Michael, sorry for my delay. I just saw your question today, as I've been out of pocket with family and travel. Here are some pics of my set up. I don't know what you mean by an "accumulation tank"; never heard of one. I have the five gallon bottle under the counter inside of a cabinet. Into the bottle is a 1/4" tube that goes to the pump, which has another 1/4" tube that runs through a gap in the cabinets to the espresso machine. A note here: the cabinet that houses the bottle and pump usually has other coffee stuff in it, and the plug of the extension cord to which the pump is plugged into is actually elevated, lying in a bowl, so that it won't be lying in water if there were ever a leak in my system. As for your other question, the pump and machine are plugged into the same power strip, so the pump is on only when the machine is on.