ATO nonstop - Can't figure it out!!??

I agree with this as well. I had a similar issue, where the stand pipe was not getting enough air. Basicly it would slow the drain due to a vacume forming in the line, then when the water level in the overflow reached a certain level, it would drain all at once.

This cuased the water level in my sump to constanty raise and lower.

I fixed it with a small air tube in the stand pipe.

 

What is under your tank. I got that its over tile but is that on a cement slab, raised subfloor, upstairs. What size are the tiles? If it was leaking on the tile floor then you should see wet grout from around the sump or stand. Just trying to help narrow this down.

 

If it were the overflow couldn't you shut the return pump off and wait for the water to overflow the sump if there's any issues?

 

Any update on this?

 

I really appreciate all the ideas/suggestions above.

Current situation = resolved / system functioning normally

The solution = I have no freaking idea

To recap the situation: my ATO was turning on every 1.5 minute, my salinity was dropping, when I turned off the return I could physically watch the water level in my sump go down, I checked the drain pipe and there was no clog whatsoever.

So I decided I was going to have to take out the sump and check the floor to confirm/deny a leak. So I shut off the return and watched my sump. Once the side compartments equalized with the baffle level, the baffle then continued to go down....but then it almost seemed to stop (see the pic attached). So I assumed I did in fact have a leak and it was somewhere under my baffles. I drained the sump, took out the equipment/rock and moved it so that I could inspect the floor. No visible water. No wet grout. I even had my girlfriend look as well to make sure I wasn't missing something. We agreed there was no leaking. So utterly confused I put everything back in, and put the system back on line. Now here is the really confusing part.....everything started behaving normally again. The water level was no longer dropping and therefore the ATO was not having to turn on. WHAT???

I swear I'm not an idiot.

I know how to use a refractometer.

I have 20/20 vision with my contacts (and they were in).

I watch my tank like a hawk, and like all of you, I know when something is immediately out of whack.

I have no idea what was causing the water drop. And I have even less of an idea of why it went away.

But it's fixed, so I'm happy. I guess :-/

 

Glad to hear its all fixed, still keep a close eye on it.

I know my power heads cause large fluctuations in my sump, but every tank is different.

 

Definitely...this was too weird of an incident to dismiss quickly. Especially since I don't have any real closure, except that it's fixed.

Cheers

 

Glad to hear it is acting normal.
Not to be a downer but just passing on my experience. Mine I thought was resolved as well and then started happening again. Best way to monitor the water level is take a dry erase marker and mark the water level. I spent many of hours just sitting and watching. Make sure that the water level doesn't go above or below the line.
Like I said before mine turned out to be a standpipe issue. Water to air ratio wasn't right and it cause fluctuation. I currently have 3 airlines in each cap of my standpipes.
Again I'm glad as of now the issue is solved but keep an eye out. It baffles us sometimes when it just doesn't work right. Congrats and gl.

 

I'm sure none of thought you were an idiot, as you posted.

If I would have posted that, ooohhh people would have been all over that saying that I was, in fact, an idiot! J/K,

I'm glad it's working properly, As DiverDan stated, he went thru a similar ordeal.

 

by chance can you post a picture of your ATO setup? Is your ATO tube in your sump water or above it? If i had to guess i'd say that your ATO was pumping water in, but when it shut off it created a siphon and was then siphoning water out of your tank back to the ATO. Make sure the ATO tube is above the water line if your ATO reservoir is below your sump.