Skimmer vs ATO?

[pseudorand]

How do I keep my skimmer from taking too much water out of the tank?

I just added a skimmer. After a day I had half a cup or so nice brown skin mate, so I installed the drain hose. This required turning it down and readjusting it. This evening, I noticed my ATO seemed to be going through water a bit more than usual. I checked, and sure enough, the skimmer was overflowing a bit more water and bubbles than I thought it should be, and my salinity was down .005 or so.

I expect this setup could results in a freshwater tank with a bunch of dead saltwater fish in it overnight we're I to adjust the skimmer poorly. How do I prevent this? Any ideas beyond careful adjusting the skimmer?

 

[flampton]

What size container are you draining to because that's a really large salinity swing

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Skimmers go crazy sometimes. That's a fact. This is why I don't use the drain hose on my skimmer. If mine overflows then it'll drain right back into my sump

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Yeah, don’t use a drain hose, especially one that’s outside the tank if that’s what you are doing.

Best case scenario if your skimmer goes crazy for whatever reason and you don’t catch it in time: you nuke the tank (if you’re draining to a container in the sump).
Worst case: You nuke the tank and ruin your floors (draining outside the sump).

 

[pseudorand]

It's an external skimmer, so the drain goes to the house drain.

If you empty it manually all the time, what do you do when you go on vacation?

 

[ReefBeta]

It's an external skimmer, so the drain goes to the house drain.

If you empty it manually all the time, what do you do when you go on vacation?

Saver to have a skimmate locker with auto shut off. When it's full, it shut off the skimmer. Also tune the skimmer to skim dryer.

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

“I just added a skimmer”. How long ago? Skimmers have a break in period (?). Mine went crazy the first week as well. Pulled skim and seemed great, just kept overflowing and hard to dial in. After a few weeks it got much better. Still having issues with my ATO (Tunze) that seems to go off to much (in return pump chamber). But the skimmer has settled down (weeks later).

 

[rusty hannon]

How do I keep my skimmer from taking too much water out of the tank?

I just added a skimmer. After a day I had half a cup or so nice brown skin mate, so I installed the drain hose. This required turning it down and readjusting it. This evening, I noticed my ATO seemed to be going through water a bit more than usual. I checked, and sure enough, the skimmer was overflowing a bit more water and bubbles than I thought it should be, and my salinity was down .005 or so.

I expect this setup could results in a freshwater tank with a bunch of dead saltwater fish in it overnight we're I to adjust the skimmer poorly. How do I prevent this? Any ideas beyond careful adjusting the skimmer?

Your skimmer is going to act up for a couple weeks to break in and get rid of mold release agents from manufacture.everything should calm down after that. Just keep a close eye on it ,salinity and water height and if it or when it starts to overflow adjust slightly to stop n carry on.happy reefing