the sump and in the event of a power outage water in the display tank would siphon down and raise the level of the sump which wouldn't turn on the ato.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

this would work on a long more than 20 sec power outage, I am talking about those on-off power outages thats on long enough to blink the lights out but come back on within seconds, this happened tonight and heard the ato try to fill the tank, it wasnt long enough for everything to flow back to sump

homer1475 · 05/31/2016, 04:28 AM

I'm not sure how power outages would be a concern?

If the sensor isn't calling for water the pump should not come on, regardless of power outages only lasting a few second or longer.

I loose power all the time(several times a month recently), and I have never heard my ato pump come on when the power came back on, even when it just blinks. The only time I've heard it come on is if it needed to fill the tank.

EagleFF · 05/31/2016, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homer1475

I'm not sure how power outages would be a concern?

If the sensor isn't calling for water the pump should not come on, regardless of power outages only lasting a few second or longer.

I loose power all the time(several times a month recently), and I have never heard my ato pump come on when the power came back on, even when it just blinks. The only time I've heard it come on is if it needed to fill the tank.

Is yours the tunez?
Mine initializes the pump for a few seconds when power is applied to the unit

merlinpi · 05/31/2016, 09:08 AM

I don't believe there is a way around the Tunze ATO putting water when it is powered as I think it is part of its self check. You could connect it to a UPS unit that would not cut current to it in the event of off-on power outages (I have it setup this way...).

Art13 · 05/31/2016, 09:14 AM

Tunze ATO's will dump in some water after they are turned off and on. My tank is about 150g so it doesn't effect mine at all after losing power, smaller setups might have an issue. You can always open the box and turn the pump down so not much water goes in after coming on, if you lose electricity that much, i would consider a UPS for that plug, a small one would keep it on for a while assuming it doesn't fire up the pump, even then it shouldn't be much of a draw.

CafeReef · 05/31/2016, 09:24 AM

This is one thing I really hate about the design of the Tunze 3155. Mine does it as well. Where it does not affect the salinity of my tank, it the section it fills is small so causes the emergency float to trigger the alarm. So it is annoying.

EagleFF · 05/31/2016, 07:00 PM

I was looking at the UPS last night, found 1 for about 40 bucks at best buy, would only use it to run the tunze but we normally have bad storms that just knock out the powers for an hr or 2 when we do get weather, was thinking about some type of electric valve but hadn't worked out how to make it run the way I want

Art13 · 06/01/2016, 07:17 AM

The ups would be your best bet, if the power is out for 2 hours, all it will be doing is sending power to the tunze to keep the led lit and sensor functioning, maybe one on off cycle for the pump, the amount of power used should barely be noticeable. Also, is this on your 190g tank? i have a dsa 135 with a 30g sump, i just let mine go, even if it kicked in 3 extra times in an hour it's not enough water to make a difference in the tank, and i have my pump set to max flow. I probably go through a gallon of evap a day, so an extra kick on here and there shouldn't effect the tank and it would balance itself out.

EagleFF · 06/01/2016, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art13

The ups would be your best bet, if the power is out for 2 hours, all it will be doing is sending power to the tunze to keep the led lit and sensor functioning, maybe one on off cycle for the pump, the amount of power used should barely be noticeable. Also, is this on your 190g tank? i have a dsa 135 with a 30g sump, i just let mine go, even if it kicked in 3 extra times in an hour it's not enough water to make a difference in the tank, and i have my pump set to max flow. I probably go through a gallon of evap a day, so an extra kick on here and there shouldn't effect the tank and it would balance itself out.

yes its my 190 gal tank, higher water level makes my skimmer skim wet, wasted water, was trying to see if there is a solution out there that makes sense, may be me just over thinking it.

Breadman03 · 06/01/2016, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EagleFF

yes its my 190 gal tank, higher water level makes my skimmer skim wet, wasted water, was trying to see if there is a solution out there that makes sense, may be me just over thinking it.

Apex. Set the skimmer to have a 5 minute delay after the power comes back on.

05/30/2016, 09:37 PM	#1
EagleFF Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Andrews Tx. Posts: 189	ATO after power failure something I have not taken into account is how to stop the Tunze 3155 ATO from pumping after a power failure, right now I have the pump disconnected as we are experiencing a storm and power may go out a few times, how are you guys fixing this problem? __________________ 190 gal DSA Pro Reef Current Tank Info: 190 Gal DSA Pro Tank Last edited by EagleFF; 05/30/2016 at 09:51 PM.

05/31/2016, 04:28 AM	#4
homer1475 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 5,313	I'm not sure how power outages would be a concern? If the sensor isn't calling for water the pump should not come on, regardless of power outages only lasting a few second or longer. I loose power all the time(several times a month recently), and I have never heard my ato pump come on when the power came back on, even when it just blinks. The only time I've heard it come on is if it needed to fill the tank. __________________ 80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256 Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht: "He's just taking his lunch to work"

05/31/2016, 09:24 AM	#8
CafeReef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Elkhorn, NE Posts: 1,405	This is one thing I really hate about the design of the Tunze 3155. Mine does it as well. Where it does not affect the salinity of my tank, it the section it fills is small so causes the emergency float to trigger the alarm. So it is annoying. __________________ 50 Gallon cube

05/31/2016, 07:00 PM	#9
EagleFF Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Andrews Tx. Posts: 189	I was looking at the UPS last night, found 1 for about 40 bucks at best buy, would only use it to run the tunze but we normally have bad storms that just knock out the powers for an hr or 2 when we do get weather, was thinking about some type of electric valve but hadn't worked out how to make it run the way I want __________________ 190 gal DSA Pro Reef Current Tank Info: 190 Gal DSA Pro Tank

05/30/2016, 10:22 PM	#2
OCReeferr Registered Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 38	Do you have pictures of how it is set up? Usually an ATO is set up in the sump and in the event of a power outage water in the display tank would siphon down and raise the level of the sump which wouldn't turn on the ato. Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

05/31/2016, 09:08 AM	#6
merlinpi Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: KS Posts: 43	I don't believe there is a way around the Tunze ATO putting water when it is powered as I think it is part of its self check. You could connect it to a UPS unit that would not cut current to it in the event of off-on power outages (I have it setup this way...).

05/31/2016, 09:14 AM	#7
Art13 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: South Jersey Posts: 1,444	Tunze ATO's will dump in some water after they are turned off and on. My tank is about 150g so it doesn't effect mine at all after losing power, smaller setups might have an issue. You can always open the box and turn the pump down so not much water goes in after coming on, if you lose electricity that much, i would consider a UPS for that plug, a small one would keep it on for a while assuming it doesn't fire up the pump, even then it shouldn't be much of a draw.

06/01/2016, 07:17 AM	#10
Art13 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: South Jersey Posts: 1,444	The ups would be your best bet, if the power is out for 2 hours, all it will be doing is sending power to the tunze to keep the led lit and sensor functioning, maybe one on off cycle for the pump, the amount of power used should barely be noticeable. Also, is this on your 190g tank? i have a dsa 135 with a 30g sump, i just let mine go, even if it kicked in 3 extra times in an hour it's not enough water to make a difference in the tank, and i have my pump set to max flow. I probably go through a gallon of evap a day, so an extra kick on here and there shouldn't effect the tank and it would balance itself out.