Feeding causes Smart ATO to run and enter error mode

DiverDave32 · 07/03/2015, 07:56 PM

Hi All,

I just purchased a second hand tank (110 g Marineland) and being an avid scuba diver am really enjoying having the ocean close at hand.

I am now set-up and have a few questions.

1) I have a smart ATO and when I feed frozen food, it triggers the ATO to fill for an extended period of time and enter error mode. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I simply unplug the ATO during feeding?

2) I keep everything running while feeding. Do most of you shut off your return and pumps. Doing so tends to stress out my fish so I try to avoid it. Also, the return flow tends to keep the food at the surface from going to the overflow so the fish have plenty of time to eat most of it.

3) It has been almost 4 weeks since I transferred the tank. The original tank was a little unkept as they owners were moving. I replaced the substrate and have performed 5 32 gallon water changes. My Nitrates are still around 30 ppm and my nitrites around 0.2, ammonia is at 0. I am keeping up with water changes every two days but the nitrites and nitrates don't seem to be moving, is this normal? My fish seem in really good health and have an even healthier appetite. Anything else I should do or is it just part of the normal cycling process and I need to give it time.

Thanks for your input.

Dave

07/03/2015, 07:56 PM	#1
DiverDave32 Registered Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 46	Feeding causes Smart ATO to run and enter error mode Hi All, I just purchased a second hand tank (110 g Marineland) and being an avid scuba diver am really enjoying having the ocean close at hand. I am now set-up and have a few questions. 1) I have a smart ATO and when I feed frozen food, it triggers the ATO to fill for an extended period of time and enter error mode. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I simply unplug the ATO during feeding? 2) I keep everything running while feeding. Do most of you shut off your return and pumps. Doing so tends to stress out my fish so I try to avoid it. Also, the return flow tends to keep the food at the surface from going to the overflow so the fish have plenty of time to eat most of it. 3) It has been almost 4 weeks since I transferred the tank. The original tank was a little unkept as they owners were moving. I replaced the substrate and have performed 5 32 gallon water changes. My Nitrates are still around 30 ppm and my nitrites around 0.2, ammonia is at 0. I am keeping up with water changes every two days but the nitrites and nitrates don't seem to be moving, is this normal? My fish seem in really good health and have an even healthier appetite. Anything else I should do or is it just part of the normal cycling process and I need to give it time. Thanks for your input. Dave