Trouble with tunze ato pump

[Bthomas]

I just redid my sump and the placement of my ato container so I had to order new tubing for my tunze ato as the piece I had is not long enough and now I cannot get it to pump water through the tubing. I ordered the tunze brand tubing specific for their ato so I'm not sure what could be wrong here. The original tubing that I had is more tight fitting in the pump but what I ordered is made for this pump so I'm not sure what I could be missing. Any suggestions?
The pump is turning on and pumping as it should but the water is not going through the tube.

 

[Big G]

Two things to try. Sometimes when the ATO container runs dry, an air bubble forms in the pump. Invert the pump under water and turn on. The next thing is to try adjusting the flow speed on the controller. Sometimes turning it faster or slower, seems to work.

 

[Bthomas]

Two things to try. Sometimes when the ATO container runs dry, an air bubble forms in the pump. Invert the pump under water and turn on. The next thing is to try adjusting the flow speed on the controller. Sometimes turning it faster or slower, seems to work.

Even if all I've done is pulled the tube out and replaced it? It was working fine before that. Think I should still try adjesting flow speed?

 

[Bthomas]

So I've tried raising the pumping power to max (I know lowering it wouldn't be good cause it does have about 6ft of tube to pump through) still nothing. I've tried a shorter piece of tube to see if thats it and still nothing. I don't know what else to do. It won't pump through the tubing..

 

[Water Dog]

Did you turn the pump upside down while submerged to release any trapped air bubbles in the pump? The pump will get air locked if there are any trapped air bubbles and won’t work until the air is expelled.

 

[Bthomas]

Did you turn the pump upside down while submerged to release any trapped air bubbles in the pump? The pump will get air locked if there are any trapped air bubbles and won’t work until the air is expelled.

I actually only have it in enough water to cover about half the pump so I can try filling the container more to allow it to be fully submerged so I can turn it upside down. But it definitely pumps just fine without the tube, could it still be air bubbles in the pump?

 

[Water Dog]

Airlock would be my first suspicion. How far are trying to pump? Maybe the head height change from your original set up is too much for the Tunze ATO pump.

 

[Bthomas]

Airlock would be my first suspicion. How far are trying to pump? Maybe the head height change from your original set up is too much for the Tunze ATO pump.

It's about 6 ft of tubing but it isn't pumping up its just pumping horizontally to my sump

 

[Water Dog]

That distance shouldn’t be a problem. Fill up your reservoir and see if airlock is the issue.

 

[Bthomas]

That distance shouldn’t be a problem. Fill up your reservoir and see if airlock is the issue.

I'll try that. Thanks

 

[Water Dog]

Also, try blowing through your tubing to make sure there isn’t an obstruction.

 

[Dan I]

When I had an issue similar to this I would fill my resoivor full. Submerge pump, and shake it until air bubbles are out. Sounds silly, but worked for me. Good luck!

 

[Dugless]

With the pump off, try gently spinning the impeller with a paper clip or something similar. Sometimes the impeller sticks when run dry.

 

[Bthomas]

Well the air bubble trick fixed it for a few days but then today the tube came out of the pump when it kicked on. I put it back and now it won't pump water through the tube again. It really seems like the tube isn't the right size. It's alot looser fitting then the original tube that was with it but it is the tunze brand tube..

 

[Water Dog]

Would zip ties help?

 

[Bthomas]

Would zip ties help?

The tube slips inside the fitting on the pump. I could try wrapping it with tape or something. I just can't understand why it isn't working when it's the tube specifically for that pump

 

[Water Dog]

Try PM’ing Roger Vitko of Tunze USA on Monday. He’ll help you troubleshoot.

 

[Bthomas]

Try PM’ing Roger Vitko of Tunze USA on Monday. He’ll help you troubleshoot.

Will do. Thanks

 

[Bellamy803]

Did anything ever come of this. I am having the exact same problem. Pump works with no tubing on it. Put the tubing on Ans it won’t flow.

 

[Water Dog]

With the tubing attached, did you make sure it’s not air locked?

Did you turn the pump upside down while submerged to release any trapped air bubbles in the pump? The pump will get air locked if there are any trapped air bubbles and won’t work until the air is expelled.